Note from author
Bold and italic - Viren narrating
Bold- change of location of time
Italic - thoughts
These are things to keep in mind for this cha
Chapter 14: a broken seal and a story to tell
Viren cantered on his horse with two guards and Hainn on his own horse, they stopped at the entrance to the neutral zone in the human kingdoms, it was usually used to call a meeting of all the kingdoms, "halt" said a guard at the gate, "disarm, dismount and proceed to the meeting point".
Hainn looked at the guard a little oddly but then Viren got of his horse and so he relented and got of Azazel himself, he drew both his swords and handed them to a second guard, the size and weight of the swords almost made him drop the pair onto his feet, Viren then gave the guard who had spoken his staff, "welcome" the guard then said, "how gracious" Viren said rolling his eyes.
"I expect them back or i remove your head" Hainn threatened, "i don't care if this is a neutral zone", "your not even authorised in her" the guard all but squeaked, Hainn growled a little, "he's with me and a representative of a 6th kingdom" Viren said, the guard looked between the two and relented, partially out of fear of the tall armoured stranger, mostly because it was a representatives will.
Viren and Hainn made their way up a hill where there was a dome shaped building on the hill, inside two men and a woman from another kingdom were talking, when Viren and Hainn walked in, "ah Viren you are the fourth…and fifth to arrive" said the king of Neolandia, named Ahling, hesitating as he and the other took a sideways glance at Hainn, then they all grew sympathetic, "on behalf of our kingdom, we are deeply saddened to hear of king harrows's passing".
"Thank you king Ahling that means a lot" Viren said accepting the gesture, "but" Ahling continued, "when we received the scrolls informing us that you would be the regent of Katolis, until Ezran comes of age" he placed a reassuring hand on Virens shoulder, "that is true, and i believe it was a wise choice on the prince's half" Hainn said, Viren gave him a sideways look before continuing, "yes it is very humbling to be trusted with the boys education and training and i think we can all be glad he is wise enough to allow this" he said.
Hainan then scoffed, "bloody good i say otherwise we might end up with a brat on the throne" he said, they all looked at him, "and speaking of regent we appear to be waiting on one" Viren said, "which one?" Hainn asked, he was still a little rusty on the kingdoms the regent of Durann '' said a voice from the entrance, as a blond girl in white royal robes walked in, "i apologise for my lateness".
"Queen Aanya of Duran" chuckled Ahling, "my how you have grown. Welcome" they all bowed even Viren, except for Hainn, Hainn looked really surprised now, " is this a joke?" Hainan asked exasperated, they all looked at him slightly disapprovingly for his rudeness, he then sighed and pointed a warning finger at the girl.
"You better be wiser beyond you years or else i won't be very tolerable" he warned, "uh i was about to-" Viren began, "fuck it lets just get it over with" Hainn snapped sitting down on the floor. "and would you mind your manners regent or not" Viren said scoldingly as the others gave disapproving looks, Hainn acted unconcerned.
They all took their seats and Viren began, "I called us here today to because I am afraid." Viren began, "terrified even" he unrolled the map onto the ground where the 5 kingdoms were displayed and used magic to make the mountains on the map become 3d and the flags of each kingdom flap.
"The five human kingdoms found a balance after years of fighting amongst ourselves. We found an era of peace. But a new threat has arisen to challenge all of humanity. A threat from Xadia", Viren used his magic to close the curtains and make the room show images on the walls including that of a moon with the castle of katalolis in front of it and elves holding weapons.
"On the night of the full moon, the dragon queen sent Assassins", phantoms of elves entered the room, with glowing red eyes and with weapons such as daggers and sword, most of the rulers looked a little scared, Hainan didn't and he backhanded one as it tried to hiss into his ear.
"Moonshadow elves, crossed over the border and they murdered king harrow." Viren continued, "now sunfire elves are gathering near the border" the images changed and the room turned red and the elves all of a sudden looked rather demonic with large axes and horns.
