The Veredor Chronicles: Book 02 - The Journey West (19 page)

‘What about me and Stella
,’ said Red suddenly. ‘We want to be there too. We have fought in many battles with Eben. It’s always good to have friends by your side in such situations. I don’t plan to leave Eben to fight the Prince of Shadows alone.’

Acartor
’s eyes narrowed. He looked at Red for a few moments before answering. ‘Sir Red, you must understand this group will attempt to break through their last line of defence. We will require help reaching that point, and I’m sure that you, Stella, Cassiel, Arlen, and many others will be in the thick of the action right up until this time and perhaps even until the end. Our objective is not just to fight his army; our real objective is to provide an opportunity for the Ecorian to challenge the Prince of Shadows. If we can do this we may be able to save our world, if not, we will see an evil shadow pour out over all the lands and all men and mer will be completely subjugated.’

**

That night the company rested in the castle. They were given simple chambers and were happy to be sleeping under a roof. The following morning Eben woke early and decided to walk down to the lake. The day was overcast, and a gentle cool breeze blew from the east. A rocky track led down from the castle gate to the water’s edge. The surface of the lake was very still. A group of swallows flew in circles over the clear water. Eben was surprised when he caught sight of Acartor sitting on the rocky shore a little further along. Acartor was staring at him and seemed to be pondering something deeply. Eben walked over to the Fiorian.

‘
Good morning, Acartor.’

‘Yes it is,’ replied
Acartor as he stood up. ‘I see you also had the good idea of a morning walk. Eaglemere Lake is very beautiful.’ Eben turned and looked out at the lake. They both stood there for several moments in the peaceful silence. ‘Chiara told me that she beat you when you were training in Elcalee.’ Eben glanced at Acartor and nodded, not knowing what to say. ‘She still has faith in your ability. She said that you are the greatest warrior she has ever faced.’

‘Chiara’s skills are far superior,’ said Eben.
Acartor frowned and lowered his eyes.

‘Eben, y
ou are the only one who can challenge the Prince of Shadows. If you fail, we will all die.’ Acartor paused for a moment; his eyes glanced at the Sword of Light. ‘It has long been said that the Prince of Shadows feared the Knights of Shidon. The Astarian Fiora tutored the Knights of Shidon so they could fight the Prince of Shadows and his servants. The Fiorians are the descendants of the Knights of Shidon, and Chiara is the greatest knight in our order. If you can match her I believe you can also match the Prince of Shadows. Our success all depends on our mission to lead you to him. You have the Sword of Light; I think you can do this.’

Eben looked back out toward the lake again
. For a few moments neither of them said anything.

‘When I was in the D
ungeons of Zarkanor I learned about the deep agony of loneliness and despair. I learned what it feels like to lose hope. I was imprisoned in a dark place, Eben; a terrible place for any man. In the end I found a way out of my torment. Sometimes men must make difficult decisions.’

‘
What decision are you talking about?’ asked Eben, sensing a certain degree of anxiety in Acartor’s words. The Fiorian’s cast his blue eyes downward and revealed some of his despair for a moment; it was rare for Acartor to show any expression at all. He took a deep breath before answering.

‘This
is difficult for me to talk about now. A time will come when I will reveal to you what I had to face in the Dungeons of Zarkanor,’ replied Acartor, his voice almost a whisper. He then glanced away from Eben and lifted his eyes to look up at the castle. ‘We will set out at noon to meet with the Irvarian army,’ he said, his tone of voice lifting. ‘There is one last thing I should say, Ecorian. A time will come when you will face two possible ways forward. I believe you will make the right decision.’ Acartor then turned to leave. Eben’s eyes followed the Fiorian as he walked away.

**

For about an hour Eben sat by the lake and rested. He reflected on all that had happened since they left Ortaria. So much had happened and at such a quick pace that he had scarce enough time to reflect. He thought about the reality of having to fight the Prince of Shadows in the looming battle.

Cassiel came into view and walked
down the track from the castle. He was wearing all new clothing and a new brown cloak.

‘
Acartor told me you were down here,’ he said, taking a seat on the rocks beside Eben.

‘
This lake has such a peace about it. See the swallows flying just above the surface?’ said Eben.

‘
These lands are beautiful,’ said Cassiel, his eyes scanning the lake.

Eben glanced across at Cassiel and wondered what advic
e his good friend could offer. He knew that Cassiel had always been steadfast and coolheaded in the face of danger.

‘What do you think of the
plan to fight the Prince of Shadows?’

‘The Fiorian
s seem to think the plan is the only way.’

‘But what do you think
, Cassiel?’

