Hidden Fire Chapter 11

The next morning, Arden was woken up by a hard tap on the shoulder. He opened his eyes, and saw Istfael standing above him. He spoke.1

“Arden, we have arrived in Saryn, we actually got here a few hours ago, but Titus said to let you sleep.”, said Istfael.2

Feeling embarrassed for slumbering so long, Arden quickly got up, and brushed his hair down with his hands. They walked outside, and Arden gasped as he saw the magnificent city. The port was full of people, buying and selling at various booths and tables. Houses lined the roads, all cramped together, with no space separating them. Brown, shingles covered the roof tops. At the end of the street, was a large, white palace. Pillars supported it’s roof, and gold symbols were drawn on it’s massive doors.3

Titus greeted them, and walked them down to a horse drawn chariot. They stepped into the chariot, and sat down. Arden heard the sharp snap of the whip, and the chariot started to move.4

“Arden, we will be speaking to King Bëren himself, in his palace.”, said Titus. Arden’s heart skipped, and his stomach felt sick. He looked at his dirty clothes. Titus chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, I have some clean clothes for you to wear. Do you think I would let you see the king in a tunic and pants? Do you think I am mad?”.5

Istfael whispered, “Some say he is.”. Arden laughed at this, and Titus’ face tightened.6

“Hurry up and get dressed, before I have to force you.”, he said shortly.7

Arden and Istfael changed into their new clothes. Istfael wore white robes, with a thin leather belt tied around his waist. Arden wore a fine, silken tunic, which was large, and quite loose on him, and a brown, leather vest over it, his pants were made of hardened, black leather, all which were much too large for him. When they reached the palace, Istfael said to Arden,8

“Hopefully the king’s eyesight has worsened, then he won’t realize that your clothes were made to fit a giant.”.9

Titus and Istfael laughed at this as they scaled up the stairs to the large doors. When they reached the doors, two armored guards looked at Titus, then said, “You may enter, Captain Titus, and companions.”.10

They entered the palace. The whole palace seemed to be carved out of one large square block of marble. Marvelous figures were carved into small scaffolds on the walls.  In the middle of the room, was a broad man, sitting with a silver crown upon his head. He looked fit, and his silver armor gleamed in the torch lit hall. King Bëren. He had a gray, pointed beard, and medium long gray hair fell below his shoulder. Titus led them forward, and stopped a few meters away from the throne. He got down on one knee, and bowed to the king. Istfael and Arden did likewise.11

The king motioned them up, an said, “You have all had a long, perilous journey, so I will let you rest, my servants will accommodate you, and feel free to ask for food, or drink. And get Arden some new clothes, those were made for a man bigger than me.”.12

Istfael quickly hid a smirk, and they walked through one of the many corridors the left the throne room. Three servants led them to separate rooms. Arden was brought to the farthest one. He opened the door, and the sight amazed him. The room was gold in color, a large bed sat at the far end of the room, and exotic carpets covered the floor. The room was well furnished. A large window allowed an extravagant view of Saryn, including the port. Arden watched as merchants hurried out of buildings, and children fought imaginary foes with wooden swords. 13

Arden sat down on the large bed. A servant came into his room with an armful of clothes, and laid them beside Arden. The servant left with a bow, then closed the large, oak door. Arden started to think of all the events that had occurred in the last five days. Taelyn said he was to rid the land of evil, but how? He still didn’t understand why he had the gift of magic, but something inside him told him that he would soon find out.14

About a half an hour later, Arden heard a sharp rasp on the door.15

“Come in.”, he said. Another servant walked in and said, 16

“King Bëren would like to speak with you now.”, he said. Arden’s heart started beating faster. What will I wear?, he looked at the bed and saw the robes. The servant bowed and said, “Get dressed, then come out, I will be waiting.”.17

Arden hastily put on the light robes, then walked out of the room, there the servant stood, waiting. Arden followed the servant through the throne room, and into a different corridor. The came to a doorway, at the end of the hall. The servant opened the door, and motioned for Arden to enter. Arden walked in. The room was full of torches, and great, gold symbols were marked on the walls. A circle table sat in the middle of the room, where King Bëren, and Istfael sat. A blonde haired man who wore armor, with the same golden symbols engraved on it as the doors and walls stood beside King Bëren. Arden bowed slightly to the king, then sat at the table. King Bëren spoke,18

“I see you have some new robes. Arden,”, he pointed to the man with long, blonde hair, “this is my paladin, Feredir.”. Feredir bowed to Arden. “Arden, we have important matters to discuss. The Drayen have returned to my empire.”. The king’s face hardened, a trace of sadness appeared in his eyes.19

He spoke again, “We fought a war with them, long ago. Elves and men alike fought together. We banished them out of the empire, to places unknown. How they have returned, I do not know, but I can see it, as clear as spring water, another war approaches.”.20

The king began to tremble. He banged his fist on the wooden table and shouted, “My empire shall not fall into darkness! My reign shall not be trampled by evil! We will have victory over the Drayen, if it be my life taken, this land shall not be defiled!”.21

Arden stared at the king as his face lost it’s red color. “I am sorry for my outburst.”, Bëren said. “Arden, Istfael tells me that you are skilled with the sword, and with magic. Tell me, where did you learn such traits?”, asked Bëren.22

“The fighting, I taught myself. To be honest, I had wanted to join your army.”. Bëren nodded in satisfaction when he heard this. Arden continued on, “I didn’t really learn magic. It just happened. I couldn’t really control it.”.23

Bëren sat calmly, not showing any emotion at what Arden had just said. After a few seconds, he spoke.24

“So, this is the one.”, he said. Arden was confused at this, but Bëren shattered his thoughts when he spoke again. “Arden, are you familiar with the beginning of this empire?”, he asked. Arden shook his head. “Well then, I will tell you. When humans first came to what is now known as Baeltaria, they were simple farmers. No major cities were built, nor was there any real currency. Laws were simple, and there were no rulers, but in time, their knowledge of technology advanced, and they started building bigger cities. The land needed a ruler, so they chose one using a simple voting system. The very fist king is who I come from, but the important part is that Baeltaria now had a leader. As years passed, and rulers came and went, peace flooded all throughout the empire. Then, one year, the Elves came into our empire, seeking refuge. We welcomed them with much hospitality, and in return, with the use of magic, the king of Elves granted our king with a gift. The gift of foresight.” Arden’s eyes widened as his mind filled with many questions.  Will there really be a war? Did King Bëren have a vision?25

The king spoke again. “Every new king born, has this gift passed on to them, when they start their new reign.”.26

Arden asked, “Then how did Drayen come to this land?”27

Bëren replied, “They followed the Elves, who were seeking refuge from the Drayen, into this empire. We banished them, along with the evil they brought in the war many years ago. They dare show themselves again.”. Bëren paused, then said, “We have talked enough of evil, and it is late. Get some well deserved rest, and in the morning, meet me in the dining hall for breakfast.”.28

As they stood up, Arden and Istfael bowed to the king, then walked out of the room, into the corridor. Once they were out of ear shot, Arden said, “How come you never told me that the king had the gift of foresight? And how come you never told me about the beginning of Baeltaria?”.29

Istfael raised his index finger to his lips and said, “Hush, we will discuss this tomorrow, and I will tell you more about it, but for now, get some rest.”. Arden reluctantly walked to his room and undressed. As he got into his bed, thoughts and questions flooded his mind until finally, he fell into a restless slumber.30