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Chapter 4

Richard

I was floating on water, my body was weightless. A gentle warmth surrounded me, taking away the burdens of life and the waking world to offer me a small respite. It was in here that I heard the whispers, too low for me to understand them but enough to break me away from the trance I was in. My eyes struggled to open. My eyelids were like lead weights while the whispers grew in strength until I could recognize a familiar grave voice.

“Yo— —ce...— Gra—...You—...—ace.” It would call and sent my mind running with possibilities. The warmth that surrounded me seeped into my body, a bright light filling my eyes before a wooden wall appeared before me, the galloping of hooves came from close by.

“Your grace, are you listening?” asked the gorilla in front of me, dark brown eyes framed by gray skin. His eyes bore into me with worry and suspicion while his hands clutched a wood table where sheets of paper rested.

“No, sorry, I was lost in thought for a minute there.” I admitted, my lupine ears folding into my skull in a show of repentance.

“I see. It is true that there’s a lot that could be weighting in your grace’s mind,” the gorilla conceded, caressing the wooden staff that laid by his side, “I understand that it can be distracting. But those things are precisely why you must do this tour your grace.”

“I know Cole, more than you can imagine but I still worry. I feel like there’s something hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike.” I hid the nervous energy of my silver-furred hands by smoothing the wrinkles of my coat and gave the gorilla a tired smile. “Have we gotten any new from Dax?”

“Yes, your grace. We got a report from him in the last town.” The gorilla shifted through the mountain of papers by his side, the rustling of papers filling the room until the simian offered one to me, the surface filled with crow’s neat writing. “He says he found a few unusual focuses of magic near the capital. He promises to check them out by week’s end but he doubts they will be dangerous.”

“Hmm, I see. I hope it turns out to be nothing. It could be disastrous that close to the capital. Was there anything else?”

“No your grace.” The gorilla took back the letter and stored in the pile with a smooth move.

“How about the northern front? Have we gotten any updates?” I asked Cole after a few seconds of silence, muffling the worry in my heart. It wasn’t proper for a king to show worry.

“We got a report from the Knight Commander. He and General Herrera have engaged the invading army a few times since the last report but it’ll be at least a couple weeks before the Knight Commander can return to the capital.”

My ears went up at that comment. My tail stiffened behind me, worry nibbling the edges of my mind. Did I dawdle too long to respond? Were their numbers too great? Could it be a distraction? My doubts whispered in my ear, memories of the last wars flooding my mind. Blood. Death. Curses. Despair.

“Did he say why that is?” Cole looked through his papers once more, his brow scrunched in concentration as his eyes scanned the pages.

“I’m afraid not your grace,” he announced after a few minutes of searching, “The same goes for the general’s report. Maybe they thought it was too dangerous to send through mail, your grace?”

“Yeah, tha—” any further comment was cut short as the carriage stopped suddenly, the broad shouldered gorilla fell from his seat and landed on my leg. The impact forcing a grunt out of me, followed by stream of apologies from the prone ape. My ears shot up as the horses whined in protest and the grave voices of my knights ran through the air.

“Who goes there? Why do you dare to bar our way?” a rough voice shouted in challenge, a hard edge in his question. The answer, if there was any, was too low for my ears to catch yet the shout that came from the knights reached me clear as day. A loud impact came from the front, the carriage trembling for a few moments before the shouts of the knights resumed. The crash of metal on metal rang clearly and the air turned heavy and thick moments later. Cold dread clawed at my back, sinking deep into my flesh. The sounds of battle grew dimmer in my ears as a nauseating presence from outside filled my mouth with a bitter taste. It was wild and hungry, covered in a cloak of hate that consumed all. The cries of my knights brought me back to the present, where Cole was clutching at my legs with desperate strength. I used the pain to ground myself and muttered old words from a time before the realm. My voice rang heavy across my whole body, a large warmth pouring out of my hands until they connected with little dots of resolve, fear and hope.

The connection set, I kept chanting to provide the knights with as much strength as their bodies could handle. The experienced knights fought bravely, I could feel that much, but whatever enemies we were facing, whatever forces that poisonous presence had come with, were gaining ground. The line broke moments later, the first of my knights was slain, his anguished cry cut through the battlefield and stabbed my heart. Yet I didn’t have a moment to collect myself, for an agonizing burning settled in my right arm. My clothes burst in green fire, patches of my fur were burned to cinders as well until a sickly looking brand appeared over my skin. The pain broke my hold on the spell, three screams followed before they were cut with a gut wrenching crunch. I focused on the magic again and supported my knights, knowing not much time was left for us. I looked down at the shaking Cole, twin streams of tears running down gray skin. I bit the inside of my lips, the ferrous taste of blood painting my tongue. I smeared my thumb in the vital liquid and drew a few symbols on the frightened gorilla’s forehead.