"An invasion is imminent. Even worse is that there are reports of shadows in the clouds. Dragons." a dragon appeared in the skylight and roared taking flight, "flying high above the towns of katolis" the dragon dived down.
"When i close my eyes i see fire raining down" Viren continued, "death and destruction everywhere, it won't stop in Katalis, they will spread their wrath to all the human kingdoms.
The time to stop Xadia is now" the images disappeared and they were all left in darkness, "we must stand to protect our common humanity. I call on you to join me, to Join Katalis, to join our fight against this threat and drive back this threat!" Viren finished, it was a great speech all things considered.
They all looked very thoughtful.
At sea
Back on the boat, Kaja had recovered enough to actually limp by herself and the injury was healing well, her magic was also coming back to her and she was now playing with a fireball in her hand, Ezran was lying on a crate while Watching Bait snore, Rayla meanwhile was wrenching horrible.
Villads tooka sniff, "ah the scent of land" he said, that made everyone perk up, "sweet sweet land" Rayla said, her voice cracking a little cheering up considerable "finally" Kaja said getting to her own feet while Ezran cheered, "wait for it" Berto interrupted, "the distant scent of land that is" Villads finished.
Everyone slumped, "about a full day until we reach it" Villads added, "want to count clouds again Zym?" Ezran asked the dragon, but he had fallen asleep.
Callum was below deck with Rigran who was also asleep, Callum got out the letter his step father had given him and looked at the seal, Callum sighed and put it down rubbing his eyes.
Meanwhile inside Rigrans head he was dreaming, he dreamt of the first time he met Dravaan.
Many years ago
Dravaan kicked down the door of a partially torn down house, he had just killed a Banther that had invade the home and supposedly killed the family, Dravaan however had a feeling there was something here, he had smelt something in the house, he looked around, but there was nothing, the family was of nobles so it was a fairly big house.
He looked upstairs and heard the sound of crying, it was muffled but still easily heard thanks to the Witchers sense.
He put his ear to the floor and found the source in the bedroom, he moved a bedside table and found a trap door underneath, he opened it and the crying stopped as a little baby looked up at him with curiosity, "hello" Dravaan said, the baby cocked it's head to one side.
Dravaan gave a small chuckle as he picked the baby out of the small space, "what is your name now?" Dravaan asked the child, who didn't answer, "well I think I shall name you Rigran, it was the name of my younger brother before I became a Witcher" said Dravaan.
The child giggled and seemed to like the name, "you like it Rigran, well then let's see where your path leads" Dravaan said as they exited the house.
Present
Back in the council room of the 5 now 6 kingdoms, Viren looked rather triumphant as they had all agreed that if everyone was in agreement and that it was to be a unanimous agreement and almost everyone was for it, "queen Anaya what say you?" Viren asked, "I am…undecided," the young queen said.
Viren's brow furrowed in sudden anger, "undecided?" he demanded furiously, "yes it means i haven't made up my mind" Aanya clarified, "this is why we need an adult" Viren stated, "a leader who can make strong decision for their kingdom", "i will not send my army's to face unknown danger based on a two minute speech" said the young queen defiantly.
Hainn was actually impressed with the girl, she was already proving herself wiser beyond her years and able to make independent decision, "i may be be a child but apparently i am the least impulsive of us all" she continued, "and more independent thinking apparently" Hainan added, Ahling chuckled, "they both have fair point" he said.
Viren sighed, "i was rash in my words, i apologize" Viren said, "you are a young queen but as Hainn has wanted and as you have proven…far wiser in your years", "as a child ruler i had to survive adults trying to usurp my throne, coups, conspiracies and assassination" Aanya said almost as if to prove the point, "but sometimes its not the hard threats but the soft threats that are the worst. Sweet words can be more dangerous than a hidden dagger".
"Bravo" Hainn thought, his respect for this girl was going up and up, it would be a real shame if it came to needing to kill her for the plan to succeed.
