SUBFURA BOOKS — NAVIGATION ▼
CHAPTER
Sad Tidings.
Saga/Series
-
BOOK
GENRE
Royal fantasy, Political high fantasy, Cultural fiction, Swords and sorcery.
READING TIME
10 - 12 minutes
STORY ARC
The Falling of Giants.
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Sad
Tidings
Julian, as usual had woken up early to perform his morning
routine. Somehow this morning was different from the rest, the sky was red with
a bad omen; silence and darkness over shadowed him. He wondered if he was the
only one that can sense this or if it is a sad aura flowing throughout the
city, but he ignored it, discrediting it as a weird feeling.
He walked into the forest and silence was all he could sense,
the silence threatened to smother his mind into madness. Nature sang no song
and the air remained motionless, he felt cold in his spirit but he had no
knowledge of what was happening so he ignored this feeling. He picked up his
sword and did some shadow-sparring hoping that the strain would relieve his
chaotic mind, but soon he got tired of the training. He sat down and joined in
the silence wishing his spirit would fight this strange sensation but, some
battles cannot be won by the tide of time, the sun came up but Julian’s spirit
did not move with the sun.
Then he heard silent footsteps, the
footsteps of a stranger. Steffen quietly walked towards his best friend hiding
his presence from the sun under the cover of the surrounding trees, Julian
noticed Steffen’s presence and rose to his feet looking into Steffen’s eyes in
a silent inquiry. He could tell from the look on Steffen’s face that something was
very wrong, Steffen failed to speak, which is not in his nature. The
questioning eyes of Julian met that of Steffen, who gave no reply, all he did
is look toward the ground in sorrow, Julian’s instincts told him something was
wrong, so wrong that his best friend had refused to voice it with his own
mouth. The only option he had left was to follow his friend to wherever it is
he wants him to follow, and find out what the matter was about.
He walked alongside his friend towards the city, neither
saying a word, nor breaking the silence, on reaching the town of EL-VON Julian
could see a lot of people weeping. Then it struck him, he realized someone had
died and that person must be someone close to him. His heart suddenly pounded
in terror as he rushed through the company of women towards his own home, “No,”
he whispered, “this cannot be?” and there laying in a Noble coffin was his
father, Lord Joel’s lifeless body, Norman
his brother sitting by his side with tears of pain in his eyes.
Julian trembled with a mixture of emotions, supressed rage,
grief, hatred and sadness. One of the guards summoned the courage to approach
the young grieving lord.
“Lord Julian,” the guard whispered, “We were ambushed, we
outnumbered them fifteen to one and we won the battle, they fled like rats
running towards the Pied piper. Then we noticed that he had been shot down by
an arrow”
“The Princess?” Julian inquired sternly,
“Safe,” the guard replied, “by now she is with the king,
they took nothing, stole nothing. All they did was kill your father and inflicted
wounds on others”
“Assassins,” Julian growled, the robbery was a diversion, my
father was their goal.
“My lord?” the guard inquired in an incredulous tone,
“Did you see the archer?” Julian growled in suppressed rage,
“No my lord,” he replied “but, none of the fools that
attacked had any arrows on them. Who might have…?”
“You may leave!” Julian snapped, far too lost in his sorrows
to concentrate on an investigation.
The guard left Julian with his father, Julian bowed and
kissed his father’s dead fingers, taking the time to look wishfully at the
figure that was once the proud lord of the kingdom, then reached out and took
the two swords strapped to his father’s waist.
“The Double swords is our family heirloom; this will not be
buried with my father, it will be passed down to the next generation,” Julian
said quietly and Norman nodded in acknowledgement.
Unknown to the two brothers, princess Amina stood hiding not
too far away. Her eyes were swollen with tears, Lord Joel was as a second
father to her, losing him was like losing a piece of her soul. The burial
Ceremony was done after a waiting period of three weeks, and everyone who knew
of his kindness, grieved the loss of such a great man. The burial lasted a week
and the king who seemed to be the closest friend to lord Joel grew sick on
hearing the news of his Death. He suddenly grew weary and had lost the will to
live; he gave the order to have Joel’s body laid in the royal tomb of kings.