Cassiel looked from
Eben toward the lake and pondered the question deeply before answering.

‘We have fought many
evil creatures together since we met in Ancora. I think to overcome the Prince of Shadows we will need more than the ability to fight. In the Forgotten Age the Astarian Fiora could not slay the Prince of Shadows; she had to banish him to the darkness beyond the Cosmic Gate. The Fiorians believe that the Sword of Light in your hands can end this war, but I do not know if fighting him is the entire answer. Whatever happens we are all in this together.’

‘Friends until the end,’ said Eben. Cassiel nodded and smiled.

They sat by the lake for a little while and enjoyed the scenery in silence.

‘Red
and Stella are taking new armour from the Eaglemere armoury,’ said Cassiel ‘Sir Evander has told us we can take whatever we want, and he gave me these new clothes. There is a lot of good armour if you want to replace anything.’

**

Eben arrived at the entrance to the armoury and saw Red and Stella were busy trying on their new armour. Red had replaced his rusting and dented Ortarian armour with polished new plate armour. He looked like a new knight. Eben stepped into the room.

‘Eben, have a look at all this armour. Sir Evander s
aid we can take anything we want,’ said Red.

The room was small and completely crammed full of all manner of weapons and armour. There were racks of swords, axes, bows
, crossbows, and wooden barrels full of arrows.

Eben didn’t so much lik
e wearing heavy armour. He preferred to feel free and mobile on the battlefield and felt wearing heavy plate armour would slow him down too much and reduce his ability to use his sword. Red, on the other hand, felt that heavier armour provided him with more protection and made him feel safer whilst charging into enemy ranks. Eben selected a leather shirt with a triple layer around his torso, metal elbow guards, knee guards, leather boots that reached almost to his knees, new leather gloves, and wrist guards.

‘Maybe I should take one of these,’ said
Red, picking up a large crossbow.

‘Don’t bother,’ said
Stella, shaking her head. ‘They take too long to reload.’

Stella picked up a
new shield. The shield was round with the heraldic yellow hawk of Everdon painted across it. She also took a middle length arming sword and attached a second shorter sword to her belt; giving her the ability to release the shield and fight with two swords as she had done on the battlefield in Scaldonia.

‘
We are ready for battle once again,’ said Eben.

**

Sir Evander had organised new warhorses for the company. Eben was given a large brown warhorse named Arrow. He thanked Sir Evander for providing them with the armour and horses.

The company rode away from Eaglemere and headed back toward the main highway. Sir Cian and Sir Tierran led the group. They both rode massive black warhorses, and they seemed to be ever on guard. Eben rode at the back of the group with Meara and Baftel. After an hour they arrived at the crossroads. The Irvarian army was nowhere in sight.

Acartor
rode out into the middle of the crossroads and looked down. ‘The army must be on their way,’ he said.

‘They are not far away,’ said Baftel
. ‘They are passing through the Forest of Sorrows as we speak.’

The company rested and waited for the
Irvarians. After about an hour they could hear the sound of hundreds of soldiers singing from the direction of the forest. A few minutes later the first troops came into view across the plain and were followed by thousands more. King Edric was leading his army, riding a great black warhorse; his red cape flew in the wind. He was adorned in shining armour and his helm was crowned in gold. They watched as he led the line of troops toward the crossroads.

‘W
e expected we would be meeting you in Marraw,’ said King Edric as he approached. He was followed by six of his fully armoured and mounted knights.

‘
We have been guests at Eaglemere,’ replied Acartor.

‘
Eaglemere! How is Sir Evander these days?’ asked King Edric, his eyes revealing his happiness at the memory of his old friend.

‘
As knightly as he ever was,’ replied Chiara.

‘He mus
t be getting on in years. I will pay him a visit after the war.’ He looked from them to Eben, and his expression became stony. ‘I see you found each other,’ he said gruffly. ‘Is the Fire Order coming down from the mountains?’

‘They will come
,’ replied Eben.

‘Good,
everything is proceeding as we planned,’ said King Edric gladly. ‘King Lenard has ridden ahead and will meet us north of Lucaria where the Everdonian army awaits. We will wait for the enemy to land and then we will bring the battle directly to him.’

‘
We have learned that the Prince of Shadows plans to land his fleet at Crescent Bay,’ said Acartor.

King Edric nodded sternly. ‘Cr
escent Bay is well protected. He will be able to safely harbour his ships there and prepare for an invasion of Everdon.’