Another cry ran out as the life of one more night was stolen, only two remained and their exhaustion was clear through our bond. There was only one thing I could do for them and with great pain in my heart, I sent them a final surge of power, sealing their fate. Then, I cut that connection and grabbed the shaking Cole by his shoulders. A different chant spilled from my lips, the blood on his forehead shone a deep silver and the gorilla’s own prayers reached my ears. Two loud screams rang through the air moments after the spell was complete and the shape of the gorilla started to fade in front of me. I leaned in to him, bringing my lips close to his ears and whispered.

“Tell them what happened, that something bound me here and that they defeated our knights.” Only the upper half of the gorilla remained as something pounded on the door, the wood groaning with every hit. “Take the papers with you and live a long life Cole. That’s an order.”

I pushed the now ghostly papers in the gorilla’s hands, his brown eyes filled with dread and shame. The door bend with the next hit, splinters flew through the air and dug into my skin. A growl left my throat and I shoot to my feet, hiding Cole from whatever was assaulting the door. The door succumbed moments later, the wood split in half to let a huge furred fist in. The fist opened to show dark claw tips that shone like iron, with one swift pull the remains of the door were torn from its hinges, showing form of a golden furred bear. His metallic armor covered in gore from the battle. His body was thick like a wall and tall like a tree while his face wore glowing red eyes and a cruel grin.

“Hello, your Grace.” he said with a rough rumble, his hand clenching around my branded arm. Pain shot through me, as if a knife was cutting through my bones. My legs buckled and my knees crashed against the floor. The bear laughed mockingly as he pushed me out of the carriage with a mighty pull. “We have to talk.”

I woke up when the ursine’s paws were closing around my neck. My frantic eyes searched the room, the phantom touch of those wicked claws still tickling my skin. The cover of darkness turned every shape into the cruel bear and made my heart beat wildly in my chest. It was only the first of many nightmares.

Waken

The jingling of my armor accompanied my every step, the heavy chainmail making any attempts at stealth useless. I walked down the labyrinthine corridors with confidence, the path to my goal clear in my mind even with the added detours I took to shake off any spies. I couldn’t fail Darrien again. A few minutes later, an oak door stood in front of me. Its frame was heavy, thick bars of iron crossed its surface and the faint coppery smell of magic hung in the air. I scanned my surroundings once more to be sure, one hand resting on the pommel of the mace at my side, but after a few seconds with no signs of company I pulled out a key and opened the heavy door with a click. A soft groan came from the hinges as I stepped into the large room, the clicking on my hooves muffled by a thick maroon carpet while the scent of sandalwood hung heavy in the air. I closed the door behind me and saw it meld into the stone once I turned the key. Safe from outside intervention, my shoulders relaxed a little and a huff of relief left my nose. My eyes searched around the room, roving over the large bookshelves that covered most of the walls and the long tables covered with piles of papers until they landed on the two forms guarded by large towers of books and papers.

Neither of them moved as I approached them, nor when I cleared my throat politely. The crow was hunched a thick old tome, his fingers moving across the paper with reverence and mumbling something under his breath; the dragon, on the other hand, grunted in annoyance as she scribbled furiously on a piece of paper, a few sparks of lighting dancing over her brass skin.

“Dax, have you learned anything new? Dax, can you hear me?” I asked with a grave voice, my tail trashing behind my back, but only silence answered my question. I let out a loud snort that went unnoticed by the pair, the familiarity of this situation only feeding my annoyance. I approached the crow and gripped his shoulders with a tight hold. The archmage let out an unbecoming squeak, purple motes of magic flying from his fingers and filling the air. The dragon rose her muzzle, sparks dancing across her teeth until her eyes widened in recognition. Her mouth closed with a click and her tail whipped the carpet with a muffled thump. The crow himself was quick to gather himself as I took a seat at the head of the table.

“For the gods’ sake Waken, you almost sent me to the next life. My poor heart can’t take those surprises anymore,” the crow complained, smoothing his feathers, “I swear, youngsters these days, sneaking around poor old mages. In my days we would have turned you into a squirrel.”

I raised an eyebrow with amusement, seeing my mirth reflected in the dragon’s eyes, the beginnings of a smile showing on her lips. My tone was light when I replied, “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t do that even in your days Dax. Forced transmogrification has been illegal for much longer than you have been alive, after all it was you who taught me that.”

