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Prologue
”I take it, you know why you’re here?”
One very red eye brow rose up on the face of Vert Riskel. ”No. Please do tell.”
The man across from him cleared his throat as if hoping the sound would clear away the bard’s expression. It didn’t. ”I invited you here to-“
A loud boisterous laugh echoed through the room. ”Invited? Do you invite all your guests to your house in chains? Tell me, is it the only way you can get people to endure your company.”
The man across from him didn’t even blink at the insult. Instead he rearranged his legs into a more comfortable position and reached over for his tea cup. ”Rumor is, Vert, that you have had your hands in many pies but that you are the person to talk to about the recent events in this war.”
Vert rolled his eyes. He knew this would happen one way or another. The question had always been when, not if. Vert Riskel wasn’t a canary but he knew when it was a good idea to sing like one.”And where would you like me to start?”
”From the beginning of course.”
”You want to understand the events of a war that spanned two continents and spread across eighty years? Let me see. Once Erimead was made of different providences. The providences on the edge of the eastern ocean were under almost constant attack from…”
The man waved a hand at Vert to get him to stop. ”No, I know all that already. Skip to the part I don’t know.”
”Look it’s all interconnected- the first war and the second one. You can’t just chop them in half and start the story in the middle.”
”Are you always this difficult?” Vert didn’t reply. ”Well then start by telling me about someone who had an important role to play in the second war and go from there.”
Vert thought about this. ”Like myself?”
”No.”
”My lover then?”
”No! No! No. “ The man sipped his tea quietly for a few minutes. Vert was about to suggest that the whole thing was futile and excuse himself from the affair when the man spoke up again. ”Tell me about Lady Laurel.”
Vert scuffed. ”You mean Laurel Falco?” he waited for the other man to nod before continuing. ”Laurel wasn’t a lady. She might have been a Knight but she certainly wasn’t a lady. She was the daughter of a fletcher. Poor Laurel had the terrible luck to be forced to escort the most vile, ruthless, scheming man I have ever met. If I ever run into Delegate Salodis in a dark alley…”
”Start with the girl. Then you can tell me about him or anyone else of importance later on.” the man took another sip from his cup, ”They say she was beautiful with shiny brown hair, a slim waist, and almost luminescent skin.”
”I don’t know about luminescent, but she was nothing short of admirable.”
Chapter 1
Laurel reached for the letter of assignment in her pocket and unfolded it. The parchment was worn in places from all the use but no matter how many time she had read the message, the words never changed.
High Knight Laurel Falco to report to the residency of Delegate Kolton Armus Salodis to ensure the safety and comfort of his excellency, by whatever means necessary, in response to the summons of the Ruling Court.
The letter at first had made Laurel feel incredibly happy. Here was her chance to prove herself to her superiors in the High Guard. Despite her recent promotion, the assignments she was given were still of the most unpleasant nature. Guards men much lower rank than her were given jobs like sentry duty or patrolling some of the more major roads. Meanwhile, she seemed to be perpetually assigned to take tavern shifts. It wasn’t so much the busted lip and bruises she obtained while breaking up bar fights as the vomit and other body fluids she had to endure while escorting the patrons back to their houses. So she when she received her new assignment, she had been exhilarated. Now she would finally be able to prove that just because she was born to lower birth, didn’t mean she was any less a competent soldier. This feeling lasted only a few days until rumors about her assignment became so loud that even she had found them hard to ignore.
She knew the assignment would be dangerous, especially now when tensions were running high. What she hadn’t known was that one of the Delegates had already died shortly after receiving his summoning. Not only that, but rumor was that both he and his guardsmen had been murdered in cold blood. In addition, five other High Knights in the squadron who had been offered the assignment had turned it down. Delegate Salodis, like most in the Ruling Court, was well known and, also like most, not very popular. He was said to have a nasty disposition, not that he was cruel, just that he was “not tolerant”. A bad report from someone so far up the chain, like a Delegate, would be career suicide.
