Sentria: The Knight Prince (Book 1)

Chapter Twelve: Stay Gold

We left the Gossamer Inn soon after breakfast. I thanked the innkeeper personally and told Captain Ral to give him an extra gold piece for his trouble. The innkeeper received the gift as if he had been given the keys to the kingdom. It was easy to forget how much  currency means to people who don't have much of it.

We rode for a few more days through the beautiful green Summerlands that shined in the daylight and simmered at dusk. Eldwyn and I talked to one another and listened to the Stargonian Knights sing  battle songs in between, and we stopped at another inn night. It became a comfortable routine. On the third day, I took it upon myself to teach Eldwyn about the land. The Summerlands were our first line of defense against an invasion from the north. The middle of the region was separated by the Whitestone Wall that stretched across the continent from the coastal Indigo Ocean and through the region of Balgore. It was built over two centuries ago when the Summerland fought against Rainn in the Western War. Rainn was the smallest northern kingdom but made up for it by its brutality. They were callous and shallow people, like Cordath, and their loss led to years of poverty for its people in what's referred to as the Fall of Rainn.

There were many castles in the Summerlands, none of which were as great as Sentria or Stargon or Loria, but good in their own way. They had lords and ladies, but no kings or queens. There was Dreambrook, Hornswallow, Florentine, Kane Keep, and Hargrave. Each kingdom was known for a different service, whether agriculture, masonry, or anything in between. What these houses lacked in funds they gained in dense military might. The lands themselves were fertile and rich in livestock, but all of it was owned by Sentria. The bulk of the profits were given to my kingdom and shared with Stargon for them to  maintain their military efficacy. The people in the Summerlands lived simple lives, free from the hard decisions of the main kingdoms. They benefitted from the riches of my kingdom and the safety the system provided.

"Have you been to any of them?" asked Eldwyn, cutting me off mid-sentence as I described the birds that gathered around Hornswallow Castle.

"I have not," I said. "There's hardly been a reason to venture outside of Sentria and Stargon."

"But you will be their high king in a time. Shouldn't you know who you lord over?"

I shrugged at his question and said, "I hadn't much thought about it."

We continued down the Golden Trail to the Whitestone Wall and Captain Ral showed the gatekeeper the proper documents that allowed us passage. Eldwyn and I marveled at its majesty. It was made out of pure whitestone that seemed to make the natural gold and green of the land surrounding it that much brighter. There were archers lined along the tops of the towers, always on guard in case the north ever decided to strike again. That notion was growing more likely by the day.

"How long did this take to make?" asked Eldwyn.

"Decades, Eldwyn," I said, looking back at it as we passed it. "Sentria funded it and they've been in debt to us ever since."

"When will they be out of debt?" asked Eldwyn. 

"We finance their weaponry, and castles, and fabrics. Sentria is the lifeblood of the Summerlands and will be so for as long as it stands."

"Can't they provide for themselves with their farmlands?"

I bristled at his idea. Something else I had never considered before. "It is a civilized concept, Eldwyn. I wouldn't expect you to understand it."

The Western Valley was but a few miles from the Golden Trail and the company of knights stopped along the side of the road for us to depart. Eldwyn and I went with Captain Ral and his most trusted second, Arden Masters, a handsome, Black young man with dark, wavy hair. I rode with Captain Ral and Eldwyn with the knight Arden upon their horses. In a short time, our green surroundings turned to sand. A distinct feature of the Summerlands, this dry oasis in an otherwise lush place. The wind picked up, swirling the yellow grains all around and obscuring the trail. abruptly to a  trail that could hardly be seen.

"How do you know your horse will be here?" asked Captain Ral.

"I don't know for certain, but it's my best guess," I said, thinking fast. "He was headed in this direction when I was with him last. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"No apologies necessary, your highness. No other steed rivals that of the Sentrian horse. I had to make captain to get mine."

"I've never been to the Western Valley," said Knight Arden from the horse next to us. He was close enough for us to mostly make him out. "I've wanted to go. It's an exalted place. I've heard stories about it ever since I was a pup. There's never been a reason for us to come before, but now we have the High Prince's approval."

"I'm glad I could be of service." I smiled at Knight Arden, though I doubted he could see me.

The trail led us to the Paean Mountains, two mountains that made a narrow valley with high walls. They were nowhere near as massive as the ones found in the Mountainlands, but they had a somber eeriness to them. Spilling out from the entrance was a fog that was too thick to see through. Many believed that this had been done by Isla, the Goddess of Peace, as a constant remembrance of her grace and mystery.

"We will go it alone," I said to our knights when we came to the valley entrance. Eldwyn and I hopped off the back of our horses.

"My High Prince," said Captain Ral, staring at the fog. "I  would advise against this."

"Thank you for your concern, but these are my orders."

Captain Ral nodded to Eldwyn and we walked into the valley carefully, as if at any moment something would grab us and we'd disappear forever.

"What drew you here?" asked Eldwin, holding onto his side of the wall.

"I do not know," I said back, holding onto the left.

"Was it the wind that called you? Or perhaps a bird sang into your ear."

"All of life isn't a poem, Eldwyn." 

"You still believe that, even after the dove?" Eldwyn asked.

"The dove didn't fly where I had sent it. It never reached Sentria. It went to Blackbird in the Tarkarus Mountainlands. That's on the east side of all places."

"You are right. It found its way to the Stargon knights who were much closer and could get to us much faster. Your connection is real and you have the power within you to harness it. All you must do is claim it."

"I am not a relic. I am a royal." I reached out through the fog, clasping at nothingness. Special things were happening around me, but they weren't emanating from me.

Just then, I felt tough, leather straps and saw that I had in my hands the reins of my horse. "I found you," I said breathily. I petted my horse's face and stared into his black eyes through the sandy mist. I didn't know how much I had missed him, not just because he was a Stargonian horse, bred for power and speed, but because he was my horse. He meant something to me.

"You should name him," Eldwyn said, smirking.

"What?" I asked.

"You haven't given him a name. Now that you've traveled all this way, you should honor him as something more than your animal."

I thought for a minute. I had never named anything before and it somehow seemed like a great task to do so.

"Brio," I said firmly.

"Why Brio?" he asked.

"It's a story from my childhood. I will tell it to you one day, Eldwyn."

We returned from the mist between the mountains on horseback—on Brio. Eldwyn was behind me holding fast to my waist. Captain Ral and Arden Masters looked at us curiously, as if we had come from the depths of the underworld with a firehound.

"High Prince..." said Captain Ral.

"Let's be on our way then," I said, and we headed back to regroup with the company of Stargon knights.