The whole of El-von knew that they had lost a giant, no one dared to say
anything negative about one so noble and loved. Thus, Lord Joel passed from the
realm of the living.
Julian, as usual had woken up early to perform his morning
routine. Somehow this morning was different from the rest, the sky was red with
a bad omen; silence and darkness over shadowed him. He wondered if he was the
only one that can sense this or if it is a sad aura flowing throughout the
city, but he ignored it, discrediting it as a weird feeling.
He walked into the forest and silence was all he could sense,
the silence threatened to smother his mind into madness. Nature sang no song
and the air remained motionless, he felt cold in his spirit but he had no
knowledge of what was happening so he ignored this feeling. He picked up his
sword and did some shadow-sparring hoping that the strain would relieve his
chaotic mind, but soon he got tired of the training. He sat down and joined in
the silence wishing his spirit would fight this strange sensation but, some
battles cannot be won by the tide of time, the sun came up but Julian’s spirit
did not move with the sun.
Then he heard silent footsteps, the
footsteps of a stranger. Steffen quietly walked towards his best friend hiding
his presence from the sun under the cover of the surrounding trees, Julian
noticed Steffen’s presence and rose to his feet looking into Steffen’s eyes in
a silent inquiry. He could tell from the look on Steffen’s face that something was
very wrong, Steffen failed to speak, which is not in his nature. The
questioning eyes of Julian met that of Steffen, who gave no reply, all he did
is look toward the ground in sorrow, Julian’s instincts told him something was
wrong, so wrong that his best friend had refused to voice it with his own
mouth. The only option he had left was to follow his friend to wherever it is
he wants him to follow, and find out what the matter was about.
He walked alongside his friend towards the city, neither
saying a word, nor breaking the silence, on reaching the town of EL-VON Julian
could see a lot of people weeping. Then it struck him, he realized someone had
died and that person must be someone close to him. His heart suddenly pounded
in terror as he rushed through the company of women towards his own home, “No,”
he whispered, “this cannot be?” and there laying in a Noble coffin was his
father, Lord Joel’s lifeless body, Norman
his brother sitting by his side with tears of pain in his eyes.
Julian trembled with a mixture of emotions, supressed rage,
grief, hatred and sadness. One of the guards summoned the courage to approach
the young grieving lord.
“Lord Julian,” the guard whispered, “We were ambushed, we
outnumbered them fifteen to one and we won the battle, they fled like rats
running towards the Pied piper. Then we noticed that he had been shot down by
an arrow”
“The Princess?” Julian inquired sternly,
“Safe,” the guard replied, “by now she is with the king,
they took nothing, stole nothing. All they did was kill your father and inflicted
wounds on others”
“Assassins,” Julian growled, the robbery was a diversion, my
father was their goal.
“My lord?” the guard inquired in an incredulous tone,
“Did you see the archer?” Julian growled in suppressed rage,
“No my lord,” he replied “but, none of the fools that
attacked had any arrows on them. Who might have…?”
“You may leave!” Julian snapped, far too lost in his sorrows
to concentrate on an investigation.
The guard left Julian with his father, Julian bowed and
kissed his father’s dead fingers, taking the time to look wishfully at the
figure that was once the proud lord of the kingdom, then reached out and took
the two swords strapped to his father’s waist.
“The Double swords is our family heirloom; this will not be
buried with my father, it will be passed down to the next generation,” Julian
said quietly and Norman nodded in acknowledgement.
Unknown to the two brothers, princess Amina stood hiding not
too far away. Her eyes were swollen with tears, Lord Joel was as a second
father to her, losing him was like losing a piece of her soul. The burial
Ceremony was done after a waiting period of three weeks, and everyone who knew
of his kindness, grieved the loss of such a great man. The burial lasted a week
and the king who seemed to be the closest friend to lord Joel grew sick on
hearing the news of his Death. He suddenly grew weary and had lost the will to
live; he gave the order to have Joel’s body laid in the royal tomb of kings.
The whole of El-von knew that they had lost a giant, no one dared to say
anything negative about one so noble and loved. Thus, Lord Joel passed from the
realm of the living.
