2,320 Years Ago
Jha’dor stopped in a little glade after having flown for five hours straight. He had gone further and longer a few days ago, but he dared not risk letting the Shifter’s Curse fall upon him again.
In the clearing lay a little stream where he rested his scaly head in its refreshing water. The heat from his scales made the water simmer and steam, and he sighed contentedly.
If I wasn’t running away from my father, this would actually be rather nice, he thought, feeling the water lap against his face. He couldn’t fit his entire body in as he was too big, but he knew that if he followed the stream, it would more than likely flow into the Kontor River and then into one of the Circling Lakes.
An idea popped into his head, and he hesitated at first. Never had he ever bathed in waters that were not cleaned as they were in Vengoluth Palace. But he settled himself a little more and sighed blissfully, gazing up at the sky. I think I have enough time for a quick swim to cool down and wash up. Granted, it wasn’t the way he normally would wash, but why couldn’t he make an exception this one time? He was—well. He used to be of the royal house. He didn’t know if those same rules applied to him anymore, but surely he could allow himself this brief respite? He doubted very much that his father’s men would know where to find him.
His mind made up, Jha’dor shifted back into his human form, only to fall onto his hands and knees, feeling suddenly very weak. He gasped in gulps of air as he tried to get to his feet again.
“Scorching, Shifter’s Curse. A little swim and rest will go a long way in helping me recover,” he mumbled, his voice muffled a little by the sound of the flowing stream and of the birds who resumed their chirping.
When he took off his pack, though, he paused. There was still that note from Claudus that he needed to read. He glanced at the sky and wondered if it could wait a moment longer for him to recover from the shifter's curse. It’s not like I was followed immediately from Vengoluth, he reasoned. I’m sure I could step away for a moment to freshen up a bit before having to read it.
Setting the bag down, he took off his clothes until they were in a pile on his satchel, roughly fifteen feet from the stream on a little rise. Slowly he lowered himself into the tributary as the freezing liquid sent a shiver up his spine. The water wasn’t deep, only coming about mid-thigh. Grinning, he fully went under, sitting on the rocks and muck, causing him to gasp in shock as the cool water flowed over his skin.
This is so much better than a bath at home, he thought, a foolish grin spreading across his face.
He rested for a while, letting only his head and shoulders peek out above the surface. Eventually, he let himself float on his stomach with a few fingers still gripping the rocks, while the flow tried to pull him away. Looking across the glade, he watched the shadows move across the ground as the sun traveled through the heavens, and it suddenly hit him. He was free! He had escaped from his father, and he could do whatever he wanted. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to bask in the sun’s light. A free man.
He wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point, he noticed his feet were no longer warmed by the sun’s light. Opening his eyes, he looked down to see what had caused the disturbance.
The light from Drahlros’s sun was setting behind the trees of the forest, covering part of the grassy glade and his feet in shadow. Had he really been in the water that long? Sitting up, he inspected himself for the telltale signs that his body had been in the water too long when he froze. Was that… giggling coming from where his pack lay?
Standing up sharply, he glanced around the clearing. Two people were messing around with his bag and clothes! Hopping out of the water, he raised his fists and prepared himself to fight.
“Get away from my stuff,” he said with a growl.
The thieves turned on him and screamed, their voices echoing across the clearing as they raised their arms in self-defense.
Wait, he thought, stopping in his tracks. They’re not thieves; they’re youth.
One was a young man who could’ve just reach manhood. Jha’dor found it hard to tell with how emaciated the boy seemed to be. Beside the boy was a young woman. But unlike her compatriot, she wasn’t nearly as thin. In fact, she looked as if she could’ve been the same age as the boy if it wasn’t for how malnourished he was.
Her red hair gave off an air of authority he didn’t expect, and the feeling threw him off. He had seen too many girls who “looked” older than they really were, and the boy looked to be around that same age. Twelve at the youngest, with long, lanky hair and a tall, gangly body.
The boy and girl continued to hold their hands up in a warding gesture as they whimpered under his gaze.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
They kept their hands up, and after a moment Jha’dor balled his fists again as he took a step closer to them.
“We’re sorry, we’re sorry!” the girl cried out, her accent reminiscent of a commoner. “We thought that someone had just left their stuff in the field and that it was ours to take.”
