Fate Rides Wicked: Volume I of the Lerilon Trilogy (42 page)

Now that all of the southern armies had passage north,
the mission took its time. So it was that they sat, a full
month later, under a cloudy sky, the wind whipping their
finest cloaks, above a dirty city. In the distance, the Ocean
of Destiny met the harbor of Lakak, the capital of Lake.

Tych pulled his cape tight around his white armor.
“Lake’s army is without a leader. The king is dying after
fifty years of tyranny. The prince is also sick but wants the
suffering of his people to end. What they both need is
somebody they feel is powerful, to offer their leadership to
Lake’s army. That is why you were all provided with chain
mail in Polentair. In the king’s eyes, I am to be a great
warrior with an impressive escort of soldiers and knights.
Flandroke and Ubilitare have left us until the Feast of
Growth. Ride with helmets on, weapons drawn and
evident. We will fight our way in if refused entry. Let’s
ride.”

Tych rode on an all white horse and wore a white
helmet. Lendril and Sir Xalt followed close behind in gold
armor. Sir Xalt wore Cert’s royal cape, Lendril her own.
The rest of the group wore all silver chain mail with silver
helmets of basic design. Within minutes the group arrived
at the closed city gates.

A leather-armored man stepped out from behind the
gate. “Who...” he started to say. His mouth fell open,
silent.

“I am Tych di Corl. I hear your prince looks for a
general for his armies. I am the man and I must see His
Majesty.” In a booming, unnatural voice, he said, “Open
the gates and let us pass!”

In a very unmilitary manner the guard fumbled for keys
and finally came up with them. Liquid ran down the inside
of his armor and he scurried away as the riders entered,
breaking into a gallop immediately. In five minutes they
reached the castle gates. Never before had so many people
stared at them and they had never seen streets as dirty as
Lakak’s.

They paused at the gates. “We will see His Majesty,
Prince Kylo immediately! Open the castle gates before I
have to break them down.”

A guard appeared above the wooden doors. Fear
rushed to his face. “Who...who are you and what do you
want?” He seemed a little braver than the first one.

Tych responded, “Do you still need somebody to
organize and lead your army?”

“Y-y-yes.”

“I am Tych di Corl, greatest warrior on Lerilon. I am
here with my men to fill the position. Now open the
gates!”

When the gates had closed behind them, the expedition
dismounted and followed Tych into the castle. A line of
very large men waited outside the throne room doors. As
Tych and his men came by, they moved aside to let them
pass, few of them actually wanting to win the position.
Near the end of the hall, one man stood with hands on his
hips. He towered two feet above Tych and wore a thick
beard.

“Who do you think you are?! Wait your turn warrior in
white,” the giant shouted.

Gaylin sang as Tych pressed the tip against the man’s
chest. “You might as well go home. We’ve survived the
passage of death and other things you’d have died doing.
We are the only choice.” Several of the candidates were
headed for the door of the castle as the giant tried to push
Gaylin away. With a swift spin, Tych planted a
roundhouse kick in the chest of the giant. He crashed
backward through the doors and landed unconscious in the
middle of the runway to the throne. The rest of the
candidates left.

Tych took three steps forward and planted his feet
shoulder width apart. He raised Gaylin as the others came
up behind him. The current candidate fought a forangen in
a deep pit in the middle of the huge throne room. The
battle stopped when Tych entered.

The sick prince stood from his throne, rage and fear
mixed on his face. “Who dares violate my throne room and
rules?”

Energy crackled all along Tych’s armor and leapt from
Gaylin. With a booming voice, Tych sent all the watchers
scrambling. “I am Tych di Corl and I would lead your
army. If you refuse, I will take your kingdom.”

The giant from the hall had recovered consciousness.
“I would challenge him to prove his worth.”

The prince began to limp towards Tych with his cane.
“On what grounds do you claim your superiority?”