The
King is Dying
King Felton sat on his library table, amongst a few nobles
and the lawmakers, from the look on his face and the way at which he handled
things with unsteady hands, proved that the death of his most trusted noble had
had an effect on him as well. The wiser of the nobles could tell that the king
had lost the spirit to remain in this world, and they intend to extract his
final will and testament before he takes his place with the rest of his
ancestors.
“Sire,” One of the maids exclaimed, “Your hands are shaking,
if you wish we could call the royal physician to tend to you,”
“That will not be necessary,” the king replied,
“But your majesty,” she exclaimed,
“My time melts away and my bones weaken, I am strong, yet weary.
This is the voice of the king. standing up, but falls back into his chair,
“Summon me Julian, Joel’s son,”
“Sire, he still mourns his father’s Death,” a servant
protested.
“Summon him now, by order of the king; it is my will to
Speak with him before my passing,”
“Yes your majesty!” replied the confused servants,
“Joel my friend, why leave me now, my heart hungers for
death so that I can be reunited with my wife and my lost friend. Not even the
love of my daughter can dissuade me from banging on the doors of death. This is
the voice of the king.”
The maid looked at the king in terror, the very words she
dreaded were the words that came out of King Felton’s mouth. She knew not how
to comfort her Lord and she knew not how to ease his heart. The only thing that
screamed in her heart loudly was that, Should the king pass on? Then the whole
of the Kingdom would be thrown into chaos.
“Leave us,” The king
commanded sternly, “It is time for the politicians to discuss matters of this
Kingdom.”
The maid nodded., and then she walked out of the library.
But she could not help but tremble from her fingers, Because of the state that
the Kingdom will be in the next few days.
King Felton sat on his library table, amongst a few nobles
and the lawmakers, from the look on his face and the way at which he handled
things with unsteady hands, proved that the death of his most trusted noble had
had an effect on him as well. The wiser of the nobles could tell that the king
had lost the spirit to remain in this world, and they intend to extract his
final will and testament before he takes his place with the rest of his
ancestors.
“Sire,” One of the maids exclaimed, “Your hands are shaking,
if you wish we could call the royal physician to tend to you,”
“That will not be necessary,” the king replied,
“But your majesty,” she exclaimed,
“My time melts away and my bones weaken, I am strong, yet weary.
This is the voice of the king. standing up, but falls back into his chair,
“Summon me Julian, Joel’s son,”
“Sire, he still mourns his father’s Death,” a servant
protested.
“Summon him now, by order of the king; it is my will to
Speak with him before my passing,”
“Yes your majesty!” replied the confused servants,
“Joel my friend, why leave me now, my heart hungers for
death so that I can be reunited with my wife and my lost friend. Not even the
love of my daughter can dissuade me from banging on the doors of death. This is
the voice of the king.”
The maid looked at the king in terror, the very words she
dreaded were the words that came out of King Felton’s mouth. She knew not how
to comfort her Lord and she knew not how to ease his heart. The only thing that
screamed in her heart loudly was that, Should the king pass on? Then the whole
of the Kingdom would be thrown into chaos.
“Leave us,” The king
commanded sternly, “It is time for the politicians to discuss matters of this
Kingdom.”
The maid nodded., and then she walked out of the library.
But she could not help but tremble from her fingers, Because of the state that
the Kingdom will be in the next few days.
The Purpose of The Shadow Brotherhood
Victor smiled as he silently walked the lonely path, he had
a triumphant grin on his face and he believed that nothing could spoil his mood
today.
He accidently bumped into a lady and responded the only way
he knew how, by pushing her away in disgust, he kept on walking towards his
destination, after all, what is good news when one fails to celebrate it. The
sun slowly moved towards its zenith illuminating the world with its enriching
bright light, just as Victor reached the corner of the Lion’s Den inn. A
malicious smile came to his face as he passed the entrance of the inn, towards
the next house, this is definitely going to be an interesting meeting, he
thought as he knocked upon the door.
“Victor! Come in, the meeting has almost started!” the
doorkeeper whispered urgently,
“I see,” victor responded as he allowed the man to escort
him through the narrow corridor and through the opened magical door. The
underground hall was almost filled with all the members of the shadow
brotherhood, and seated at the high table were the seven elders. The members
were numbered up to fifty strong, ready to bear arms of war, this was the shadow
brotherhood in its full strength.
