Chapter 77

77 Chapter 7All the way back to Blackmount Aurora complained about the traitors living underneath her roof. These servants were the ones who sent Aeryn the details of her meetings with her grandmother and the spells they read all day. “Traitors! I want them all questioned and stripped off their cause. I can’t be served by traitors” she kept on whining.

“I shall have my kingsguards question them” Artemis told her.

“No, I want to be the one to question them. I can tell when someone is lying, and you can’t”

“Alright...” Artemis seemed so tired, all the way back to the capital he didn’t say a word. The royal carriage is usually filled with laughter, jokes and sometimes when the roads are smooth and the horses aren’t juggling much, they would make out like teenagers.

Aurora noticed it “What’s wrong husband?” she asked with a look of concern.

“Deagol, that’s what’s wrong. He’s still a boy but filled with hate towards me, I fear that... he may strike a rebellion against the crown. He holds the wealthiest house in Maldonia, I may have my mines and golds but House Horriss -”

“He doesn’t have a claim to Sweet Waters throne and once I give you a son or a daughter, all this will come to pass. His father didn’t have the claim nor will he, besides he will die in moon turn”

At first Artemis didn’t seem to be interested in the conversation, but then suddenly he sat firmly with his eyes widened with amazement. “What did you say?” he asked.

“My grandmother taught me this spell... before we left and I recited it silent when I came into contact with him. His soul is dark, full of vengeance and that scared me. But then I had a dream last night and I saw him dead...”

.....

“On his bed?”

“No, in a desert surrounded by rotting corpses with vultures feeding on him”

Artemis gasped “The battle of Stonedance” he said but it was more like a question because he wasn’t sure of himself. “That’s where there’s a desert. Why would he go back to the desert?”

“I don’t know, but my visions now are as clear as a reflection of water. The herbs and the spells have really done a wonder on me, that’s why I still need my grandmother with me husband. If we are to know about the next war, then I need her”

“I remember once you told me about your mother. You said you had a dream and she told you to follow her in a moor land when the moon crescents, do you still believe in that?”

Aurora paused to take a breather, she reached out to Artemis and kissed his left cheek. Then like a baby seeking comfort of her father, Aurora placed her head on Artemis’s chest and sighed. “The moor land is our language Low Moor, and the moon crescent symbolized the dragons which my people rode for centuries. My grandmother translated the dream for me and it wasn’t my mother who I dreamt of, it was her”

“Do you believe in this dragon story? It sounds too ancient to be true, and if they did exist then it must have been hundreds of years ago”

“Would you ride with me, when I claim one?” asked Aurora cuddling Artemis tighter as if a toddler feeling cold and Artemis wrapped her in his strong arms.

“No thank you, I shall stick with horses”

They both chuckled softly as the royal carriage passing through plains, forests and villages making its way to the capital. The caravan was huge and it caught the attention of every folk who saw it passing through. Some of them would accompany it while screaming “King Artemis” with yearning desire to see him. Most of the villagers in the forests were poor but they all had dreams of moving to the capital Blackmount, the biggest city.

The minute they arrived in the palace, Aurora instructed the riders of the royal carriage to take them to Aurora’s Hill – her castle close to the bay and the waves of Silent Sea bounced on the tall walls of the castle. Aurora summoned all the servants inside the castle, her grandmother Visenya helped her with the questioning.

Two of them were caught lying, they worked for the princess and they were also the ones who exchanged letters with her.

“What is she paying you?” asked Artemis.

One of them who was named Rubi replied “She threatened to burn my mother’s hut with her inside if I don’t tell her what was going on. And she...” Rubi busted out crying.

Aurora wasn’t fooled by Rubi’s fake tears “Do you believe me to be a witch?” she asked her with a serious look on her face.

“No Your Grace, I... I only told her that you were reading with your grandmother”

“Reading spells? Is that what you told her?”

“No, I -” Rubi kept on crying while her friend seemed to not have anything to say. Later on, Rubi’s friend agreed they were indeed sending letters to Aeryn and telling her all about the teachings between Visenya and Aurora.

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That same day Rubi and her friend were exiled from the capital and forced to the villages outside the city. Artemis also warned them if they spread any more words, he will have their tongues. The problem was aborted but still Aurora felt unsafe hence she fired the remaining servants and ordered new ones. “Let’s have outlanders from now on, they should not be Maldonians” she said to her Queensguard.

Now back to the Green Mountains and the grueling marching which left most of General Haul’s men worn out. These mountains were stiff, stony and freezing. The winter was upon them and the mountains were usually impregnable during winters. However, they made it and they mounted their horses and kept on racing towards the gates of the kingdom.

General Haul wasn’t aware of what was going on in Stonedance, nor was he informed and all he knew was the plan was still in the picture. The one person who knew the plan was ruined was Lucian Mithandir when he saw an army of five thousand men on horses racing towards the port while raising a Prophisian sigil.

“We are fucked!” he warned his men. ‘Ready the ship, ready the ship” he screamed and the sailors raised their curtains and readied the ship to sail.

The two thousand men who were assigned to protect Lucian Mithandir were shocked and unaware of what was happening. The orders were to protect the king while they wait for their team to win, but since they were being ambushed by Prophisian men it only seemed that they lost the war.

Right there, the men rounded themselves up and their general gave instruction on what to do while in the meantime the ship was ready. Five hundred of them were crossbow men and they readied their arrows, when “Release!” order was given, the arrows flew high above the sky and fell upon Prophisian men.

This battle was later know as Battle of the Port, and it saved Lucian Mithandir who when the army led by Lord Aubrel arrived at the port, he was already in the middle of the Silent Sea. Lord Aubrel wasn’t so lucky though for he died when an arrow fell upon his neck and another one on hi chest.

Even though they were outnumbered, Lucian Mithandir men won the Battle of the Port and it was because of their arrows. Even before arriving at the port and fight, Lord Aubrel had lost half of his men who fell of their horses and died. The arrows were poisoned and hence even the ones who were shot on their legs or shoulders, died because of the poison.

Lucian Mithandir looked on as the ship sailed and the strong winds were on his favor. A tear dropped on his left eye as he watched the whole cause crumbling before his eyes. A cause with a century in the making, he had enough man and strong allies but then the results weren’t what he expected.

To Doha the ship was set to travel to, by the time he arrives in the Arabian desert his son will be Seyyid perhaps it was time he prepared his son to be a good Seyyid while he failed to be King. He may have failed to be a good father but he was sure going to be a good hand of the king just like how he served Seyyid Khalifa bin Suleiman.

After the battle was won, all five thousand Prophisian men were dead. Some were washed ashore, and some in the main land. Five hundred men who defended Lucian Mithandir were left and they argued whether to go back to Stonedance and fight, or flee the battle. No one joined the battle in the Stonedance and they raced back to their wives and children after all the port was near to Maldonian border.

But they did take Lord Aubrel’s head to House Horriss, however when they arrived there Lady Burchad told them that Lord of Horriss, Deagol had taken men and he was already in Stonedance. That’s when they told the Lady of Horriss that Battle of Stonedance was already lost and Deagol might die.