“I too am a prince. I right now have the command of
the armies of eleven kingdoms of Li, plus the armies of the
non-human races. Every one of my guard has survived the
Passage of Death. On these grounds I make my claim. But
there is one more thing.” Tych removed his helmet and the
forangen in the ring screamed in fear. Bolts of energy
arched from Tych’s body and struck the pig-man, leaving
behind ashes. “Forangen fear me more than death or their
master.”

“What would you choose, giant?” The prince had
finally made it to the two men.

“I do not fear him. I would fight him.” The man
crossed his arms. “We will wrestle one fall.”

The contender in the ring climbed out with some help
from nearby soldiers. “What about my claim?”

Tych smiled. “To settle all doubt, I will fight both of
you at once, without armor on.”

“If you can emerge victorious, the command of my
armies is yours,” said the prince, and he began the walk
back to the throne.

Tych’s opponents lowered themselves into the ring and
began to scheme while the prince removed his armor. In a
few minutes he wore only a brown cloak belted at the waist
and kneehigh boots. He refused the offer of the rope and
jumped the fourteen feet into the pit.

Tych landed in a crouch, a man on each side. They
came at him and he jumped. In mid-air he spun like a top
and kicked each in the face with his right foot. They
stumbled back against the walls. The prince of the endarils
paused.

The attackers charged again. Tych jumped up again but
they ducked low. The giant slammed the endaril in the
groin with his fist and the contender hit his leg. The silver
and gold guard showed no worry as their leader bounced
off the wall and landed in the corner.

Tych resolved never again to make the same mistake
twice. Sending healing energy to his injured areas, he
stood and turned to his opponents, blood running from cuts
on their faces. He waited for them to make a move again,
this time ready for a more aggressive counter-attack. The
humans nodded at each other and rushed him. Tych
blocked a blow by the giant. Turning to the contender on
his left he dropped to one knee under his blow and placed
his fist in the man’s groin. The contender stumbled away.

The giant’s kick landed in Tych’s hands. Holding on to
the human’s ankle with his left hand, the endaril lunged
into a right hand to the face. Dropping the leg, the prince
placed a knee in the giant’s groin. The contender came at
him from behind. At the last second, Tych spun and placed
a kick in the belly of the onrushing man. Both of the
endaril’s opponents crouched in pain, the giant in front, the
contender behind.

Tych decided to test his opponents’ conditions. He
started celebrating, raising his hands in triumph. The two
attackers jumped up and charged low. Prepared for this,
the endaril leapt in to the air and did the splits, kicking each
in the face. Upon landing, he rained kicks and punches on
the giant until he slumped against one of the walls,
unconscious and bleeding.

The contender jumped on Tych’s back, knocking him
against the wall. Quickly, the human placed two blows to
the prince’s kidneys. Pained and pinned, Tych spun,
bringing the back of his hand to the contender’s face.
Another wound opened up in the bruised face of the
human.

Tych said, “When you’ve had enough, let me know.”

The contender wiped blood off his lip with his sleeve.
“Bring it on silver-man.”

Tych and the human squared off. For a few minutes
they boxed, each landing minor blows. Then Tych landed a
right to the belly of his opponent and followed with a left to
the face. Refusing to let up, the endaril knocked the human
out with a blow to the chin.

Blood rolling down his face from a cut above his right
eye, Tych took one last look at his opponents and turned to
the prince. With a short run he jumped into the air, did a
flip, and landed on his feet on the edge of the pit. “Send
somebody in there to help them. I wouldn’t want anybody
to die from this.”

The prince nodded at some nearby guards, who climbed
into the pit with bandages. “Prince Tych di Corl, if you can
assemble my army, it is yours to command. If I die, you
will be responsible for appointing my successor. Go get
started.”

“It will be as easy as this,” said Tych and his armor
started floating towards him. Without lifting a finger, he
put on all of it with his mind. Then Gaylin strapped itself
on. With a bow of courtesy, he walked around the pit and
out the door, the expedition following.

For the last month of autumn, the group rode through
Lake, first north then towards the south, crossing the
kingdom repeatedly. In each town Tych came to be called
the warrior-in-white. They spent enough time in the
villages to make life miserable for the criminals of the area.
Before they moved onward, they always posted signs that
read:

The Army of Lake
is now under the
command of the
Warrior-in-white,
Prince Tych di Corl.
Gather in Lakak
on the first day
of winter, the
Day of Darkness.