"My 19 year old doesn't even know half those words" said Ahling, also very muchly impressed, "and he still flies back about eating vegetables".
Viren once again sighed, "your highness, would you allow me to tell all of us a story?" he asked, "a story in a time when our kingdoms worked together to achieve something. Something miraculous?"
The young queen nodded, Hainan sat up a little rather eager to hear this story.
The story of the miraculous something
"Nine years ago, my oldest friend, Prince harrow became king of katalis" Viren began, "i remember it as if it was yesterday"
The castle of katalis was bustling alive with people holding torches as Harrow walked to the balcony and had the crown placed on his head by Opeli. Opeli then stood back as the king and queen waved to their people who cheered them on.
"I want to make a difference Sarai" Harrow told his queen, "and you will" Sarai reassured, "you will be a champion of love and justice, and I will be by your side", they both looked at each other lovingly before turning back to their subjects.
"He was a beautiful young king with a beautiful family and it was a time of hope in Katalis"
Harrow, Sarai, a 9 year old Callum and newborn Ezran stood close to each other putting awkward smiles as they had their picture painted. In one corner of the room, Dravaan was chrotling like anything at their expressions while a 11 year old Rigran looked at him slightly confused. Viren flashed him an amused look.
"Are we done yet?" Harrow asked as they all kept their smile even if Callums was slipping a little, "it looks pretty done to me", Viren looked at the picture, "yes, it's beautiful an excellent likeness" he said and it was indeed a very good picture, "that a you can all move now" Dravaan added and the family exhaled seemingly exhausted.
Callum played with his lips while they all tried to move off, "i'm afraid your not free yet" Viren added quickly, "the king has to pose for one more", "ah yes my official portrait" the king said handing the baby Ezran to Sarai, "for history books and what not".
The king kissed his wife who led Callum down the stairs and out of the room, Rigran hurriedly joined them, Viren and Dravaan bowed as they passed, "all right ready?" Viren asked, "put on our best history face".
The king asked, "Why don't you and Dravaan join me?", "Did I hear that right?" Dravaan asked Viren, "but this is your official portrait as king" Viren said confused, "yes, and you two should stand next to me as i know you two will stand by me through anything" Harrow said.
Viren smiled and did indeed join him with a small hug, Dravaan rolled his eyes and hugged the king as well, "if someone like Vesimir finds this out i'm deader than drowners" he quipped, and so all three had their picture taken.
A Little later Harrow found his wife and newborn son in the bedroom, "I brought you a surprise" Harrow said, "jelly tarts in bed?" his wife chuckled, "we are the king and queen now we can do whatever we want" Harrow replied, he presented Sarai with a jelly tart but to their surprise, Ezran snatched it and swallowed it in one gulp, "well someones inherited your sweet tooth" Harrow quipped as they both laughed.
They both lay down on the bed as Ezran yawned and went to sleep, "Ezran is a lucky boy to be born a prince, as i was" Harrow said reflectively, "but there are so many in our kingdom born with less.", "what troubles you?" Sarai asked, "why do i deserve this?, except for being born?" Harrow asked reflectively, wondering why he deserved such a happy life while others suffered.
Harrow went to the window as he continued, "why must other like Dravaan and more importantly Rigran, go through so much for the sake of my life?" Harrow added even more reflectively.
"you are humble and grateful and kind." his Wife said, "i too worry about Rigran but i know he is a strong boy and he will make it through this", Harrow sat back down on the bed, Harrow paused for a moment, "Sarai, my father told me that above all i must be just king" Harrow said, "the night he died, Lady Justice came to me in a dream."
"Lady Justice huh?" Sarai asked sceptically, "she was wearing her robes?" Harrow said knowing what his wife was up to, "a boring dream then" Sarai added, "can i continue?" Harrow asked, "go on" Sarai responded.