Jha’dor raised an eyebrow. “And you didn’t happen to see me in the water just feet away from you?”
The this time it was the boy who responded, shaking his head as the girl looked at the boy with wide warning eyes.
“I think you’re lying,” Jha’dor said. “I can clearly see the spot where I was at in the water. So, either you tell me now what you were doing, or I… I…” he let his voice trail away. What could he do? He had no way of enforcing any treat he gave them unless it was by his own hand.
The young woman looked away from her brother and instead of looking up at him again, she glanced down, her cheeks turning red. Why was she blushing? He was trying to threaten them, and she was blushing?
The boy, however, continued to stare defiantly at Jha’dor.
“Fine,” Jha’dor said. Forcing himself to calm down he opened his hands and tried to smile at the children. “Fine. If you won’t answer me, then I have no choice but to turn into a dragon and destroy you.”
The blush from the girl’s face faded completely, and she gasped in surprise. The young man beside her, however, remained firm against him.
“I think you’re lying,” the young thief said in the same accent, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Only the Drahl royals can shift into dragons, and you can’t be one.”
Jha’dor raised an eyebrow in surprise and admiration. This youth had some guts to stand up to him. “What makes you think that I am not a Drahl royal?”
“They all live up in their castles in the mountains,” the youth said, waving his hand towards the nearest mountains that could be seen over the trees in the northwest. “If you were one of ‘em you would have had a carriage, and servants. You wouldn’t be out here walking all over the place.”
“Then I guess you’ll just have to see for yourself then,” Jha’dor said.
He didn’t want to hurt the thieves, but there was something about the young man that made Jha’dor want to scare him a bit.
With a mischievous grin, he shifted, making sure to do it slow enough for him to see their faces as his own rose above them and his body stretched out along the creek and to the bank on the other side. The young man’s face faded from a furious frown to horror ridden as he gapped at Jha’dor. The girl, however, was a different matter. Her gaze changed from fear to wide-eyed adoration. Both fell to their knees and bowed before him and Jha’dor could hear the young man begging for his forgiveness.
Satisfied, he shifted back to his human form, and stood imperiously over them. “May I have my clothes back?” he said, holding out a hand.
The young woman, no longer blushing, quickly grabbed his things from her friend and handed them back to Jha’dor. He opened the bag and seeing Claudus’s sealed letter still there, he nodded in satisfaction. Good, the last thing he wanted was to have to fulfill a threat to some children, even if they had reached adulthood. Putting the satchel down, he got dressed quickly while the thieves looked away.
“Who are you, my lord?” the girl asked, her voice strong and melodic when he was dressed. But the accent was gone, replaced with the accent of one who would hold a place in court.
He paused for a moment and stared at her as she gazed back at him. Those are amazingly green eyes, he thought, amazed by their striking beauty. She could’ve easily turned the head of any royal suitor if she were dressed and cared for properly.
“M’Lord?” the young man said nervously, laying on the accent even harder than he had from the beginning. “We meant nothin by it. We was only trying to find something to sell, or to eat.”
Jha’dor turned his gaze to the would be thief, who flinched under his watchful eye. “I am Prince Jha’dor,” he said, answering the girls question. It seemed that the young woman’s eyes gazed at him harder with his reply, but the boy’s face had turned deathly pale. “I am on a journey to seek… to seek my fortune elsewhere in the world.”
“The Prince,” the young woman said in an almost reverent whisper.
“And who might you two be?”
“I be Ronan, and this be my sis—”
“Laurel, your majesty,” Laurel said, cutting off her brother as she curtsied.
Jha’dor raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That is a lofty name you have there, Laurel. Your parents must think very highly of you.” They didn’t respond, but he didn’t mind, he needed the moment to think as he looked over Ronan and Laurel.
“They did your majesty,” Laurel said with another courtesy. “And his name is not Ronan. His real name is Gaylun.”
“Laurel and Gaylun,” Jha’dor said as he rubbed his chin.
His eyes turned to Laurel, and he was able to take in her golden curls for the first time as the fading sun shone on them. While her clothes had seen better days, now that he knew what to look for, he spotted the signs of refined clothing that had lost its luster, and was perhaps a bit too small.