Every sign bore the royal seal of Lake and carried the
Prince’s signature. All across Lake, thousands of men
made ready to travel to Lakak. Armories went back to
work, preparing for the new army.

Two weeks before the Day of Darkness, Tych led them
to their last objective as an expedition: Murlan. The clouds
fell to the wind and the rain stopped. Wet and tired, they
crossed into the final kingdom.

Fear looked down at Unlo from his favorite perch atop
Mount Efre. He watched part of the remaining portion of
Unlo’s army struggle to emerge from a skirmish with a
large group of forangen. The mounted humans had little
advantage in height over the towering pig-men. A smirk
spread across his face as the tide finally turned in the
Unloan favor and it became a slaughter. In only a few
more minutes the field turned from brown to green, the
blood of the beasts staining the field.

Fear stood and walked down the side of the cliff,
defying gravity. In a few moments he arrived at the cave
where the other twelve prepared for the next ride of The
Thirteen. He walked past them and into their stone home.

Prejudice stood and followed him in. “It’s about time
you returned. A lot has happened while you traveled to the
other planes.”

“Yes, our brothers are still chained to their rock, unable
to unite with us once more.”

“You idiot! That is not what I am talking about. My
area of duty has taken a severe blow. Eleven of the
kingdoms are gathered on the Field of Scars, and their
kings are working together. Not only that, but most of the
races are interacting like there never was any prejudice
between them.”

Impatience had come in. “When does it happen?”

“Both of you, control yourselves. Prejudice, I give you
permission to practice your trade among the humans not in
the armies. I think you’ll find a group willing to rebel
against a unified kingdom. We must not interfere with the
defeat of Rangdor, or we might prevent Tych’s victory.

“Impatience, just wait. Your time will come.”

The first night in Murlan, Tych paused on his guard to
look at the two moons winking at him through the broken
clouds. Lendril came up behind him and snapped him out
of his nostalgia. “Who’s going to train Lake’s army?”

“You, Loktaro, Wiltev, Aquendar, Xalt and I. The
others will travel north with my final battle plan. I have a
special idea for Lake’s army. And you.” Tych smiled at
his lover.

“Stop, lover, you’re exciting me. What about Cert?
Where will she go?” Lendril didn’t look directly at Tych
for the question. She and Cert enjoyed each other’s
company.

Tych shrugged his shoulders. “Corl is in charge of her
until she reaches 150. To tell you the truth, when it all
comes down, I want her in the Hidden Kingdom. She
doesn’t know how to protect herself.”

“I’m only 146.”

“There’s no comparison. You’re an experienced fighter
with special powers of your own. Cert’s never had to fight
twenty forangen at once or a demon. She’s faced xadineft,
but we outnumbered them two to one.”

Lendril sighed. “You’re right, My Prince. I just hope
she doesn’t think differently or we could break her heart.”

Tych decided he should be a wizard in Murlan, so he
wore only his white cloak. He rode a white horse as they
galloped through the streets of Murlanak. They had been
questioned in every city but none had turned hostile or held
them for very long. Now, after three days in Murlan, Tych
dismounted in front of Castle Murlanak. He rapped his
staff on the wooden doors of the castle.

“Who visits Castle Murlanak that finds it necessary to
knock first?” The voice came as if out of nowhere.

“Prince Tych di Corl, Princess Lendril di Rutif,
Princess Cert di Corl and their escorts. We have a request
for the king.”

The doors swung open and there stood a man in a
brown robe. “We don’t often get royalty in Murlan.
Please, follow me.” Valets came and took their horses,
their eyes wide at the sight of silver chain mail, as rare as
the colors in the military bands of the kingdoms.

Ofeldar whispered to Aquendar, “Murlanak feels safe
with Lake’s lack of an army and Evil’s relative quiet next
door. It must be nice.”

“But boring for a soldier.” Aquendar smiled as Ofeldar
laughed.