Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series (40 page)

Legon heard the sound of running water. The path met
up with a stream, which they followed down into a surprisingly
green valley. The turf was short here but still green despite the
heat. He saw irrigation canals, telling him that the greenery was
not native to this area. They met up with what must have been the
main road into the valley, and he realized that this was not where
the Precipice was. This valley was more like an antechamber for its
larger brother.

They approached a corner of the valley with large
cliffs on either side that left only room for the road and stream
to pass. Warmth blossomed in his chest as they entered the main
valley. It was vast, and at the far end was a set of buildings,
most looking like they were made of wood. To the right of the
buildings was a stone fortress with four towers and to the left was
a large dome-shaped hill. It was covered in green turf and looked
out of place. It was a perfect half circle on the horizon, almost
as if it was manmade, and Legon wondered how it came to be that
way. The road they were on meandered around the valley, which
seemed to be barren of farms and houses. He asked Arkin why this
was.

“There is base housing for those whose families are
here but they’re to the rear of the valley so those families can
safely leave to Manton in case of emergency.”

“Shouldn’t there be guards or something?” Sara
asked.

“Our arrival is expected, and from what I hear
exercises are going on today. But there were guard posts in the
canyon that you didn’t see. I’m sure we will be joined soon. Also,
keep in mind that this is a large valley and most activity takes
place on the other end.”

As if in response to this, Legon heard the sound of
horses trotting along in the distance. Three men wearing wooden
armor approached them. They didn’t look unkind in the least bit,
and after their past experiences, Legon was expecting a bit more of
a hostile welcome.

“Are you Arkin’s party?” the leader asked.

“Yes we are, we seek asylum fo-”

“We know. You have no need for formality. We’ve been
expecting you. I assume you got caught in the rain?” the man
asked.

“Yes, we did,” was Arkin’s reply.

“Well I’m glad your lot is all right. Shall we go?
The boss wants to meet up with you before you go talk to the
Elves.”

Arkin gestured with his hand and they followed the
men. They skirted along the hill and gradually they saw more and
more people. While there were no farms here, Legon saw people
herding sheep and cattle. Indeed, it had appeared to be an empty
place until they reached the hill; now it was just as busy as any
town. They saw a large wooden building that Legon figured was the
barracks. Behind the hill were neat rows of cottages with little
yards and fences.

The men leading them seemed to enjoy giving them a
tour on their way in, explaining that the cottages were for
soldiers with families. Instead of staying in the barracks, the
wives and children could live on base with them. This was also good
because it provided a civilian staff to help run the base, from
cooking and cleaning to tending the livestock.

There was a small town center that they rode by,
closing in on the four-towered building. Somehow it seemed too
small to Legon, but he wasn’t sure why. It just didn’t look like it
could fit all of the men that must live in the Precipice.

They approached the gates and dismounted. There were
two men standing at either entrance of the building. They didn’t
seem to notice them walk by. Instead of being led into a courtyard
like he expected, the entrance led to a staircase and halls. This
was more like a business center than a fortress, he thought. Sasha
shared his disquiet, wondering at the capability of the human
resistance.

The ceiling was high and above them was a chandelier
made of ram horns. The interior was dark wood with a scratchy
looking rug on the floor that the soldiers wiped their feet on.
Arkin sent a mental message saying that this was an entrance rug
and that you were to wipe your feet on it to avoid dirtying the
rest of the building. They drug their feet obediently, losing any
filth from the road.

As they reached the top of the staircase they entered
another small hall, at the end of which were two large double doors
with three men standing guard. Up to this point he had only seen
wooden armor, but these men had the expensive chainmail and plate
armor.

The guards opened the doors and their escorts
gestured for them to go inside. The room was large and dark, lit
only by a granite fireplace on the right side of the room. On
either side of it were two bronze fish whose tails wound toward the
fire, reflecting the light across their bodies. Above the fireplace
was a green banner. In the center of it was the powder blue outline
of a triangle. On the triangle was a fish in the same color, its
head and tail curving up. This banner was not Iumenta or Elf; this
was for one of the few great human houses that were left. There
were rumored to be only five outside of the Queen’s control.