Yes, he thought, looking her over. She must be around fifteen or sixteen, not quite a child, but neither is she an adult.
And despite her lowly appearance still she stood tall before him. But why? Was she trying to impress him? She didn’t act this way until after I revealed to them who I was. Perhaps she is trying to win my favor?
He looked at her harder, and in her eyes, he knew she wasn’t just trying to impress him. But what else she want? Whatever it was, it was clear that these two siblings were not commoners.
“What brings you to Caltone, m’Lord?” Gaylun asked with the same accent as his sister, breaking the silence and he bowing his head in deference.
“Caltone?” Jha’dor said thinking back to his father's maps of the kingdom and its cities. “I do not recognize that name. Who is the lord of these lands?”
“Lord Grendhas, of house Ruthsar,” Gaylun answered.
Jha’dor gritted his teeth, nearly cursing. Well at least it made sense why he didn’t recognize the name. Grendhas never updated the maps he would send to the king with all the smaller towns and cities that were in his province. Either way, he needed to leave before Arellis and his father Grendhas where told to look out for him. Plus, staying would only take someone spotting him to cause him some trouble.
Someone like these two before him.
“Thank you for returning my things,” Jha’dor said, shouldering his pack. “I’m afraid I will now have too—” his voice trailed off and he glanced at the bag hanging from his shoulder.
“What is it m’Lord?” Gaylun asked, nervously.
Without answering him, Jha’dor felt at the satchel, and when he couldn’t feel his book, he opened his pack. Gone. Turning to the siblings he saw Gaylun’s confused face, but Laurel was no longer looking at him with admiration, but with judgement and… resentment? Jha’dor wasn’t sure, but either way, it didn’t matter.
“Give me the book, Laurel,” Jha’dor said softly, setting the bag against his side and holding out his other hand.
“Why do you have a Drahli Elementalist book?” She asked accusingly.
But she doesn’t deny that she has it. “Bold for a thief to ask the questions when caught red handed,” he said with a smirk.
Laurel’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she stood straighter, adding about an inch to her height. “Give me five sapphires for it, and you can have it back.”
“Five?” Jha’dor said with a raised eyebrow. Gaylun also must’ve been surprised at his sister since he turned to look at her with shock and fear.
While not the primary source of currency in the kingdom a sapphire gem was the second highest denomination among the Drahl royalty after the ruby, however that could change depending on whether it’s associated House was in favor or not with the High King. Currently, Sapphire was the gem of House Ruthsar, and were currently in good standing with the King. It would be smart for her to ask for sapphires as those were more common, too. “Why not one? You don’t think you’re asking far above what the books value is?” he asked with a grin.
“Not at all,” she said with a shake of her head. “The book is blue with silver embossed words, which means it must’ve been expensive to make, and the title says that it was made by the great Drahli Thugin.”
Jha’dor nodded his head. Impressive.
He tried to wrack his brain on any families that may have passed out of favor with any of the High Lord, but none came. “What fallen house are you from?” he asked. “And don’t hide that you’re not. You have already given that much away from how much you know.”
By this point the sun’s light was no longer shining upon them but had started its descent behind the trees. There was still enough light, however, that he saw both Laurel and Gaylun’s faces fall with the declaration that they had been found out.
“We were one of the lesser houses among House Ruthsar,” Gaylun replied. “Our parents were Delmer and Merali. Lord Grendhas,” he paused for a moment to spit at the ground with the mention of the name, “stripped us of our lands and titles when he found out our parents had been making deals with another lord from House Gauguin.”
“Ah, yes. I remember now,” Jha’dor said. Grendhas may not have kept up on the royal maps they would send to the king, but he rarely passed up the chance to show how well he rooted out bad families in the kingdom. Laurel and Gaylun’s family had been accused of trying to increase their standing within the Ruthsar House, which was against Drahl law to increase your wealth unless granted by your House’s High Lord, or by a blessing from Drahlros himself.
Jha’dor opened his mouth to speak but paused as another thought came to mind. “You said your parents ‘were’ Delmer and Merali, are they not still your parents?”
Both Laurel and Gaylun bowed their heads. “They died two weeks ago, my Lord,” Laurel answered.
“Without enough food to feed ourselves they perished,” Gaylun added. “My sister and I have only managed to live this long by stealing what food or money we can.”