‘He won’t expect us to hedge him in
between the land and sea,’ said Acartor. ‘We could prevent him from advancing into Everdon and destroy his chance of escaping by sea. He doesn’t know that we are aware of his plan to land at Crescent Bay. We could surprise him and catch him off guard.’

King Edric nodded
in agreement. ‘The Prince of Shadows will see the terrible mistake he has made coming south to our lands.’

**

The army of thirty thousand men moved south for the remainder of the day and passed by three small Everdonian villages in the hills. The villagers all watched in amazement as the army passed by. The hills they were marching through were lovely with rounded grassy hilltops and gullies full of alder, linden, and oak trees. Occasionally they would see shepherds tending to their flocks of sheep on the hills. Eben spent most of the time riding beside Red, Stella, and Cassiel near the front of the army.

King Edric had remained gruff wi
th Eben all afternoon. He was still annoyed about the whole situation with Princess Apherah. Eben felt that it was best to steer clear of the King and stayed a little back from the very front of the army. Often he could hear the troops talking about him, but more often than not they were pointing at Red. They thought that Red was the Ecorian because of his shining new armour. Red held his chin high and enjoyed the attention.

‘Even with all that new armour you don’t look like an emperor. I’m surprised they think you are,’ said Stella.

‘What! Why not?’ asked Red defensively. ‘I could have easily been a king if I was born into a royal family. In a certain sense I am a king: nobody ever tells me what to do, and for years I have been completely free to go wherever I choose.’

‘
I was just thinking that you lack that certain regal quality. Maybe you worked as a clown for too long,’ teased Stella with a slight chuckle. Red shook his head and grinned, knowing Stella was playing games with him.

‘What about you, Stella. You practically lived in the circus,’ said Red,
raising an eyebrow. Stella smiled self-assuredly.

‘Yes,
I did, Red, but remember that I was always walking the tightropes and swinging on the trapeze high above.’ She winked at Red with a victorious beam. Red shook his head; he knew Stella was much better at this game.

They rode onward
for the remainder of the day and the army camped at the southern side of the hills where the road entered into gentle and somewhat beautiful land. The hilly landscape was partially treed with silver birches.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

For three days the Irvarian army marched south toward the port city of Lucaria. The further they moved south the more beautiful the land became. Everdon was a kingdom of rolling hills, lush green forests, and wide flowering meadows. On the second day they passed by the town of Marraw. Marraw was set on the banks of the Everdon River.

The Everdon River
flowed down from the Great Mountains to the west and carved a winding way through the kingdom all the way to the port city of Lucarai where it flowed into the Southern Sea. The town of Marraw was surrounded by a tall grey stone wall which was lined with fifteen watchtowers. A large keep rose up about eighty yards above the town. Atop the keep flew the flag of Everdon; a blue banner depicting a yellow hawk with outstretched wings.

The
Irvarian army continued to march without stopping. King Edric was determined to move as quickly south as possible now that they knew where the Prince of Shadows planned to land his fleet. The King seemed almost impatient to see an end to the war.

There was
a feeling of concern among the troops. The Irvarians were a proud people and for the most part they held brave faces, but Eben could sense the discomfort they felt about marching away from their homeland to fight in a foreign land against a monstrous and mostly unknown enemy.

On the night o
f the third day of marching the army stopped beside the Everdon River in a place of wide flowering meadows. Meara had their tents set up beside the river. As the evening approached they rested by a large fire beside the slow flowing water. Meara, Arlen, Baftel, Eben, Cassiel, Sir Tierran, Sir Cian, Red, and Stella all sat around the fire. To everyone’s surprise Sir Cian played a wooden flute for them.

‘Two more days and we will meet with our
Everdonian friends,’ said Sir Tierran gruffly. ‘Then we are off to meet our enemy the following day. We should make light work of forty thousand muckrons.’

Mear
a shook her head slightly. ‘We must not underestimate our enemy,’ she said, glancing across at Sir Tierran sternly. ‘The Prince of Shadows is bringing more than half of the Zyranian Order, and we don’t know what other evil creatures serve in this army. At very least there will be wyverns, Skatheans, and Northern Sorcerers.’

‘Bring it on,’ said Sir Tierran brashly. ‘I’ve fought Skatheans and Northern Sorcerers in Dravania, Iarthar, and Coran; they’re no match for the Tabarian Knights. We will take the Ecorian Emperor directly to the Prince of Shadows; the war will be over in a matter of days.’

Sir Cian stopped playin
g his flute for a few moments and gave a curt nod to agree with the bold statements of his fellow knight.