Legon looked to his left, glancing over a desk and
noticing two figures stooped over a table with a map on it. One had
shoulder-length brown hair; the other’s hair was long and silver.
The one with the brown hair had an average build; he held up a hand
telling them to wait. The other with the silver was thinner, and
Legon suspected he was an Elf.

They turned to look at the visitors. Legon’s
suspicions were confirmed as the silver- haired man looked at them.
Legon was surprised at just how young the Elf looked, not appearing
to be more than twenty five. His face was thin with a good jaw
line, a small nose, and almond-shaped eyes that matched the silvery
gray of his hair. He looked like an artist’s masterpiece. Legon
fought to keep from smiling as he became aware of the mental
chattering going on between Sasha and Sara. Legon heard the girls’
hearts race. He knew the other Elf could hear this as well, and
that Sara and Sasha would be mortified if they knew Elves could
hear that well. He decided not to tell them now.

The human spoke. “Welcome. My name is Enrich,
representative of house Posein. This is Mantic. He is our Elven
liaison.”

Mantic bowed his head and focused his view on Legon,
just the hint of a smile at his lips. Up to this point Legon hadn’t
been worried about the Elves. They were the good guys, after all.
But still, he hadn’t met one before and he wasn’t sure what to do
or how to act. He knew almost nothing about their culture—his
culture now.

Mantic spoke. “Legon, you will have many questions,
I’m sure. We have only a few things to attend to here and then you
will be taken to see the Elves and be given quarters there. In
fact, we would like to offer our hospitality to your whole
party.”

Legon felt a nudge from Arkin’s mind telling him that
he was supposed to answer.

“Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to meeting
others of my kind.” That felt awkward.

Mantic gave a deep sigh and smiled at him. “You
remind me of your father…and mother. I am sorry that you have been
away from us. House Evindass still mourns his loss.”

“House Evindass?” Legon asked, feeling dumb.

Mantic looked surprised but then recovered. “You
haven’t been told?”

“Oh, I know I’m supposed to be the Everser Vald if
that’s what you mean.” He knew it wasn’t, but better to look
uninformed then just ignorant.

Arkin spoke. “No, he doesn’t. It was not my place to
tell him.”

Mantic nodded. “Thank you for your discretion, Arkin.
Legon, I am sure that you are aware that there were once great
houses that ruled over the humans?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that same system still applies to the Elves.
House Evindass is one of our great houses, one of the twelve ruling
houses. And you are the heir to that house.”

Sasha showed her amazement and disbelief. “Legon is
noble?”

Mantic turned his gaze to her. “I am assuming you are
Sasha, and yes he is. As his sister, you are as well.”

“But he was adopted, and I’m human.” Sasha said.

“And you share a connection stronger than family, and
in adopting him he did the same for you. Our people will treat you
accordingly.”

Mantic paused for a moment to look the group over.
This wasn’t how they had planned on doing this, and it was obvious.
From the lines under Enrich’s eyes Legon figured they had waited
through the night, hoping for the storm to lift and their guests to
arrive.

He decided to break the tension by changing the
subject. “This is a very nice, ah, base that you have here.”

Enrich smiled. “Thank you. We like it. We are sorry,
this was not supposed to…well, we sent your welcoming party home to
get some rest about an hour before you arrived.”

Sara laughed, cutting the mood. “Well it’s good to
see the world is still working the way it’s supposed to.”

* * * * *

Keither just wasn’t surprised by this information.
Legon had to be something special. He had turned into an Elf for
crying out loud, so why not be noble as well? There wasn’t anything
all that amazing about the Elf either, though Keither was a little
perturbed by how taken Sara was with him. He had a weak connection
with the others so he didn’t think she knew what he was thinking.
They were exchanging small talk now, waiting just long enough to
leave without being impolite. He couldn’t help himself.

“Excuse me, but is that a map?”

