“I’m sorry,” he said. “I could have told you what I was about to do, but that wouldn’t have had nearly as great an effect.”
“I accept your apology,” the princess replied with a haughty tone. From the look in her eyes and the slight smile pulling at the corner of her lips, he knew she wasn’t really upset. “I have a question for you, and I want you to promise that you will not laugh at it.”
“Sure,” Traven replied.
“I am serious,” Kalista continued. “I do not want you to think I am crazy. I would not even be asking this except that when I heard your voice seemingly out of thin air it reminded me of something. It reminded me of other words I believe I heard out of thin air while riding towards the battle. Do you think I was imagining something or is it possible I actually heard them?”
The princess finished with a slight look of embarrassment. Traven’s face broke out in a wide grin. He knew exactly what she was referring to.
“You heard my messages,” he said excitedly. “Could you understand them?”
“It was you!” the princess exclaimed. “I was afraid I was losing my mind. How did you do it?”
“It’s called ‘whispering on the wind’,” Traven explained. “A wielder says a word and sends it on the wind to someone. I wasn’t sure how well it would work over such a far distance. Could you understand all of the words?”
“Yes,” Kalista replied. “The first time I heard something it was very faint and hard to understand, but the other times the words were clear. Thinking of what happened, I guess I should have listened to you.”
“I didn’t really expect you to,” he said. “You had no way of knowing where the words were coming from.”
Kalista smiled back at him as she shrugged her shoulders. He gazed at her with a smile of his own. Her smooth face shone in the bright sunshine, and her eyes held him transfixed. He suddenly realized he was staring and turned to look at a nearby tree. Somehow, during their excitement, they had moved closer to one another on the bench. They were now almost touching.
Memories from his visions rushed past him. He felt her firm hand upon his shoulder. He felt her delicate hand in his own. He felt her warm body against his side. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memories. He shouldn’t be having them. They weren’t real.
“What is the matter?” Kalista asked with a concerned tone.
“Oh, nothing,” he replied as he turned back to her. She glanced up at the sun.
“It is almost lunch time, and I have an appointment that I need to meet,” the princess said. “Thank you for the entertaining morning. It would please me if you would meet me here tomorrow at the same time. I feel certain there is much you could still show me.”
“As you wish, Kalista.”
“I will see you tomorrow then,” she said as she rose.
The princess smiled and walked away from him and back towards the palace. Traven stared after her graceful departing figure until she was out of sight. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. She was beautiful, and when she smiled at him, he found her irresistible. She could have asked him to do almost anything, and he was sure he would have done it. It probably wasn’t a good idea for him to meet with her tomorrow, but he couldn’t have said no even if he had wanted to.
It was hard for him to separate his visions of her from reality when she was so near. He had to remind himself that their perceived familiarity was nothing more than his imagination. Then again, she had in reality slept against his shoulder that night in the tower, and she had held his hand while he slept the night after the army’s victory. A smile crept across his face at the real memories.
He quickly shook his head once again. He shouldn’t be dwelling on the princess. She was engaged to be married, and she was royalty. There was no place for him in her life. It would be best for him to get as far from her as he could. The more time he spent around her, the harder it would be for him. She might not have any feelings for him other than gratitude, but he surely had feelings for her.
He needed to leave the palace soon and head back to Faldor’s Keep. He knew the keeper would be anxiously awaiting his return, and there was still much for him to learn. Staying at the palace for a week or two wouldn’t benefit anyone. He would look forward to meeting with Kalista the next morning, but that would have to be the last time.
5
From high atop the city wall of Candus, Brock could see far off into the distance. Other sentries found it boring to be positioned on the wall, but he didn’t mind it at all, especially in the spring. The weather was usually nice, and the view was spectacular. He had been stationed on the wall above the eastern gate several days earlier and would remain there until his rotation was over in a few more days.
He had enjoyed watching the parade two days ago. His position on the wall had commanded the perfect view of the magnificent procession. He had been the first to spot the victorious soldiers marching towards the city and had watched until the last of them passed through the gate. Nothing exciting had happened since their arrival, but he didn’t mind. As long as the weather remained nice, he would continue enjoying the view of the countryside and his own thoughts.
Around midmorning he spotted someone in the distance riding hard towards the city. As the rider grew closer, he could see that it was a messenger from the army. He wondered why the man was riding so fast. Was it possible that the Balthan Army had been reinforced and was returning to Kalia? It didn’t seem very likely. With the death of the Balthan wielder, he didn’t think the Balthans would be eager to engage the Kalian Army anytime soon.
He sent the other sentry on duty with him down to inform the guards at the gate that a messenger was quickly approaching from the east. He then returned to studying the rider. The man looked as though he were in a great rush, even for a messenger. Brock wondered once again what could be so important. If he was lucky, rumor would trickle back to him about the messenger’s report.
He settled back to staring out over the green landscape. He watched as a few white clouds appeared on the horizon and lazily drifted their way towards him. He then noticed a dark smudge on the horizon. He squinted and watched the smudge, making sure he truly was seeing something in the distance. The smudge slowly began to grow. It was still too far away for him to tell exactly what it was, but it looked as though a large group was making its way towards the city. Perhaps today wouldn’t be as quiet as he had thought.
* * * * *
Blaize settled down in his temporary office. The morning had been fun, but now he had a long day of administrative duties in front of him. He had spent the morning with Traven, just as he had the day before. They had gone through their forms first. Even the elf, Darian, had joined in. Blaize had been surprised by the elf’s quickness and skills and had gained deeper respect for the strange race. It was still hard to believe that the elves existed, but he had plenty of proof in the form of Darian.