Laurel swallowed her nervousness as she tried to bring up the courage to lift the knocker. She’d sent a letter, yesterday, notifying Salodis of her assignment and requesting for them to depart as quickly as possible. She’d never received a reply either because he hadn’t gotten the note or he hadn’t cared to write one. It was impossible to tell with these upper class types. This was the reason why Laurel had been standing nervously outside the door for five minutes.
”Come on, Laurel. You’ve faced Drakes, and city mobs, and drunken brawls. How bad could Delegate Salodis actually be?” With that she lifted the silver knocker and released it three times.
At first there was no response and Laurel was half tempted to crawl back to the barracks. If Delegate Salodis refused for her to accompany him, there was nothing she or her superiors could do. Just as she was about to turn around, the thick wooden door opened so quickly that the brown hair in her bun rushed forward and flew into her face.
”Yes?” The man sneered down at her. From his older complexion and his servant’s livery, Laurel guessed this was not Salodis.
”I am High Knight Falco.” Laurel said and presented the Letter of Assignment. ”I’m here to escort Delegate Salodis to the Ruling Court. He has been summoned to an emergency meeting. I sent a…”
With one look from those dark black eyes, Laurel shut her mouth and waited while the man read over her letter.
”Just you?” The way he pronounced just made it clear he thought Laurel was inadequate for the job.
”Yes. After what happened to one of the other Delegates, the Guard Captain thought more discretion was necessary. Too many people running about might cause a stir and a large group is a slow moving target.”
”I see.” Laurel half expected the servant to shove the door in her face. Instead he pocketed the letter and showed her in. ”Please wait in the parlor. It’s the first door to your right.” The man disappeared deeper into the house as Laurel opened the door to the directed room.
Inside a fire burned brightly while large heavy curtains framed magnificent windows which were open to let in the afternoon sun. The room was spacious but well furnished with a serving table, couch, and two wing back chairs. On the side board sat an empty tea set made of almost transparent glass. Laurel took one round across the room, taking in the various wall paintings that exhibited popular spots around the providence, before settling into the couch. Her grey eyes continued to dance about the room while she waited for Salodis to arrive. She’d never been in a place as fancy as this and wondered what it would be like to live the high life and what price someone might pay to ensure they kept it.
”I take it, you know why you’re here?”
One very red eye brow rose up on the face of Vert Riskel. ”No. Please do tell.”
The man across from him cleared his throat as if hoping the sound would clear away the bard’s expression. It didn’t. ”I invited you here to-“
A loud boisterous laugh echoed through the room. ”Invited? Do you invite all your guests to your house in chains? Tell me, is it the only way you can get people to endure your company.”
The man across from him didn’t even blink at the insult. Instead he rearranged his legs into a more comfortable position and reached over for his tea cup. ”Rumor is, Vert, that you have had your hands in many pies but that you are the person to talk to about the recent events in this war.”
Vert rolled his eyes. He knew this would happen one way or another. The question had always been when, not if. Vert Riskel wasn’t a canary but he knew when it was a good idea to sing like one.”And where would you like me to start?”
”From the beginning of course.”
”You want to understand the events of a war that spanned two continents and spread across eighty years? Let me see. Once Erimead was made of different providences. The providences on the edge of the eastern ocean were under almost constant attack from…”
The man waved a hand at Vert to get him to stop. ”No, I know all that already. Skip to the part I don’t know.”
”Look it’s all interconnected- the first war and the second one. You can’t just chop them in half and start the story in the middle.”
”Are you always this difficult?” Vert didn’t reply. ”Well then start by telling me about someone who had an important role to play in the second war and go from there.”
Vert thought about this. ”Like myself?”
”No.”
”My lover then?”
”No! No! No. “ The man sipped his tea quietly for a few minutes. Vert was about to suggest that the whole thing was futile and excuse himself from the affair when the man spoke up again. ”Tell me about Lady Laurel.”
Vert scuffed. ”You mean Laurel Falco?” he waited for the other man to nod before continuing. ”Laurel wasn’t a lady. She might have been a Knight but she certainly wasn’t a lady. She was the daughter of a fletcher. Poor Laurel had the terrible luck to be forced to escort the most vile, ruthless, scheming man I have ever met. If I ever run into Delegate Salodis in a dark alley…”
”Start with the girl. Then you can tell me about him or anyone else of importance later on.” the man took another sip from his cup, ”They say she was beautiful with shiny brown hair, a slim waist, and almost luminescent skin.”