“I see,” Jha’dor said with a frown. “I am sorry to hear about your parents deaths, but they were punished according to their crimes. But perhaps their death was too much of a punishment.”
“Too much?” Laurel said fiercely, and in her eyes alight with anger. “If it had been according to the law then we would’ve only been stripped of our lands and titles, but given enough coin to provide for a new home and basic needs. Our parents were given none of that. All that was given were the clothes on our backs and a few scraps of food to live off of. Lord Grendhas has no loyalty to the king, he cares only for how his friendship can line his pockets.”
This time both Laurel and Gaylun spat on the ground with the mention of the High Lord’s name.
Jha’dor’s frown deepened and he folded his arms thoughtfully. How odd to have found someone living in almost the same circumstances that he now found himself in? In many ways he saw a little of himself and Olinar in these two.
He smiled sadly at the thought of his brother. Perhaps he didn’t need to do away with this problem like he initially had thought?
Reaching into his bag he pulled out three thimble sized rubies. He had hoped to go to some money changers to trade them for some proper coins, but he didn’t have to have three rubies for that. Each ruby was easily worth more than what she had asked for. He didn’t know how much things cost beyond the province of his father’s land, but perhaps he could share some of his wealth with this girl and her brother?
Placing two of the rubies back into his pack he held up the third for Laurel and Gaylun to see. “I don’t deal with thieves, and I don’t have five sapphires. But perhaps I can pay you for the mistakes of Lord Grendhas?” Both Laurel and Gaylun stood in astonishment. “I know that this is well over the amount your family would have received to live off of, but I feel it is within my duty to correct this error Lord Grendhas has made.”
Gaylun seemed to come out of his shock first because he said, “How will we exchange that for coins, your majesty? Only those from House Venglath have those. If we take it, then they’ll make us out to be robbers.”
“Hmm, that is a problem, isn’t it?” Jha’dor said, his smile fading. Now that he really thought about it, the only way these two could exchange it would be if he was there to verify his own claim to the money. It would also explain why she was only asking for sapphires. With sapphires, no one would stop them any time they tried to use the money. With rubies they would, unless they traveled back to Vengluth.
Laurel must’ve thought I was here to visit High Lord Ruthsar or some other royal matter, he mused, placing the single ruby back in his bag. If this were all happening under normal circumstances, I would just take them to a local exchange merchant to get coins and sapphires the ruby is worth, but then I would be leaving a trail of witnesses for Father to follow.
It’s bad enough he had let these two see him anymore, and he might as well burn the forest down to show off where he was.
“Why not just come with us, my Lord?” Laurel asked, speaking aloud the very problem he was struggling with. “Then you could prove that we didn’t steal it.”
Jha’dor groaned inwardly. Not even a day away from home and I face hard decisions.
“I cannot go with you,” he said simply after another minute of uncomfortable silence. Both Laurel and Gaylun gazed at him quizzically. “I cannot adequately explain my situation at the moment, but know that I did not wish to bring harm to either of you.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Gaylun said, throwing up his arms pleadingly while Laurel’s eyes widened in shock and fear, sending a pang of regret through Jha’dor. “We don’t want any trouble, your majesty. We’ll just give you the book back. You don’t have to pay or kill us or anything.”
Laurel nodded in confirmation, grabbing the book she had hidden behind her tattered dress and holding it out to him.
“But I am on the run from the King, how will I know you won’t turn me in for a profit the moment his men come this way hunting for me?” Jha’dor said, trying to avoid looking at Laurel’s hurt face. “And since I am on the run, I therefore cannot expose myself to any more people to help repay the debt that is owed to you. The less who know where I have been the better. To let you live leaves a the chance that one of my pursuers can find me through you. Even if I just let you go how can I trust that you tell someone else I was here for a profit?”
“Because would give oaths not to tell anyone,” Laurel said, sounding truly desperate now. “We promise we would not tell a single soul you were ever here.”
“I cannot trust the word of a fallen family,” Jha’dor continued, hardening himself for what he was about to do. “If I’m being honest with myself, it was a mistake to even think of letting you two have a ruby as an act of kindness to begin with. Anything I do would inevitably lead to my father discovering I had come this way.”
