Children of Fire and Sun: The Rebellion (Updates Resume From July 2024)

Chapter 6: Remus (Æscford)

"Your words are your greatest ally, and your worst enemy."
— Rhaelle Desher, queen consort of Namiona.
~•~

The journey from Domhnall castle to the edges of the Æscford woods that crept close to its borders took three and a half days on horseback.

With the blessings of the Maiden, a hundred men, including the Aureate Shields and the elite guards of the Crown Prince, accompanied their leaders to join the search for Lysa Trellis. They carried banners from both houses, a parade of carmine and crimson that waded through the sea of green. A sight to behold without doubt.

At the head of the procession, Remus rode on a chestnut mare, dressed in the silver armour of his house. His chest plate bore the dragon sigil of his house, decorated with rubies and emerald. The pauldron bore an intricate pattern of scales tinted with the slightest hint of gold. A broadsword hung by his side from a dark leather scabbard.

Beside him, Maysa rode upon a black stallion. She wore a golden armour with the Memor sun etched upon the chest plate, and in her arms was the formidable Sunfyre. It was a spear, her weapon of choice. It was over four cubits tall with a polished bronze body. The spearhead itself was made of Domhnallain steel, whose tip glinted in the sunlight.

"We should be able to reach there by nightfall," Maysa said, her eyes fixed on the sandy path in front of them. "Perhaps earlier, if we can ride at this speed."

"Lord Eni and Lord Trellis will meet us halfway through, won't they?" Remus asked. "Or that is what they said."

Maysa nodded, the curls of her hair dancing in the breeze. Remus reached over and put it behind her ear with a mirthful smile. She too glanced at him with eyes that danced like the sun's rays that illuminated their path.

"Without that spear and armour, you would be like a nymph," Remus said. "A little dryad sitting by a stream, her hair adorned with flowers. You would have had many admirers who would frequent that stream to glimpse your face. I tell you, my sweet, being in the forest suits you."

"The tales you spin, Remus," Maysa rolled her eyes. "Where do you get the inspiration for them?"

You. It was on the tip of his tongue, yet he bit back that reply. Instead he replied, “Why not? Being in such a pleasant scene ought to make one think of such things.”

"Oh, but I was thinking about certain wild creatures, if I must be honest," A mischievous sparkle glimmered in Maysa's eyes. "Like a certain bear with whose presence we will soon be graced."

Remus could not stifle his laughter. "By gods, Maysa, that is a vivid picture you paint."

Maysa shrugged in an exaggerated manner, causing some of their men to look towards her with smiles on their lips. They rode in silence, words no longer needed in the face of the shared ease, that which extended from the leaders to their followers. Leaves rustled. Light and shadows played a game of hide and seek.

At that moment, all was well in Remus and Maysa's world.

~•~

Edmund Eni was indeed a bear.

Such were Remus's thoughts as they rode into the encampment. Twilight had drenched the woods in a gentle darkness. The skies were a deep blue with a splash of purple, accompanied by hints of yellow and orange. A gentle breeze blew overhead that made their banners flutter.

At the middle of the settlement in the woods were the two lords, astride upon their own steeds. While Janus Trellis was of the same height as Remus, a little over four cubits, Edmund Eni towered over them all by four and a half cubits. Accompanied by the muscular bulk of his being, the tousled shoulder-length hair and the bushy eyebrows, the comparisons between the man and the bear of his house's sigil could not be more apt.