“It is now official, Joel…!” Elder Eden pronounced as a way
of beginning the meeting, “The great Joel is dead, and it has been confirmed as
an assassination, we are all affected,”
“Joel was the star of El-von, and we already Miss his
presence,” elder Zane added, “We need to plan against the unforeseeable future,”
Victor chuckled at those words.
“Silence is the nature of our people, and even in their
heart, to slay such an innocent man as Lord Joel,” a random member decreed
“Even now Joel’s absence is being felt in the kingdom, King
Felton has become weak, weak by the sad tidings of his friend’s death,” the
leader said.
Victor felt it, instead of them to discuss more important
issues like the succession war, they are concentrating on the legacy of a dead
man. “Let us not mourn the loss of one Hero, for others would be born,” he
growled, “Let it be known that now, the throne is weakened, easy for us to
control the crown.”
“By reason the king is weak, should not mean that we should
be as animals,” Robert growled, “we must pay our respects to the dead,”
“It is our purpose to control the crown and not to mourn the
dead, hence,” Victor retorted, “We must perform our purpose,”
“Victor speaks of the
truth, our purpose still remains,” Eden agreed.
“Our purpose is power over the crown, so we must continue no
matter what the loss, elders do you agree, (the elders reluctantly nodded) let
all high ranking officers rise to their feet,”
Victor and five others rose to their feet and they all
looked towards the high table, Victor felt his spirit scream with excitement,
finally, I am going to become the next king of El-von
“Now, Joel Lies Dead,”
Xenon began “Felton is now alone and you are the ones closest to the crown,
gain Felton’s trust, gain Joel’s position, and with Joel’s position we have
access to the crown,”
“And with access to the crown, we have access to power,”
Eden added.
“And with access to power, nothing is impossible,” the
members of the brotherhood said in unison.
“Bring us power” the elders called
“We will bring power to the brotherhood, it is our purpose;
it is the reason for our existence and we will obey,” the five chosen replied
Victor smiled as he silently walked the lonely path, he had
a triumphant grin on his face and he believed that nothing could spoil his mood
today.
He accidently bumped into a lady and responded the only way
he knew how, by pushing her away in disgust, he kept on walking towards his
destination, after all, what is good news when one fails to celebrate it. The
sun slowly moved towards its zenith illuminating the world with its enriching
bright light, just as Victor reached the corner of the Lion’s Den inn. A
malicious smile came to his face as he passed the entrance of the inn, towards
the next house, this is definitely going to be an interesting meeting, he
thought as he knocked upon the door.
“Victor! Come in, the meeting has almost started!” the
doorkeeper whispered urgently,
“I see,” victor responded as he allowed the man to escort
him through the narrow corridor and through the opened magical door. The
underground hall was almost filled with all the members of the shadow
brotherhood, and seated at the high table were the seven elders. The members
were numbered up to fifty strong, ready to bear arms of war, this was the shadow
brotherhood in its full strength.
“It is now official, Joel…!” Elder Eden pronounced as a way
of beginning the meeting, “The great Joel is dead, and it has been confirmed as
an assassination, we are all affected,”
“Joel was the star of El-von, and we already Miss his
presence,” elder Zane added, “We need to plan against the unforeseeable future,”
Victor chuckled at those words.
“Silence is the nature of our people, and even in their
heart, to slay such an innocent man as Lord Joel,” a random member decreed
“Even now Joel’s absence is being felt in the kingdom, King
Felton has become weak, weak by the sad tidings of his friend’s death,” the
leader said.
Victor felt it, instead of them to discuss more important
issues like the succession war, they are concentrating on the legacy of a dead
man. “Let us not mourn the loss of one Hero, for others would be born,” he
growled, “Let it be known that now, the throne is weakened, easy for us to
control the crown.”
“By reason the king is weak, should not mean that we should
be as animals,” Robert growled, “we must pay our respects to the dead,”
“It is our purpose to control the crown and not to mourn the
dead, hence,” Victor retorted, “We must perform our purpose,”
“Victor speaks of the
truth, our purpose still remains,” Eden agreed.