The mage puffed up in response, glaring at me with his piercing eyes. “You have my apologies either way but I did try to get your attention, and as you know, I’m not very sneaky when I lug all this metal around.”

“You have our apologies as well Knight Commander, these last four months have been trying.” For a moment the dragon’s defenses lowered, her drooping shoulders and dull scales revealed the exhaustion underneath her facade. “Keeping the king hidden hasn’t been easy neither, many spies have been trying to find his location since we announced his recovery.”

“Do you think they all work for the Circle?” I asked with venom in my voice, anger burning hot in my heart against the scum behind this crisis. “We could beat the location of their leader out of them, put an end to them once and for all.”

“It won’t work, most of those spies belong to the other noble houses and it would be hard to know which ones support the Circle and which ones are loyal to us. If we trap the wrong ones then their true spies will be wary of us and that’s even more dangerous for us.”

“So what are we supposed to do? Just keep waiting and hope the king gets better?” My fist banged on the table and my eyes glaring daggers at the noble. “Or do you want us to give the kingdom to the Circle already?”

“I never said such a thing but we can’t go bull-rushing our way through danger and hoping we hit gold. You already tried that and so far, we have only gotten our king back, no sign of the leaders of those bastards.”

“And what have your efforts go-”

“Enough! Waken, Evanise, stand down. There’s no need for this.” Dax cut in, his tone severe and sharp while his sharp beak posed ready to strike, “It’s been a chaotic time for us all. We’re all tired and worry, but we cannot start to fight among ourselves; there are too many things at stake for us to have that luxury.”

I huffed and leaned back on my chair, grumbling under my breath while I crossed my arms. My fur rose with the static that danced across the dragon’s body until it was dispersed.

“Good, now that we have reached an agreement. Let’s get down to business. Evanise, have you found anything at all about the Circle’s movements?”

The dragon’s jaw clicked a few times before she spoke with an elegant and proud tone, her interlaced fingers resting in front of her, “Though the location of the leaders has remained hidden from us so far, a few captured spies have revealed us that there’s going to be a major movement in the following weeks. They don’t seem to know what it will be but I’m sure we could turn it to our advantage.”

“Can we trust their word on that one, couldn’t they be trying to fool us?” asked the crow, his hands caressing the underside of his beak.

“There’s always that chance, sure, but their movements all seem to support this movement. Whatever it may be,” replied the dragon, her tongue sneaking through her lips to taste the air.

“We also hit them hard in the past few months. No matter how many agents they have, they should be running ragged by nowm” I chimed in, the memories of the battles crossing through my mind.

“I’ll keep looking for more information but I still believe we should move the king,” insisted the dragon, her eyes shining with power. “As long as he’s here, there’s a chance one of the spies will find him.”

“And if we go to the mountains and we’re attacked, we’ll be shorthanded. Any major deployment of our forces would betray our hand. If he remains in the castle we have the whole garrison and the castle to protect him,” I countered, my arms tensing as I snorted.

“There’s also the issue of the curse to consider Evanise. If he’s here I can easily monitor him. If he were to be taken far away, it’ll be much harder to find a cure for his majesty and let alone applying it.” Dax waved his hands in the air and a copy of the king’s room appeared before our eyes complete with the human. The young man was hard at work checking every part of the room, searching for a way out, just like my king would do. My mouth dried at the sight, the cursed form of my old friend split my heart between hate and sadness, especially when parts of Darrien shone through. I cleared my throat, pushing through the emotions to focus on the problem at hand.

“Have you learned anything new about it?” I asked with a tremble to my voice. The dragon and the crow shared a single look, regret clear in their eyes. The noble looked down to her papers and continued her writing, this time with less zeal.

“I’m afraid not Waken. Though we have identified the curse and have studied extensively there’s been few mentions for a counterspell for it. Magic of this kind is extremely delicate and if it were to backfire when it is tied to the king’s body, mind and soul.” A heavy silence hung in the air as the crow’s words bounced in my mind; a bitter taste filled my mouth. Images of the consequences flashed through my eyes, each one worse than the other. “I can’t even imagine what price the caster had to pay for this curse, blood alone wouldn’t be enough.”

“So, what do we do? Can we even do anything?” my eyes searched the crow’s, desperate for any hope I could cling to.

“I’ll keep searching, some of the old tomes may have more hints about this curse’s nature. If we can find a few more clues about it, I should be able to do something about it.” The crow placed a hand on my shoulder, a soft humming came from his throat. “Don’t falter Waken, the king still needs you. We’ll find a way, magic has come a long way since those ancient times.”

