Sentria: The Knight Prince (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Six: At Peace

The trees were thicker here on the other side of the portal, and smaller too. Eldwyn wanted to see to my injuries, but I was most concerned for Brio. I've lost him again and I couldn't stand it.

We searched all over for my horse through most of the night. I was afraid to call his name too loudly for fear the Stargonian soldiers would hear and know of our location. We pushed past branches and bushes and no luck was had. But by serendipity, or perhaps some other mysterious force, we found something else; Eldwyn and I had wandered into the Village of the Wind. 

The trees surrounded the area in a protective circle, light brown walls and huddled tightly together, like a crowd would gather in my kingdom for a performance of a famous bard who had strolled into town. Within the circle were at least ten tents, twenty wooded homes with gardens and animals roaming around freely, a tall windmill, and a small holy house in the center. It had a quaint kind of beauty that I didn't often see. It made no illusions that it wanted to be some grand kingdom and that made it special, untouched by vanity.

There was a nearby hill to the south and kids playing on a draping willow tree near the center of the village. They swung from the vines, released their grasps at the peak, and used their wind abilities to gently float back down. It was like a dream made real. The relics around us were all brown-skinned like Eldwyn and they were awfully pleasant. Some hard dark markings on their faces, symbols from olden times, and a few of them had horns protruding from their faces of varying lengths.

I couldn't stop myself from staring, but they didn't scare me. These were Eldwyn's people, and if they shared even a fraction of what made him special, then they were good and deserving of my trust. This pleasant distraction didn't last long as I remembered the chaos we had just come from. I could still hear the clashing of swords ringing in my busy mind and Captain Ral's perplexed face as he held himself back from a deed he didn't want to commit. Most of all, I remembered Brio.

"My horse," I said, looking at the forest as if he would break through from the tight trees and lick my face. "I need to find Brio. We need to go back."

"No, prince," he grabbed my arm to keep me from running off. "We cannot go back now. We must go forward. The wind tells me so."

"But how will we find him?" I asked.

"We will take care of that," spoke a shaky yet strong voice from behind me.

I whipped around and raised my sword that was still in hand, ready to strike until I saw that it was an old relic in a long blue robe there before me. He looked at me with weathered eyes, the eyes of a windstorm. He had bags under them and yet he didn't seem tired. He seemed so full of life that he almost radiated light.

"Murton!" screamed Eldwyn as he jumped in his arms, hugging him so tightly I worried that he'd break the old relic.

"I'm so glad you came, young one," said Murton, rubbing his back tenderly.

"This is the noble knight Darren from the southern realm," said Eldwyn, backing away and rubbing the tears out of his eyes. "And Murton is the wizard of our village. He is my master and the strongest wind relic in all the land."

I extended my hand to Murton. "I am High Prince Darren of Sentria. It's an honor to meet you."

"Knight Darren." Murton stepped past my hand and embraced me in a hug that was surprisingly comforting. I never didn't receive much of those. "Welcome to the Village of the Wind. I will have a group of three search for your horse. They know the forest and its ways well. Rest assured, he will be returned to you in perfect condition. I can see you're tired from your journey and we have just made our morning meal. Perfect timing as it always is."

Murton called over three relic women and told them that Brio was lost. They left at once into the Winding Forest and I worried that they wouldn't find him with their limited information and the strangeness of the area.

We walked further into the village behind Murton and passed by relic families going about their lives: children were playing, relics hung clothes from clothing lines, there was a man sweeping, and another tended to a garden. They waved at me with lovingness in their eyes as if I were a relic myself, and I waved back cautiously, as if at any moment they would realize that my family was the reason for them being out here, banished to the strange forest. Guilt struck me as I witnessed the effects of my ancestors and I stopped waving. I locked my eyes forward and ignored my surroundings.

"Are you fine, Darren?" asked Eldwyn. "Brio will come back."

"Thank you, Eldwyn." I smiled at him, not letting on that my worries were not singular, but had compounded. Sometimes it felt like all life was suffering and then I looked at Eldwyn...

Two relics next to the door of the chapel played bull horns and everyone stopped what they were doing and walked towards it in a gathering mass.

The villagers recognized Eldwyn and they gathered around him, picking, pawing, and hugging him. It was strange and seemed terribly invasive until I realized that I had never been greeted so lovingly. I had been given respect from my bannermen and commoners deferred to me out of fear, but never love.

We entered the chapel, just barely big enough to fit everyone in the town, and stood in line to get our food. They didn't have servers, it was a free-for-all. Pots of steaming potatoes, soups, and salads that had the freshest vegetables I'd ever seen. Once we made our plates, we sat at a circular table among the other circular tables and ate our food.

Unceremoniously, and while many were still talking, Murton stood up and spoke: "This is a joyous occasion, our Eldwyn has returned to us and for that, we have a reason to be thankful. We also have a new visitor to our village. He is a noble knight from the southern realm. His name is Darren and he has been with Eldwyn protecting him on his journey. Make sure you give him your blessings. It is Bronte's will that we are neighborly to outsiders. It will bring you closer to him when all is said and done."

"In Bronte's name!" They all said in unison and raised their mugs of grape juice. Then they threw their head back and drank from them.

"Thank you for that, your grace," I told him.

"There's no need for such titles, call me Murton," he said with a smile. "We are all equal here. There are no kings and queens in this humble kingdom. I shepherd them because I am the oldest, but soon I will be gone from this world and the next will take my position, and so on and so on. That is the way of the world."

After our meal, Eldwyn, Murton, and I walked through the villages' dirt paths. Relics were practicing their wind abilities, meditating, or conversing on matters with pleasant smiles. Disagreements didn't seem to exist there, they were all in accordance with one another as if they shared the same mind. I imagined that this was how it had always been. Centuries ago these very scenes had taken place before Sentria had ever been a thought, and I smiled briefly before yet again realizing that their numbers had been greatly diminished because of my people.

I did my best to not be too forward, but I felt the darkening presence of the Oblivion Witch covering me. We were closer to the black tower, so close that I could see it clearly, and I knew that the final battle would soon be upon us.

"Your gr—Murton," I said, "We are on our way to the tower of the Oblivion Witch. I'm sure you've been made aware. We would like your help in knowing how to defeat such an evil."

"That will come in time," said Murton, looking at the tower as if it was just an ordinary structure. "For today, let us relish in the peace. A battle exists within us all. Your actions during these quiet times decide what the future holds for you."

Unable to control myself, I said, "Peace won't be enough to sever the Oblivion Witches' head from her shoulders," and I immediately regretted it.

Murton laughed so hard that he had to hold his belly. "It certainly won't. This is about your mind, young knight. If you don't have a good grasp of it, you won't stand a chance at winning. You must be at peace with peace. You must be appreciative and know what you're fighting for before you fight. Love the way things are as they are and accept the changing times."

I looked up at the tower and agreed with him out of respect, but I didn't believe him. I wanted something I could use, not philosophies about life.