“Our purpose is power over the crown, so we must continue no
matter what the loss, elders do you agree, (the elders reluctantly nodded) let
all high ranking officers rise to their feet,”
Victor and five others rose to their feet and they all
looked towards the high table, Victor felt his spirit scream with excitement,
finally, I am going to become the next king of El-von
“Now, Joel Lies Dead,”
Xenon began “Felton is now alone and you are the ones closest to the crown,
gain Felton’s trust, gain Joel’s position, and with Joel’s position we have
access to the crown,”
“And with access to the crown, we have access to power,”
Eden added.
“And with access to power, nothing is impossible,” the
members of the brotherhood said in unison.
“Bring us power” the elders called
“We will bring power to the brotherhood, it is our purpose;
it is the reason for our existence and we will obey,” the five chosen replied
Julian’s Ancestor
Julian walked the corridor accompanied by twelve Nobles, seven
guards, his younger brother and his best friend Steffen. As soon as they
reached the entrance to the kings private library, Julian alone walked in while
the others waited outside. Julian had over a thousand questions going through
his mind as to why the king had summoned him; those questions vanished with a
poof, the moment he walked into the eerie library. For some strange reason, the
lively spirit that used to dwell within the shelves of the library seems to be
absent or completely void of essence, somewhere within the darkest corners of
the library sat the dispirited king. Julian noticed the shell of the man he
once admired from afar, all the glory and pride that the mighty king of El-von
once possessed is now nothing but a faint memory.
“Come, Julian, my boy,” the king called, “Here is where I
patiently await for you to attend to my needs,” Julian immediately rushed into
the innermost part of the library, hopeful that the king wasn’t displeased with
him.
“Your majesty,” he greeted. “I will always be at your
service,”
“Why do old kings die
so new ones can reign,” The king began philosophically, “Why do fathers die so
their children can take their place, you see my boy when one spirit goes
another spirit stronger comes to take its place,”
“Sire?” Julian
exclaimed,
“I do not speak to
you as a father speaks to his son, I do not speak to you as a king speaks to a
prince. I address you as a dynasty of kings speaking to another; one generation
that has passed, to another generation that will begin,” the king continued,
and for a brief moment Julian could see his old splendour radiate like the
rising sun.
“My lord, I asked not
for the throne and I wish for no crown,”
“I know my boy; I know,” The king countered “But still the
responsibility falls upon your shoulders. Julian did your father tell you of an
old hero called Aragon the slave,”
“Such a tale has never been told to me before,” he replied.
“A king of my lineage bought a slave, his name was Aragon,
he was fifteen at the time and he served as the king’s personal page. El-von
fell into troubled times from the hands of five other neighbouring kingdoms
before the alliance, it was a war that El-von was doomed to lose. Aragon the
slave moved by love for the king who was kind to him snuck into the enemy’s
camp in the dead of the night and killed all five kings, his first kill. El-von
won her war and Aragon was freed as a slave and made the king’s most trusted
servant and captain of the king’s army”
“Yes, and he became El-von’s greatest hero and his children
followed in his footsteps, throughout the generations until now, it was said
that Aragon had the eyes of an eagle, your eyes”
“He was my Ancestor?” Julian exclaimed in shock
“Yes he was,” the king replied, pouring some wine into two
glass cups, do you know what I believe, I believe that one day Aragon would be
reborn and he would become king, my time has ended and yours has just begun.
This is the voice of the king,” giving Julian a glass.
“What words may I use
to refuse your offer? What reason do I give to prove how unworthy I am to sit
on the throne,”
“Say nothing my son, just serve my daughter loyally and
eventually she will submit to you as the true king of El-von,”
“I would refuse her offer,” Julian said sternly
“Yes, you would, but a time would come when you will not. It
would be on that day that she would put your pride to shame and humble your
male ego. That’s what my wife did,” the king chuckled.
“It is true; I am a proud man, sire. Proud of my name and my
family heritage,” Julian replied.
“Protect her, my son,” King Felton said desperately, holding
Julian’s shoulder, “watch her, I desire no wars during her reign, no matter how
brief it is,” He said in urgency, Julian could feel the weakness within his
voice, this is a man who has made peace with death, he is welcoming the dark
nightmare with willing hands. “I trust you; I know you, help my people, make
them strong and keep them happy. I love them, all of them from the suckling
child to the bearers of arms, from the servants to the nobles. They are all my
children; I love them all just as your father taught me and his father before
him now I tell you watch her,”
“I promise by my strength, by my name, by my honour, I will
guard her with my life,” Julian replied with conviction .