"She said to me that Justice was not just fair decisions or fair consequences, she said that it was a fair system" Harrow said walking over to the fireplace, "then she laid before me her scales, sword and blindfold and told me to choose", "and you chose the blindfold" his wife said.
"i did" Harrow confirmed, "she said the blindfold was to test the system, that use it to imaging i had not been born yet" Harrow placed his hand over his tired eyes, "and that i did not know if i would be born rich or poor, what colour my skin would be, what culture or practises my family would have. That a fair system should be fair no matter the accident of my birth".
He lowered his hand and opened his eyes and looked at the fire, "that the rights, and laws, and opportunities within the system, should stand to protect and empower everyone"
"Lady justice is wise" Sarai said, "yes" Harrow agreed, "and she didn't make any moves on you?" Sarai asked teasingly touching his nose, Harrow chuckled, "wise enough to know better" Harrow added, mimicking the action, his wife gave him a kiss with a slight chuckle, "you sound especially inspiring with smeared jelly on your nose" Sarai quipped.
"What?" Harrow asked baffled as Sarai whipped the bit of jelly off and are it, and they both laughed.
That morning
The next day visitors from all over were in the throne room where Harrow, Viren, Dravaan, Amaya and Sarai stood at the front.
"King harrow worked tirelessly" Viren continued "he told me he thought of himself as a servant of all the people of katalis. A servant king"
Then walking through the crowd which parted like the red sea for Moses, two very important women walked through.
"But one day, two visitors came from a faraway place, another kingdom in fact and they desperately needed King Harrow's help. Do you know who these unexpected guests were?"
Present
"They were my parents" said queen Aalyn looking at a red amulet around her neck, "Yes" Viren confirmed.
Out at sea
On the boat, Ezran and Zym were sleeping, in fact Zym were sleep mimicking Ezrans others action, if Ezran turned he turned, if Ezran Scratched his face he scratched his face, if Ezran yawned, he yawned, "talking about peas in a pod" Kaja commented to Rayla who was still a little sick.
"so what is you *heave* relationship with Rigran again?" Rayla asked in hopes it would make her sea sickness go away, "i'm his backsmith, i help with his weapons" Kaja replied, "really? You don't look much of a blacksmith" Rayla commented, "your not the first to say that" Kaja replied.
Meanwhile Bait tried to crawl in between the two only to get knocked off, feeling rejected he turned grey and walked away, Callum down below was still looking at the letter, he then heard someone come down stairs, "can't a guy get some below deck privacy?" he asked exasperated, when he got no answer he turned, "i'm serious leave me alone" and he saw bait on the stairs.
Bait gave a low groan and turned to leave, seeing the little frog a little rejected. Callum changed his mind, "hey wait, why don't you join me? I could use a little light" Callum said. Bait brightened up.
In both senses of the phrase, he turned back to his normal colour and steadily glowed and his tail wagged, seeing he could be useful after all, and a smile was on his face.
Back many years ago
Your parents the queens of Durinn, carried themselves with great dignity" Viren said, "but their was pain in their eyes"
Both queens bowed, "no please you don't have to kneel" Harrow said soothingly as he could see the pain in their eyes, "we are here to humble ourselves and beg your help" said the white haired queen named Annika, "the Kingdom of during has been suffering from a terrible famine for nearly seven years" continued the dark skinned queen named Neha.
"Our food and resources are almost gone and this winter we shall run out of food and hundreds of thousands of people will die" a few gasps from the crowd, and some grimm and sorrowful faces from others, "then we will help you" Harrow said with no hesitation, "the kingdom of Katalis will share all that we have with the people of duren."
The two queens smiled happily and some happy whispering went out in the crowd, Viren and Dravaan shared a worried look.
The trio exitted, "my king with respect" Viren began, "you spoke to bloody soon" Dravaan interrupted and Viren picked up from him as they caught up with the king, "Katalis has barely enough food to provide it's people for the winter" Viren explained, "there is not a handful of grain to spare".