Enrich looked at him, puzzled. “Yes, why?” Then he
corrected. “You haven’t seen a full one before, have you?”

“No, just of the empire. The Queen doesn’t allow
anything else,” Keither said.

“Hoelaria is no Queen. She is just a regent as she
well knows.”

There was defiant anger in Enrich’s voice and Keither
thought he heard him mutter something about a usurping whore as
well. Talk like that got you executed back home, but now…

“Sorry, yes. The usurping whore won’t let us see
maps,” Keither said.

Enrich laughed heartily. Keither wasn’t trying to be
funny; he just wanted to see the map.

“I like you. Ah, let’s see, you must be Keither,
right?” Enrich asked.

“How did you know my name?”

“Arkin’s reports. Yes, you can see the map if you
like.”

Keither stepped up to the table and pried at the map.
It wasn’t a map of all Airmelia like he thought but only of the
immediate area. Manton was just southwest of them at the end of a
fjord. To the northeast was a line indicating where the border was
and the main road that led here. From Manton there were roads
leading all over the place, some moving to the Elves lands and
others just south leading off the map.

Mantic spoke. “Keither, Arkin says that you have a
good mind. May we get a demonstration?”

This was a bit of a shock. An Elf wanted to test him?
Keither would understand if Mantic wanted to see what Legon could
do, but him? What benefit would that be?

“Ah, ok. Sure,” Keither agreed.

Mantic walked to the map and lifted it, revealing
another one underneath. This one was a broader view of the land and
he saw more cities, many running along the border to the Elves.

“What do you see?” Mantic asked.

“Well, I see a lot of cities and towns along the
border with the Elves, and I see that all of those roads lead back
to Manton and other cities. All of the other cities are in the
usual spots; rivers, lakes, big bodies of water. But the ones on
the border are situated with Elven dots on the map.”

“And what does this tell you?” Mantic pressed.

“That the human resistance relies on a lot of
supplies from the Elves. No surprise. This land must be hard to
farm, mine, and defend.” Did he say too much with the last
part?

Mantic looked at Arkin. “You are right about this
one. Who is in charge of him?”

Who was in charge of him? Were they asking who was
going to take responsibility for him? Had he screwed up? To his
horror, Legon spoke.

“I am, and he is a good man.”

“We see that. Do not worry, we would like his
opinion. Keither, if you were Hoelaria, or more important her chief
warlord Parkas, what would you do with a large part of your
military on the border?” Mantic asked.

Surely they knew the answer. This was another test.
He looked at the map.

“I would hit the Precipice, and hit it hard.”

“And why is that?” Enrich asked

“Well, look at it. From here you could go south and
sever the connection the humans have with the Elves. Then you could
slowly kill off the human resistance in this part and weaken the
Elves by making them protect another border.”

Arkin smiled at him and Enrich spoke. “That’s what we
think they’re going to do, but we don’t know when. We have been
bringing forces north in preparation but it’s been a nightmare
taking care of them. Keither, when we have more time we will talk
about your possible futures here if you want them. Thank you.”

With that, the conversation ended as fast as it had
begun. Mantic looked at them. “We will go to the Elves now and you
can eat, rest, and have healers look at you. Someone will also show
you around.”

Mantic gestured out of the room. Keither didn’t feel
himself begin to walk as Enrich’s words repeated in his head: “Your
possible futures here.”

“
Nothing is impossible. You just haven’t figured
out how to do it yet.”

Mantic led them out of the building and toward the
large dome-shaped hill. Legon was confused as soon as they left the
main town area and walked to the base of the hill. Were the Elves
just on the other side of it? As they approached the hill he
realized just how large it was. Its base had to be close to the
size of Salmont and it was easily two hundred feet high. They
started to walk up its perfectly shaped side. He wondered if the
people had built up the land like this, or if it was once a natural
hill that they had shaped. Keither’s mind suggested that it was
left over from mining silver and gold. Mines often had large piles
of ocher dirt outside of them, and this place may have been formed
with that. Sasha was unsure of what the purpose could be. She tried
to ask Arkin but his mind was closed.