Eben still felt uncomfortable about being referred to a
s Emperor by the Tabarians. Sir Cian and Sir Tierran would have it no other way; they considered the Ecorians royal by birth. Sir Cian had told Eben that all the Tabarian Knights took three oaths when initiated into the Tabarian Order: to serve the Ecorian family, to defend the people of Veredor against evil, and to protect and shelter widows and orphans. Therefore the two knights were bound by oaths to serve Eben, whether he liked it or not.

‘I hope you are right, Sir Tierran,’ said Meara
calmly. ‘You know as well as I do that your sword cannot parry the magic of an enemy wizard. The agility that you depend on may fail you if you find that you are facing so many wizards at once. Imagine the damage that fifty Zyranians could do.’

Sir Tierran
harshly looked down toward the blazing fire and pondered Meara’s words for a few moments.

‘The Fire Order should handle those turncoat Zyranians,’ said Sir Tierran.

‘The Fire Order
are camped a league or two north of us,’ said Baftel. ‘They seem to not want to come close to the main Irvarian army.’

‘
At least we know they’re coming,’ said Sir Tierran, taking from his bag an oversized pipe and a pouch of tobacco.

‘They said they would come. T
hey do tend to keep their word,’ said Meara.

‘And what about the five other
Irilians who are supposed to be coming from Iarthar?’ asked Sir Tierran.

‘They are coming as quickly as they can
to meet us,’ replied Arlen. ‘The Irilians are currently passing through the Forest of Sorrows. They have been moving day and night to arrive on time.’

‘
Then we will all meet up together before the battle,’ said Sir Tierran as he lit his pipe.

The night progressed with a lot of
conversation about the approaching battle. The Tabarian Knights were completely confident in their own ability to complete the task. Eben felt somewhat happy at hearing their confidence, regardless of the fact that they were probably underestimating the opposition. Meara and most of the others retired early to their tents. By the end of the evening Eben found he was sitting only with Red, Stella, and Cassiel.

‘How do you feel about the coming battle,’ asked Cassiel.

‘Fine,’ answered Red. ‘The Tabarians are very certain of victory.’

‘I doubt that the Prince of Shadows would be landing in
Everdon without a plan of his own,’ said Cassiel. He glanced across a Red through the flames of the fire. ‘I think Meara is right; we shouldn’t underestimate our enemy.’

‘What if I can’t match him?’ asked Eben. The
y all stared at Eben and fell silent for a few moments.

‘The Fiorian
Acartor believes you can,’ said Stella. ‘We all believe in your ability, and we have all seen what you are capable of in the last few months. If you can’t defeat him, no one can. You have to be confident, Eben. Don’t let fear get the better of you.’

‘Stella is right,’ agreed
Cassiel. ‘The Fiorians would not have formulated this plan if they didn’t believe we could succeed.’

‘You’re
right, Cassiel,’ said Eben. ‘I just feel something is missing. I can’t understand what it is.’

‘I
t’s natural to feel a little nervous before a battle,’ said Cassiel. ‘Especially when so much hope is placed in your ability to succeed. Don’t worry about anything. Just be yourself. I’m sure everything will be fine.’

**

For two more days the army marched south through the enchanting countryside of Everdon. They passed through many beautiful villages and small towns. Around noon on the second day they marched over a ridge and before them, about a mile ahead, was a large field with thousands of pitched tents and hundreds of blue Everdonian banners.

‘
It’s the Everdonian army!’ said Red, his eyes scanning the field.

A great horn sounded and blew five
times from the encampment. Within a minute a group of twenty riders rode out to meet the approaching Irvarian army.

King Lenard led the grou
p and was adorned in golden armour with intricate carvings. His long blue cape blew in the wind as he galloped towards them. His helm had two large golden wings proceeding from both sides. Eben thought he looked a little ridiculous. King Edric moved his horse forward to meet with the approaching riders.

‘King Edric. I welcome you and your army to
my kingdom,’ said King Lenard.

‘
Thank you for the welcome,’ answered King Edric.

‘My army will be ready to march when we learn where
the enemy has landed his fleet,’ said King Lenard, his eyes glanced across at Eben, and he smirked. ‘I see the Ecorian descendent rides at the front with your knights. I think you give him too much honour.’

King Edric look
ed back at Eben. His eyes slowly returned to King Lenard. ‘The Ecorian is our honoured ally; if he wants to ride by my side I will allow him to.’

‘
You should be careful where you choose to place your allegiance, King Edric. You may find this Ecorian wants to take your throne. He has tried to lead your daughter astray; he may try to do the same to you.’

‘That’
s enough!’ shouted Red, riding forward boldly. King Lenard’s lip curled as he looked viciously at Red.