"And i am inclined to agree, we are basically replacing half the amount of the people who will die in Durin with the people who will die in Xadia" Dravaan added albeit reluctantly, "i won't turn my back on people in need" Harrow said, "like Dravaan said the number won't change either way". Viren pointed out
"Then it seems we have no choice" Harrow said sorrowfully, "exactly, i'm sure the queens will understand" Viren said but Dravaan looked at Harrow thoughtfully, knowing what he was thinking, "we shall share whatever we have with them" Harrow finished, "and we will share in their suffering" and with that he departed.
"I think we can both agree that we need a miracle. And we need it soon" said Dravaan to Viren who nodded in agreement.
"Harrow had committed, help, far beyond our means, that winter, starvation and death…a devastating tragedy would be inevitable"
Soldiers were in the castle courtyard handing out one loaf of baguette to each person in line, Harrow looked down on this from his window, and he looked grimm.
"But Dravaan had made me search and finally a new possibility presented itself to me"
"I have been doing research" Viren said to Harrow holding a stack of books with some difficulty, "yes i can see that" Harrow deadpanned, "pouring over ancient texts, maps and archives and i may have found a creative solution" Viren continued as he took a piece of paper and placed it on the table, "something that could save lives".
"Well?" Dravaan asked, "spit it out", "behold" Viren said presenting, "a rock" Harrow deadpanned thoroughly disappointed, "this rock is actually an ancient artefact from Xadia, it belongs to a monster" Viren explained, "monster?" Dravaan asked thinking of all the creatures he knew off that were made of rock and it hit him dead centre.
"a magma titan" Viren and Dravaan said unanimously, "a what?" Harrow asked, "a rocky monster that lives high in the mountains," Viren said, tossing the stone to Harrow.
"It's warm" Harrow said in surprise, "yes' Viren said, "the titan lives close to the border of Xadia rather close to the edge of the neutral zone", "if we can hunt this monster and slay t, i can use its heart to use a powerful spell that will warm the land, and allow us to magically grow an incredible bounty".
"Enough to feed two kingdoms?" Harrow asked, "enough to feed ten kingdoms" Viren said triumphantly, Harrow however looked rather doubtful as did Dravaan.
"Of course" Viren continued, "at the time i was not the king's closest advisor"
Sarai and Harrow were training while two guards and Dravaan watched, "it's a mistake harrow" Sarai said, "why do you have such a problem with this?" Harrow asked as the two crossed spear, "we kill one monster to save a thousand people" Harrow explained, "you keep calling it a monster" Sarai said, "yes" Harrow said eyebrow raised, "it' a giant creature made of rock and magma, i call that a monster".
Sarai disarmed Harrow, the spear was caught by Dravaan, the guard next to him passed a few coins to his partner, "is it intelligent?" Sarai asked, "what?' Harrow asked, caught off guard, "what do you mean".
"Does it think?" Sarai demanded tabbing the earth in front of Harrow, "does it feel? Does it have a family?, is it the last of its kind?", "I sincerely doubt it and why does any of this matter?" Harrow said, grabbing a sword on a nearby table, Sarai twirled her spear and slammed the end on the ground, "I know it may seem like it solves things but isn't it a little too easy? That's always the way with dark magic"
"We don't have a choice?" Harrow said, his voice was one of fact as they continued the sparring match, "you said you wanted to build a better world, to really change things'' Saria said after being forced back, "to really change things, that's going to take decades of hard work. There is no monster you can slay to solve all your problems. There is no shortcut.".
She then disarmed Harrow, "this is going to be a very slippery slope" she finished as she tripped Harrow up, she then got her face close to Harrows, "Harrow, tell me you won't do it" she pleaded, "it is our only chance" Harrow said.
Sarai sighed in defeat, she got off Harrow and walked off.