After their routines, Traven had explained more of what he had learned to do. Blaize had listened intently and asked many questions while the elf sat to the side in silence. It was amazing to learn what Traven was capable of doing. He had found out that his young friend could do much more than just command the elements in attacking someone. Two of the most interesting things he had learned about were what Traven called ‘screeing’ and ‘whispering on the wind’.
By screeing, Traven could look almost anywhere he wanted by reflecting the image of a specific location on a flat, reflective surface. The uses of such a talent in wartime would be a great advantage. He assumed that was how the Wielder Kadrak had located the leaders of the Kalian Army so easily the last day of battle. Traven’s ability to scout and locate both enemies and allies would be helpful indeed if there was ever another conflict.
The ability to whisper on the wind would be just as useful in a battle. Messages could be sent to other leaders in the army, and the attack or retreat could be coordinated over great distances. It was too bad Traven hadn’t arrived sooner. Then again, if he had been any sooner he would have left Faldor’s Keep without learning about all the amazing things he had.
Blaize could hardly believe an ancient keep was hidden somewhere in the desert where someone had been waiting to train Traven in the ways of the ambience. It seemed crazy to think that anyone could see into the future. The more he learned and saw in the world, the more he was convinced that he didn’t know half of what was really out there.
He picked up a stack of papers and shuffled through them. It was hard for him to focus on them with everything that was swimming through his head. It was also hard for him to be sitting inside on such a nice, spring day. He sometimes wondered why he had accepted the post of commander general. He supposed it was because he knew he was getting older and couldn’t keep running around across the countryside forever. He would soon have to leave the adventures to those who were in their youth, like Traven.
Blaize knew his new position would offer a new kind of challenge in his life and a steady stipend. He would stay at the head of the army for several years and then could retire comfortably. It wasn’t a bad plan at all, but it was one that he had never considered in the past. He set down the papers in front of him and waited. He had read through them several times and already knew their contents. Gavin would be arriving shortly to go through more details of the army’s march back to Calyn. By the end of the week, Gavin would become the new baron and turn complete command of the army over to him. Blaize would then truly be in charge.
He looked up from his desk as the door opened. In walked Gavin, the soon-to-be Baron of Candus and eventually the High King of Kalia. The young man didn’t look like he was ready to take on the responsibilities of either position at the moment. He was dressed sharply and walked erect, but there was a certain hollowness and darkness around his eyes. The former commander general had seemed slightly lethargic ever since the death of his father.
“Commander General Blaize,” he said in greeting, as he sat down on the other side of the desk. “I believe most details have been worked out. At the end of the week, a quarter of the soldiers will be released from duty and allowed to return to their homes. You will lead half of the army back to Calyn. Another quarter will remain with me in Candus for three months before returning to Calyn as well. That should be plenty of time to assure ourselves that the threat from Balthus has passed.”
Blaize agreed that three months would be plenty of time. He was sure the Balthans wouldn’t attack again. They had only done so in the first place because of the Wielder Kadrak. With him dead, there shouldn’t be any further troubles with the adjacent kingdom. They began discussing the logistics of the army’s march but hadn’t talked very long when there was a sharp knock on the door.
“Enter,” Blaize said.
The door opened to reveal a disheveled and winded messenger. He looked eager to make his report but stood quietly, trying to catch his breath, as he waited for permission to speak. Blaize could see from his insignia that he was part of the group of soldiers left just west of the Pass of Banshi. He wondered what was so important to have caused the messenger such obvious agitation.
“Proceed with your report,” Blaize commanded.
“Yes, sir,” the man began. “I bring disturbing news.” He took another deep breath before continuing. “The day after the Royal Army marched west, a group of about thirty bedraggled Balthan soldiers emerged from the pass with an unbelievable tale of how their camp had been attacked by strange beasts and most of their army had been slaughtered.
“At first we thought their tale was some sort of trick and perhaps part of an ambush attempt, but after a quick search of the pass, we determined there were no other soldiers nearby. It was obvious from their injuries that something had befallen the soldiers. We dressed their wounds and fed them. We offered to let them camp with us, but they were adamant that the beasts were following them and that we should seek safety behind the walls of Candus. We couldn’t abandon our posts on such a fantastic tale related to us by enemy soldiers, but we allowed them to continue on while we remained at our posts.
“We sent several men into the pass to investigate the Balthan soldiers’ claims and set a double watch for the night. No sooner had night fallen than one of our men came thundering back to us. He reported that there were indeed strange and ferocious beasts in the pass and that they were heading towards us. The other two scouts never returned. We quickly packed up our small camp and made our way to the top of the rise that overlooked the recent field of battle.
“We could make out what appeared to be thousands of figures massing at the entrance of the pass. Seeing that our group of one hundred soldiers would be far outnumbered, we hurried west to the nearest village. Those who were left behind to watch the spectacle soon joined us and confirmed that the beasts were beginning to stream out of the pass and march in our direction. They also reported that there appeared to be a wielder with them, for they had witnessed a huge stream of fire piercing upwards into the air from the center of the field.
“We quickly evacuated the village and headed west, but our pace was much slower with the villagers. By the time we reached the next village, the beasts were gaining on us. Fifty of our men volunteered to go back and face the monsters while we evacuated the second village. All fifty were slaughtered at the hands of the beasts, but it bought us enough time to evacuate the villagers. We continued our march throughout the night as fast as we could, but the beasts continued gaining on us.
“We thought we would soon be overtaken, but with the coming of dawn, the pursuit stopped. We continued on and have evacuated every village along the highway between the pass and Candus. By midday, the villagers should arrive at the city’s gate. There are some ten thousand of them. As far as we can determine, the beasts are not more than a day behind. This is my report.”