”I don’t know about luminescent, but she was nothing short of admirable.”
Laurel reached for the letter of assignment in her pocket and unfolded it. The parchment was worn in places from all the use but no matter how many time she had read the message, the words never changed.
High Knight Laurel Falco to report to the residency of Delegate Kolton Armus Salodis to ensure the safety and comfort of his excellency, by whatever means necessary, in response to the summons of the Ruling Court.
The letter at first had made Laurel feel incredibly happy. Here was her chance to prove herself to her superiors in the High Guard. Despite her recent promotion, the assignments she was given were still of the most unpleasant nature. Guards men much lower rank than her were given jobs like sentry duty or patrolling some of the more major roads. Meanwhile, she seemed to be perpetually assigned to take tavern shifts. It wasn’t so much the busted lip and bruises she obtained while breaking up bar fights as the vomit and other body fluids she had to endure while escorting the patrons back to their houses. So she when she received her new assignment, she had been exhilarated. Now she would finally be able to prove that just because she was born to lower birth, didn’t mean she was any less a competent soldier. This feeling lasted only a few days until rumors about her assignment became so loud that even she had found them hard to ignore.
She knew the assignment would be dangerous, especially now when tensions were running high. What she hadn’t known was that one of the Delegates had already died shortly after receiving his summoning. Not only that, but rumor was that both he and his guardsmen had been murdered in cold blood. In addition, five other High Knights in the squadron who had been offered the assignment had turned it down. Delegate Salodis, like most in the Ruling Court, was well known and, also like most, not very popular. He was said to have a nasty disposition, not that he was cruel, just that he was “not tolerant”. A bad report from someone so far up the chain, like a Delegate, would be career suicide.
Laurel swallowed her nervousness as she tried to bring up the courage to lift the knocker. She’d sent a letter, yesterday, notifying Salodis of her assignment and requesting for them to depart as quickly as possible. She’d never received a reply either because he hadn’t gotten the note or he hadn’t cared to write one. It was impossible to tell with these upper class types. This was the reason why Laurel had been standing nervously outside the door for five minutes.
”Come on, Laurel. You’ve faced Drakes, and city mobs, and drunken brawls. How bad could Delegate Salodis actually be?” With that she lifted the silver knocker and released it three times.
At first there was no response and Laurel was half tempted to crawl back to the barracks. If Delegate Salodis refused for her to accompany him, there was nothing she or her superiors could do. Just as she was about to turn around, the thick wooden door opened so quickly that the brown hair in her bun rushed forward and flew into her face.
”Yes?” The man sneered down at her. From his older complexion and his servant’s livery, Laurel guessed this was not Salodis.
”I am High Knight Falco.” Laurel said and presented the Letter of Assignment. ”I’m here to escort Delegate Salodis to the Ruling Court. He has been summoned to an emergency meeting. I sent a…”
With one look from those dark black eyes, Laurel shut her mouth and waited while the man read over her letter.
”Just you?” The way he pronounced just made it clear he thought Laurel was inadequate for the job.
”Yes. After what happened to one of the other Delegates, the Guard Captain thought more discretion was necessary. Too many people running about might cause a stir and a large group is a slow moving target.”
”I see.” Laurel half expected the servant to shove the door in her face. Instead he pocketed the letter and showed her in. ”Please wait in the parlor. It’s the first door to your right.” The man disappeared deeper into the house as Laurel opened the door to the directed room.
Inside a fire burned brightly while large heavy curtains framed magnificent windows which were open to let in the afternoon sun. The room was spacious but well furnished with a serving table, couch, and two wing back chairs. On the side board sat an empty tea set made of almost transparent glass. Laurel took one round across the room, taking in the various wall paintings that exhibited popular spots around the providence, before settling into the couch. Her grey eyes continued to dance about the room while she waited for Salodis to arrive. She’d never been in a place as fancy as this and wondered what it would be like to live the high life and what price someone might pay to ensure they kept it.