‘Sir Red of Ortaria.
Let me remind you that you are a long way from home. You should be aware I will not take kindly to any…’

‘I won’t have you insult my friend, apologize!’ demanded Red.

King Lenard sneered and lifted his chin. His face became crimson red, and his hand went to his sword hilt. Red followed in kind, ready to draw his own sword to take up the challenge. Eben rode up beside Red. In an instant Stella and Cassiel were also beside them. Both Sir Cian and Sir Tierran were also moving forward.

‘We don’t have time for
all this!’ shouted King Edric.

‘
That man…that thing…is trying to steal Princess Apherah from me!’ cried King Lenard.

‘
Princess Apherah has not yet decided to marry you, King Lenard!’ bellowed King Edric. King Lenard shot a menacing glance at King Edric. The Irvarian king held his head high and gave a commanding stare that silenced the younger king. A stony silence followed before King Lenard spoke.

‘
I will concede this time for the sake of our common interests. After the war I will not be so kind and patient,’ said King Lenard as he looked away bitterly. ‘Unfortunately I need you as much as you need me.’

‘T
his matter is settled for now,’ said King Edric. ‘King Lenard, you will be glad to know the Irilians have learned the Prince of Shadows plans to land his army at Crescent Bay.’

‘I will c
ommand my army to be ready to advance south tomorrow morning,’ said King Lenard. ‘Crescent Bay is only a day or two from here.’

**

Eben sat alone in the early evening by a small campfire a little away from the main Irvarian encampment. The Everdon River flowed peacefully by. He was thinking about Princess Apherah and looking forward to the battle being over so he could return to Faircastle. He watched as sparks floated upward into the twilight air above and smiled to himself. Hope filled his heart and soul when he thought of the possibility of a life with Princess Apherah. His thoughts then drifted; he knew he had to discover what happened to his mother and father. He also knew the Prince of Shadows would know the answers. Eben planned to ask him directly before he completed his task.

Suddenly Eben fe
lt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. He was surprised to see Baftel’s blind eyes looking down at him.

‘Eben, I have been looking for you
and had to use my magic to find you,’ said Baftel, a slight tremor was revealed in his aged voice.

‘Baftel, please take a seat and enjoy the warmth of the fire.’

‘Eben, we must talk. There is something disturbing I must tell you.’

Eben helped the aged wizard sit down and then sat by his side.

‘What’s wrong, Baftel?’ asked Eben, wondering what could be bothering the old wizard so much.

‘I h
ad a vision today, clear and strong; a terrifying vision of a giant spider ready to pounce. I then saw the Ecorian flag covered in blood. Last of all I saw an image of you falling into a deep abyss.’

The
feeling of hope diminished in Eben’s heart at hearing Baftel’s words. ‘What does it mean, Baftel?’

‘This is
a dark vision. I do not know what it means. You must be careful, Eben.’

Suddenly
Acartor and Chiara walked over from the encampment. ‘Ecorian, we have been looking for you,’ said Acartor. ‘We just heard news that the Prince of Shadows has landed his fleet at Crescent Bay as you predicted he would, Baftel.’ Baftel nodded at hearing the news.

‘We will likely attack the enemy army
tomorrow,’ said Chiara. ‘King Lenard is insisting that we attack as soon as we arrive. We intend to keep the element of surprise as much as we possibly can. Tomorrow we will set our attack plan in motion and strike the muckron army with all our strength.’

‘I’m ready
for the fight,’ said Eben, feeling he had much to fight for: his father, mother, Princess Apherah, his friends, and all the people of Veredor.

‘I’m happy to see that you’re feeling more
assured of yourself,’ said Acartor. ‘I believe you can do this, Eben. You were born to.’

**

An hour before dawn the army started to prepare to march. During the night the company of five Irilians from Iarthar and Dravania had joined their group. They were three men and two women. The Irilians names were: Senan, a very tall and lanky man with a long brown beard; Aengus, a young and handsome man who was clean shaven with short dark hair; Elan, an older woman with long auburn hair; Cathal, a very short and stout man with a gigantic nose and a concentrated look etched onto his face; and Nuala, a young beautiful woman with golden hair and deep green eyes.

Eben
stood near the front of the army with the Irilians, Tabarians, and his three best friends.

‘So this is the day,’ said Red, looking up to the clouded sky above.

‘The day of reckoning,’ said Cassiel coolly.

A great horn sounded once
and resonated across the field. The lines of troops and cavalry started to move forward. Eben rode with Red, Stella, and Cassiel near the front of the Irvarian army. He felt a sense of anticipation growing in his heart.