I gave the crow a nod and got back to my feet, my hand idly caressing the mace at my side. “I’ll return to guard the king then, I’ll inform you of any changes.”

“Please do, Waken. Please do.”

A dark cloud hung over my thoughts as I traversed the maze-like corridors of the castle; strong yellow light shone upon the floor from little crystals perched on wide stone columns. Bright colored paintings decorated the walls, their shapes moving at the edge of my sight, a feature Darrien had always been fond of. A sharp prick of sadness dug into my heart, my eyes moistening with tears. I swallowed the knot in my throat and willed the back the tears, conscious that I couldn’t crumble in the middle of the castle. Not when the king was gone and everyone looked at us for direction. I bit my cheek as my legs carried me away from the most populated areas and traveled through the lesser known paths that connected the large castle. Only a few servants crossed my path and none stopped their tasks to follow me. After many twists and turns, I arrived at my first objective, an abandoned part of the castle where the warm light was all but gone and dust kicked up with every step. I walked carefully on the cracked floor, the stone groaning under my hooves, and sneaked into a darkened room with little trouble. I let my back rest against the cool stone, sliding down its length until I rested on my knees. The tears came flowing them, the weight of the ordeal hitting me in full force.

Back when the king had disappeared, I had thought there couldn’t exist a feeling worse than the constant fear that haunted my days and nights. I had followed every clue, questioned suspect and worked until exhaustion claimed me every night. The only respite I got from my self-loathing. When news of the king’s whereabouts arrived, I was the first to deploy and the last to return. The weeks that our search took where a living nightmare, my stomach burned with worry and made meals a pathetic affair. Each night, alone in my room, I’d ask Father for advice, hoping some of his wisdom would provide the breakthrough we needed but, like Darrien, his words were gone. By the time we found the Circle’s hideout, I was a real mess and everyone in my troop knew it but still they stood by my side. The memories of that day are painted with blood and death; our fury rained upon the devils that stole our king and we withstood their attacks like an iron wall. It should have been a joyous victory, like those from the tales of old where good and evil faced, yet there were two things that marred our triumph. The first one was the escape of the enemy commander, that bloodthirsty bear that fought until his body was mangled; then there was the second and most important of them all, the man we had recovered, the fruits of all of efforts, wasn’t our king but a pale shadow of him. That vile revolting curse had taken my closest friend, my truest companion from my life, leaving only a sadistic gift from the circle in its stead.

I cried my heart out, safe in the solitude of the abandoned room, the lack of social duties allowed me to lower my walls and focus on myself. My mind was a stormy mess of thoughts and feelings. Memories of happier times mixed with the snippets of conversations I had with Darrien, and those in turn guided my thoughts through darker paths. The king had always been strong in the face of adversity, a rock for all those around him but to my eyes, his facade of confidence didn’t work. I had felt the trembling of his hands when we reunited again back at the cell, the uncertain and painful twists to his words and the hint of fear in his scent. Dax couldn't notice them, his mind was consumed with the curse and his eyes saw only hints to its unraveling. Only I could see it every time we stole some minutes away from the curse, whenever his eyes searched mine, asking his failed knight to protect him. During his darkest hours, I could only offer him the comfort of my presence and a shoulder to cry on. There was one thing however that hadn’t change since the beginning of this nightmare: my fiery anger. Anger at the Circle for unleashing this monster on us, anger at the world for forcing one more burden on us, but the true target of that anger was me. I hated the rashness that took me to the front when he needed me, the sluggishness of my limbs when I returned and, above all, I hated my utter powerlessness in the face of it all. I knew the others didn’t say it to my face out of pity but I could see well enough through their lies. Guarding the king throughout the day, organizing the royal guard during the evening and trashing in my bed at night. They were only a diversion to keep me from rushing off again and ruining their plans. I was too wild for their tastes, too angry to be of use and to my great regret, I couldn’t deny any of it.

Half an hour later I left the room, rubbing my muzzle clean of the evidence of tears, my mind much clearer than it had been all day. I sped down the hallways to make up for the lost time, navigating through the castle’s endless corridors to pick up the king’s food. With the trays in hand, I roamed the castle in random patterns until a dark red door stood in front of me. I spoke long forgotten words with a rough voice, a sound like a shattering mirror reached my ears and the door opened with a groan. The human inside the room stood up from the bed with jittery moves, his eyes red and the salty smell of tears clear in the air. My heart broke at the sight, the sorry image of the human reminding me there was another victim of this tragedy. I stepped into the room with an easy thread, giving the human time to gather himself before I started another day of silent suffering for us both.