“Please, your majesty, we swear,” Gaylun said, getting on his knees and pleaded. “We promise not to tell another soul.”
“But I cannot trust you. Not as a fallen family, nor as the thieves you were about to be. So if I cannot trust your word, and I cannot pay to keep you quiet, then what other choice do I have?” Jha’dor said, preparing himself to Shift.
The color drained from Gaylun’s face with every word he said. By the time he finished speaking, Gaylun looked like a ghost. “Please, Lord, I promise we won’t tell a soul. We’ll leave from here and pretend that we never met you out here…”
Jha’dor smiled sadly at Gaylun, but when he glanced at Laurel, she was standing tall and strong like Olinar had when facing down their father. Impressive. Even in the face of almost certain death, she was still standing tall to her superior.
Gaylun continued to rant and beg for his mercy, but Jha’dor held up a hand to silence him as he continued to gaze into Laurel’s young green eyes. “And what do you say to this?” he asked her.
She hesitated for a moment as she looked to her older brother, whose fearful eyes pleaded with her as much as they had with Jha’dor. “I would like to travel with you, my Lord,” she said, bowing gracefully. “I cannot speak on behalf of my brother and his desires, but if you cannot let me live for having seen you, then at least let me live as your servant.”
Jha’dor thought about the offer before he asked, “And how would you suggest that I care for you? As a servant, I would need to feed you and house you, both of which are things that I can barely provide for myself now.”
“We don’t need much,” she blurted. “My brother and I have been living without a roof over our heads since our parents died, and since you are a shifter, you could hunt for all of us.”
“Hm, I suppose I could make that work,” he mused. “Let’s say that I let you come with me, what is to keep you from running away while I sleep?”
Laurel and Gaylun looked at each other for a moment. The boy turned away, but Laurel returned her gaze to Jha’dor, pleading.
“Pity,” he said when neither of them gave an answer.
“Wait,” Laurel said, her voice tinged with regret.
“We said we wouldn’t do it, Laurel,” Gaylun said to the ground. “We agreed.”
“And that was when Mom and Dad were still alive,” Laurel snapped at him. “If it means we don’t die, I think they would be okay with us giving it away.”
Jha’dor watched as Gaylun gritted his teeth but said nothing. Laurel reached into a pocket and pulled out her fist, tightly clenched around an item. She walked until she was only a foot away from him before holding out both the Drahli book and her clenched fist. Holding out his hand, he watched in the fading light as she opened her hand and… nothing. There had been nothing in her hand.
Looking at her, he raised an eyebrow. “What exactly am I uh… supposed to be holding?”
“It’s our parents' love,” Gaylun said hoarsely, and Jha’dor thought he caught a hint of mockery. “Before they died, they gave us their love to keep, even when they were gone.”
“They said to keep it safe,” Laurel added. “We trade taking turns holding onto it. Bringing it out when we feel we need it most.”
Jha’dor looked down at his empty palm. A part of him wanted to laugh, to scorn them for their childish dreams of love and imagination. But he couldn’t. Not after what he had just gone through with Olinar. Looking at his empty palm, he wished he carried a bit of his brother’s love. Or even mothers for that matter, he thought wistfully. Closing his hand around their imaginary parents' love, his fist suddenly seemed to carry a weight that it didn’t before as he stuck his hand in his pocket.
“Then I will keep it safe for you, and I accept,” he said, surprising them all, including himself. Laurel beamed, and Gaylun stared at him, dumbfounded. “I do not consider this a payment, but as leverage for your good behavior while you’re with me. Perhaps one day I will give it back.”
“We understand,” Laurel said, nodding vigorously.
Gaylun was slower to respond as he stood and watched Jha’dor intensely before asking. “Why?”
Jha’dor shrugged before putting his book away. “Let’s just say that I don’t like killing children and would prefer not to have your deaths on my hands. Is there a place to sleep around here?”
“We’re not children,” Gaylun said as his face darkened. “I am nearly eighteen years old, and Laurel is sixteen.”
“My apologies then, Gaylun,” Jha’dor said, and hoped he sounded more formal as he would when talking to a servant. “Where would you suggest we make camp? It is getting late, and I would prefer to get a good night's sleep to start the day early tomorrow.”