Later
Harrow was on his horse with, Dravaan, Viren, Amaya and the two queens on theirs, "we will enter Xadia through the breach" Harrow said, "there we can get supplies and…" he stopped s his wife appeared on her own horse, fully armoured, "i'm here" she said, "queen sarai?" Dravaan asked, "I thought you disapproved" Harrow said as Sarai walked up next to him, "I disagree but I stand by your side anyway" Sarai said, Harrow smiled, "thank you" he said very gratefully.
"Well it was in our marriage vows" Sarai quipped, "something about keeping you alive when you're a brave idiot?", just then it began raining, "enough wasting time" Dravaan said galloping past the two who followed him along with the other four behind.
"We travelled as quickly as we could to the border of Xadia, bold adventures from two kingdoms crossed the breach together hoping to find a way to help their people"
"Thunder the king of the dragons patrolls the sky at day from dawn until dusk, my guess is he goes home when dusk settles" Dravaan said as he sharpened his blade, "once he is in bed with his wife at sundown we sneak into Xadia", "and we must return with the heart of the titan before the first moments of the suns rise" Harrow added.
"Will these ballista's be able to take down the magma titan?" asked Neha looking over one of said ballista, "if our aim is true we will find the right spot and get the job down" Harrow said, making an aiming gesture with his hand and with one eye closed as if aiming.
Amaya elbowed her sister and signed something which made Sarai laugh out loud, "what?' Harrow asked, "nothing," Sarai said quickly.
Soon the entire party was out of the lava lands and into Xadia, "alright we are out of the neutral zone, so be quiet" Dravaan said making sure all the troops heard him.
"We emerged into darkness and quickly got to work" viren said
Viren bent down placed some powder in a bowl and set it one fire, while uttering a dark chant, the fire changed colour and flashed and then Viren held up a glass of magic enchanted fire and opened the lid with another chant the the firefly's flew off to find the titan.
"Let's go, the night is short" said Harrow as they began riding their horses and following the fireflies dragging the balisties behind them.
"With each step my heart beat louder out of excitement and fear" Viren said, "for this place held both salvation and death"
They continued to follow the light until it hovered over a cluster of rocks, they all stopped and looked at the pile and then the fireflies dispersed and flie into the cracks.
"We were ready for the fight of our lives. But the titan was not what we had expected"
The pile of rocks was the magma titan, inactive, the cracks not glowing red with lava, "it's dead?" Neha said, "so we dragged all the balista's here for nothing" Dravaan said in exasperated disappointment, "well now we can just open it up and remove its heart" Viren said.
Dravaan, Amaya and Neha got off their horses, Amaya and Neha climbed on top of the titan and made their way to it's chest, Amaya held a hammer above her head ready to bring it down while Nehu held the dagger on the rocky chest of the titan and gave a nod.
Present and out at sea
"I've had this letter for a few days now" Callum said to Bait holding the letter in front of him "but i just can't open it, i can't bring myself to. I know it sounds crazy but there are words he hasn't said to me in this letter and if they come to life. Once I read the last word….then he will be gone".
Bait croaked sympathetically and placed one of his paws onto Callums arms reassuringly, for someone like bait who scowled a lot of the time that was a big gesture, "then let's read it together" said Rigran as he stood up from his bed, walked over and sat down next to Callum, "haven't you read yours?" Callum asked, "guess neither of us are really ready?" Rigran said with a sigh.
"But let's read your together" he added, patting Callum on the shoulder, Callum took a deep breath in, "okay" Callum said, slowly he reached for the seal and broke it and opened the letter.
Many years ago
Amaya swung the hammer down on the dagger like it was a chisel driving it only a little into the ground, 5 times she swung the hammer and on the 5th attempt the dagger penetrated and everything went wrong. The black veins of the titan suddenly began to slowly glow red getting brighter and brighter, "damn thing wasn't dead" Dravaan released, as the great titan began to stand up, Amaya and Neha jumped off it before it could properly stand up and when it did it towered over them and let out a roar of outrage "just asleep".
