CHAPTER IV #5
“He closed his eyes when he noticed you two were gone, as if he was containing his anger. When he opened them he told Desmond that he knew where you were and asked Claymore to take the rest of us up to the castle. The twins went, but only after I told them I would be going back with the Prince. There was no Ancients way I was going to let him approach you alone, not looking the way he did.”
“I appreciate that,” I give him an apologizing smile, “did you have a good time at least?”
“I did,” he nods, “as much as any other. Let’s begin.”
We spend the morning sunrise practicing hand-to-hand combat until my muscles begin to scream. Cal lands me on my ass more times than I care to admit before he decides to show me different maneuvers involving my larger blade.
“We’re going to have to focus more on your core,” my friend frowns when we finish, watching as my right arm dips down in exhaustion, “and your arm muscles.”
“Whatever you want,” I reply with a yawn, “you’re the boss.”
“Damn straight,” he chuckles, grabbing his canteen and pouring water over his head, “do you want to watch Mana and Desmond this morning? They’ll be on one of the training fields we saw on the ride in. I’m sure we can find our way there.”
“I’d like that,” I nod.
We both clean up as best we can before situating ourselves back on our horses.
“Are you going to walk with us, Golem?” I smile at the magical creature.
Golem shakes his head and starts moving towards the trees, his clay home vibrating at my hip just as we ride out of the small woods. We stop to chat with the guard stationed at the gate and let him know where we’re heading, the man looking a little forlorn as he points us in the general direction.
“I think he was itching to see the duel,” Cal murmurs when we take off again.
“I noticed that, too.”
We ride into the same lively city from last night that sits directly below the castle.
The smokey smell from all the torches hasn’t changed a bit, nor has the overall atmosphere of the patrons who live here.
Discerni and humans are laughing and walking down the roads with friendly smiles, every one of them sharing stories from the night before that puts a grin on the other’s faces.
The smell of black pepper also dusts the air again, the scent lingering in the same way cinnamon does in the Palisades and Bardot.
I look around and notice that most of the cafes and taverns are all selling breakfast foods that have the spice, the flavor unique to the Warrior capitol as it wasn’t prevalent in the southern cities we’ve traveled to before.
“Black peppered sausage, black peppered eggs, black peppered biscuits…” Cal’s eyes roam faster than mine.
“I think we should try them all,” I stop Millie in front of a vendor selling the three. I ask the woman for double of each and pass her a few cinerin before we head back down the road.
“Ancients, this is damn good,” Cal groans.
He has the sausage stuffed into his biscuit as he takes another bite.
“Where’s your egg?” I laugh.
“Gone,” he smiles over a mouthful.
“How spicy is it?”
“A little, not too bad,” he shrugs, finishing his food completely. I fold my biscuit over the sausage as he did and give it a try.
“A little?” I cough, reaching for my canteen as my eyes start to water.
Cal laughs, “that’s for making me down the toddy last night.”
“Fair enough,” I nod over a large drink, “Ancients, that’s spicy. Here, take it.”
I shove the rest of my food into his hands and sip on my water all the way to the next gate.
We pass into the rise below, riding through the rolling hills of green grass that give way to the training fields farther out.
Men are scattered throughout those different fields and training just like Cal and I were, some of them riding horses while others use the archery targets or clash their swords in the open arenas.
A few are even practicing their summoning in different ways, with another man moving the rocks of earth the same way as Lord Daniel did.
His stones are much smaller than the Lord’s, but the magic is no less impressive.
Cal whistles when we spot Alanna and Holis practicing at an archery field to our right. The two wave in greeting and nod when Cal points to the small dirt arena we’re heading towards now.
“We may be a bit early,” my friend dismounts, looking around, “I don’t see Desmond or Mana.”
“That’s alright,” I jump off Millie and tether her to a wooden post with the other horses, “I’m going to explore. Want to come with me?”
My friend shakes his head. “You go ahead. I’ll wait here for Mana.”
I smile and snake my hand into my bag.
“How about you, Golem?” I smile when he steps out from behind Millie, “want to walk around?”
Golem nods just as Cal calls at our backs, “don’t be too long, Alex!”
“We won’t!” I yell back, setting off in the direction of the barracks.
There was something shining behind those buildings in the woods beyond, something I spotted right before Cal whistled to Holis and Alanna. It caught the sun just right and shined a brilliant black, though it looked like it came from within the trees and not from the barracks themselves.
Golem and I pass by the inquiring stares of a few Discerni soldiers, all of them looking at my noticeable satin green top before their glances move to the magical creature at my side.
I give them all a small smile but move past without any conversation, the two of us finally reaching the edge of the buildings as the forest comes into view.
“There was a something sparkling in the trees,” I tell my companion, peering left and right at the small woods, “as if something tall stood in the forest and reflected the sunlight. Maybe a monument of some sort.”
I take a guessing step to the right, walking between the trees and the barracks in search of that shining black.
Golem remains quiet at my side, his padded footsteps making minimal sound as we trail along the edge of the small forest. I’m about to give up and head back to the arena when that same bright light reflects off something to my left.
“That’s it!”
Not wanting to lose the sight, I start running towards the glimmer resting well within the woods.
The forest here turns thicker than the Bell Grove I’m used to, causing me to dip under a lot of hanging branches and side-step over multiple roots.
It takes a while to navigate through the thickness, but the black reflection keeps getting closer and closer until…
I stop dead in my tracks.
“No,” the whisper falls from my lips in disbelief, my heart stopping at the sight before me.
I place my hand on my chest and press hard against my heart, hoping the pressure will relieve the ache.
It doesn’t.
I think I stop breathing altogether because my eyes begin to water at the corners…
or maybe I’m just crying because the massive structure that stands so proud in front of me makes me long for home.
Whatever the reason, my full body finally let’s out a heavy sigh at the sight of the near familiarities before me, then it decides to still again when I notice the dark differences that have nothing to do with Bardot at all…
What stands before me is an exact replica of the Great Oak in our castle’s Grand Entry, but it isn’t the same oak at all.
The roots below jut out of the ground in a mixture of oak bark and black granite, the two elements twisting together almost perfectly to form the tree’s unnatural foundation.
The roots are massive, just like at Bardot, but they curve out of the ground in some of the strongest weaves I’ve ever seen.
And the eerie part about them is the way the granite melds with the oak so easily, as if the roots and tree aren’t actually unnatural, but instead what nature first intended.
The thick, dark trunk beckons for the sky above, while it’s brown and black branches reach left and right in different sized arms that clash together as if exaltation.
The leaves cutting out of those limbs are unlike anything I’ve seen in my life as well, with each one looking exactly like oak leaves but made from the sparkling black granite that dominates all of Warrior.
They even dance with the wind like a real oak would, but my mind can’t comprehend how that’s even possible.
I watch as a leaf falls from one of the branches and floats down to the ground as any normal leaf would. The sight is beautiful, absolutely stunning, and I realize then that this what caught my attention from afar.
I carefully make my way through the roots of the dark oak and let my fingers skim against the roughness of the wood mixed with the coolness of the stone.
The roots are truly massive, twisting together as high as my knees, but they’re proud and unashamed as they meld together to form the most majestic thing I’ve ever seen.
A feeling takes route deep in my bones as I get closer, something inexplicable that I’ve never experienced before.
My heart beats faster with every step I take, and when I look up at the branches surrounding me, I smile in wonder as a handful of the black leaves fall right above my head.
I reach out and try to catch one of them by the stem, but the sharp edges on the leaf cuts against my palm.
I laugh in utter astonishment and let it float to the ground, truly unable to contain my awe.