Gaylun and Laurel looked at each other and nodded. “We know a place where we can stay,” Gaylun said, pointing westward. “There is a hill not far from here that has a small cave. Laurel and I have been using it for a while.”
“Is it near a village?”
Laurel shook her head. “We only recently came to this area. We tried with our parents to settle in Isola, but too many people recognized us and wouldn’t help.”
“So, we came out here to get away from those who knew us,” Gaylun finished for her. Our parents died in Isola, and I didn’t want us to stay as beggars, so it seemed best to head to a different city or town where no one would know us and might be more willing to lend a hand. We have been camping in the cave for a few days now and had gone out hunting when we saw you bathing in the river. Since we didn’t see you shift and thought you were a simple traveler, we decided that if we couldn’t catch any food, we could steal some coin for a meal at the next city.”
“A reasonable assumption,” Jha’dor said, following them in the direction Gaylun had indicated. “So there must be a town close by if you were planning on being there soon.”
“Yes and no,” Laurel said. “We’re close enough that it’s within a day’s walk, but not close enough for you to have seen the town from the air unless you were flying very high. If we couldn’t find anything hunting, we were planning on heading that way tomorrow.”
“What about you? Where were you heading?” Gaylun asked.
“I do not know yet, but I suppose now would be a good time to find out.” Reaching into his satchel as they walked, Jha’dor pulled out the scroll Claudus had given him and unrolled it.
Jha’dor,
I hope this finds you well, and that you safely escaped your father. I have a friend whom I know well and would encourage you to stay with until things cool down. I don’t know how High King Allumin will react when the Arcosians show up looking for you, but it will be better that you’re far from here when that happens.
My friend will be hard to find as he likes to move around a lot, but during this time of the year he can be found living in a hut on the outskirts of the Nazar desert by kingdom's borders.
I know that this will still be precarious having you so close to enemy lines, but it was the only way to keep you safe. I have sent a message to my friend, although I do not know if he will get it before you arrive. If he shouldn’t, then tell him that Aruden sends his regards.
Stay safe and study that book.
— Claudus
PS Avoid flying too high in the open sky. It is Drahlros’s realm and will make it easier for the Arcosia to find you. Stay low and travel on foot when available.
“Well, it looks like we’re going to the border of the kingdom, to the desert of Nazar,” Jha’dor said, after reading the message.
“Why so far?” Laurel asked, her eyes going wide.
“I have a friend I need to meet there,” Jha’dor said thoughtfully. “Let us reach this cave of yours. Then, once I have hunted for some food for us, I will tell you of my flight from the King, and you can decide whether you still wish to follow me.”
Laurel and Gaylun looked at each other before continuing to lead him through the forest.
Within half an hour, they made it to the base of a small hill. The siblings told him the cave was further up, so they hiked up the hillside while the light continued to fade. When they finally reached the cave, the sun’s light was all but gone, and only the shadowy outlines of trees and mountains in the distance were all that Jha’dor could see.
“Do you have a fireplace?” Jha’dor asked, searching for any sign of a pit.
“No,” Gaylun answered to his right. “We have neither flint nor steel.”
“Then how were you cooking your food?” Jha’dor questioned.
“We didn’t. We mostly went hunting for berries and other wild fruits,” Gaylun answered.
This won’t do, Jha'dor thought, shaking his head. These kids are malnourished and starving. If I don’t get some food in them soon, then I’ll never make it to the edge of the kingdom.
Of course, he could just abandon them. They were starving and would be dead soon. He didn’t have to kill them; he just had to let nature run its course and they would die within a few more days, if not a week or two at most. Then he would be free. Free to go at the speed he needed to get to this “friend” of Claudus’s.
A weight seemed to settle in the pocket where he had stored their parents' love. Throwing his hand into his pocket, he could’ve sworn that he felt something in there. Guilt weighed down on his shoulders, and he sighed. He couldn’t leave them. Despite his need to move quickly, he couldn't abandon them, not after he had accepted responsibility for them. He had told them he wouldn’t kill them and that he would treat them as servants, and well… he would hold himself to that.
“I am going hunting,” he declared, walking to where he had enough room to shift. “While I am gone, I want you to collect what dry wood you can find. When I am back, I will light a fire to cook our dinner.”
Without waiting for a response, Jha’dor shifted into his dragon form and flew out over the trees.