“On your knees knight,” the feeble king commanded.
Julian obeyed immediately and fell to his knees before the
king and there the king extracted a small jar of olive oil from his sleeves and
poured some into his trembling fingers. “I anoint you, in the name of El-von
and in the name of all the past kings of this mighty kingdom” then he slowly
placed the oil upon Julian’s head and said, “watch over my kingdom as you would
watch over your own son,”
“I will honour this oath until the day of my death,” Julian
added
“Now rise, You are now the blade placed upon the throat of
the king, if the king betrays his oath to his people, it is your purpose to
strike him down. This was the secret role that your father played, he was not
just my best friend, he was to be my executioner, Should I become a tyrant,”
the king commanded. “And when you become the next king, you must choose another
to play the role of your executioner, should you be corrupted by politics,”
“As your majesty pleases,” Julian replied with a sigh of
concern in his voice.
“You may go,” the king commanded.
“Sire I…” Julian began but was cut short by the king
“You may leave, and watch her,” the king commanded in an
absolute tone, with his back towards Julian. Joel his father had warned him
about the various moods of the king, this one demands solitude, and isolation,
“Please remember your oath, This is the voice of the King.” Julian bowed
once more to the king and left the room with a heavy heart.
He commanded the guards to send for Felton’s daughter, after
all if one is passing on to the realm of the dead, it should be done when such
a person is in the company of a loved one. Two weeks later to Julian’s dismay
Felton’s heart failed and he died, a peaceful death, he was buried in the royal
tomb next to his best friend Joel, the burial ceremony lasted two weeks because
of his royal status, and twenty-one fires were lit in honour of both Joel and
Felton. Two giants that died too soon, the words of Felton burned like fire
through Julian’s heart, as he knew soon the crown would rest upon his head and
not too far away, Victor laughed in all his glee for he knew the throne was not
far from his grasp.
Julian walked the corridor accompanied by twelve Nobles, seven
guards, his younger brother and his best friend Steffen. As soon as they
reached the entrance to the kings private library, Julian alone walked in while
the others waited outside. Julian had over a thousand questions going through
his mind as to why the king had summoned him; those questions vanished with a
poof, the moment he walked into the eerie library. For some strange reason, the
lively spirit that used to dwell within the shelves of the library seems to be
absent or completely void of essence, somewhere within the darkest corners of
the library sat the dispirited king. Julian noticed the shell of the man he
once admired from afar, all the glory and pride that the mighty king of El-von
once possessed is now nothing but a faint memory.
“Come, Julian, my boy,” the king called, “Here is where I
patiently await for you to attend to my needs,” Julian immediately rushed into
the innermost part of the library, hopeful that the king wasn’t displeased with
him.
“Your majesty,” he greeted. “I will always be at your
service,”
“Why do old kings die
so new ones can reign,” The king began philosophically, “Why do fathers die so
their children can take their place, you see my boy when one spirit goes
another spirit stronger comes to take its place,”
“Sire?” Julian
exclaimed,
“I do not speak to
you as a father speaks to his son, I do not speak to you as a king speaks to a
prince. I address you as a dynasty of kings speaking to another; one generation
that has passed, to another generation that will begin,” the king continued,
and for a brief moment Julian could see his old splendour radiate like the
rising sun.
“My lord, I asked not
for the throne and I wish for no crown,”
“I know my boy; I know,” The king countered “But still the
responsibility falls upon your shoulders. Julian did your father tell you of an
old hero called Aragon the slave,”
“Such a tale has never been told to me before,” he replied.
“A king of my lineage bought a slave, his name was Aragon,
he was fifteen at the time and he served as the king’s personal page. El-von
fell into troubled times from the hands of five other neighbouring kingdoms
before the alliance, it was a war that El-von was doomed to lose. Aragon the
slave moved by love for the king who was kind to him snuck into the enemy’s
camp in the dead of the night and killed all five kings, his first kill. El-von
won her war and Aragon was freed as a slave and made the king’s most trusted
servant and captain of the king’s army”
“Yes, and he became El-von’s greatest hero and his children
followed in his footsteps, throughout the generations until now, it was said
that Aragon had the eyes of an eagle, your eyes”
“He was my Ancestor?” Julian exclaimed in shock
“Yes he was,” the king replied, pouring some wine into two
glass cups, do you know what I believe, I believe that one day Aragon would be
reborn and he would become king, my time has ended and yours has just begun.
This is the voice of the king,” giving Julian a glass.
“What words may I use
to refuse your offer? What reason do I give to prove how unworthy I am to sit
on the throne,”
“Say nothing my son, just serve my daughter loyally and
eventually she will submit to you as the true king of El-von,”
“I would refuse her offer,” Julian said sternly
“Yes, you would, but a time would come when you will not. It
would be on that day that she would put your pride to shame and humble your
male ego. That’s what my wife did,” the king chuckled.
“It is true; I am a proud man, sire. Proud of my name and my
family heritage,” Julian replied.
“Protect her, my son,” King Felton said desperately, holding
Julian’s shoulder, “watch her, I desire no wars during her reign, no matter how
brief it is,” He said in urgency, Julian could feel the weakness within his
voice, this is a man who has made peace with death, he is welcoming the dark
nightmare with willing hands. “I trust you; I know you, help my people, make
them strong and keep them happy. I love them, all of them from the suckling
child to the bearers of arms, from the servants to the nobles. They are all my
children; I love them all just as your father taught me and his father before
him now I tell you watch her,”
“I promise by my strength, by my name, by my honour, I will
guard her with my life,” Julian replied with conviction .
“On your knees knight,” the feeble king commanded.
Julian obeyed immediately and fell to his knees before the
king and there the king extracted a small jar of olive oil from his sleeves and
poured some into his trembling fingers. “I anoint you, in the name of El-von
and in the name of all the past kings of this mighty kingdom” then he slowly
placed the oil upon Julian’s head and said, “watch over my kingdom as you would
watch over your own son,”
“I will honour this oath until the day of my death,” Julian
added
“Now rise, You are now the blade placed upon the throat of
the king, if the king betrays his oath to his people, it is your purpose to
strike him down. This was the secret role that your father played, he was not
just my best friend, he was to be my executioner, Should I become a tyrant,”
the king commanded. “And when you become the next king, you must choose another
to play the role of your executioner, should you be corrupted by politics,”
“As your majesty pleases,” Julian replied with a sigh of
concern in his voice.
“You may go,” the king commanded.
“Sire I…” Julian began but was cut short by the king
“You may leave, and watch her,” the king commanded in an
absolute tone, with his back towards Julian. Joel his father had warned him
about the various moods of the king, this one demands solitude, and isolation,
“Please remember your oath, This is the voice of the King.” Julian bowed
once more to the king and left the room with a heavy heart.
He commanded the guards to send for Felton’s daughter, after all if one is passing on to the realm of the dead, it should be done when such a person is in the company of a loved one. Two weeks later to Julian’s dismay Felton’s heart failed and he died, a peaceful death, he was buried in the royal tomb next to his best friend Joel, the burial ceremony lasted two weeks because of his royal status, and twenty-one fires were lit in honour of both Joel and Felton. Two giants that died too soon, the words of Felton burned like fire through Julian’s heart, as he knew soon the crown would rest upon his head and not too far away, Victor laughed in all his glee for he knew the throne was not far from his grasp.
CHAPTER RECAP
Julian's world is shattered by the assassination of his father, Lord Joel, while King Felton, broken by grief and nearing death, entrusts him with a sacred oath to protect Princess Amina and the kingdom. As the Shadow Brotherhood begins its move to seize the throne, the stage is set for a fierce struggle over the future of El-von.
AUTHOR'S NOTES.
Subfura Community Discussion.
- Do you believe Lord Joel's assassination was solely a political move, or is there a deeper conspiracy behind his death?
- What do you think of King Felton's decision to secretly appoint Julian as the guardian—and possible executioner—of future kings?
- Between Julian and Victor, who do you think is currently in the stronger position to shape the future of El-von, and why?
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