Princess of Valkier

Chapter Two

The breeze brushed past me, blowing the loose hair from my braid around my face, and I pulled my grey cardigan closer to me.  Cosetta's Valley was one of the final passes in the Eclipse mountains, and the most precarious.

The valley was incredibly close to a cliff that overlooked the Eastern Ocean, only an upward slope and about a hundred feet of trees separated the valley from the cliff, but that wasn't what had made the pass so deadly. 

The Eastern Continent was large, and three hundred years ago, was shared between three nations.  Valkyr and Caycean occupied the lands that bordered the ocean.  For Valkyr, that meant the northern continent, and for Caycean, the southern.  Morah cut somewhere between the middle, and their country bordered the Western lands. 

One of the driving forces behind King Moldor's desire to conquer the land was to finally have access to the ocean, which meant possibility for exploration of new lands beyond the waters.

The one place where the three countries met was in the Eclipse mountains, a region so wooded and vast that it was hardly inhabitable for anyone, even so long ago.  The steep inclines, high altitudes, unpredictable weather, and lack of many fresh water spots kept any of the three countries from establishing cities or towns, but that doesn't mean it wasn't used by some.

Bandits and outlaws from all three countries seem to teem in this area, where they knew armies and guards wouldn't put much effort into searching.  They lived off the land, and whoever they could steal from on the trade route.

The Eastern trade route was the only road connecting Valkyr and Caycean, and it was barely used, because of the dangers of attack.  Trade between the nations was conducted on the ocean with ships, a much safer and secure option.

As I stood in the parking lot near the valley and old trade route, I couldn't help but imagine how things had been back then.  Bandits living in the mountains, one road from nation to nation, ships used to transport everything, and horses instead of cars. 

I'm glad I was born in the present for many reasons, the ability to get in a car to ride somewhere, and send a text instantaneously was two of them.

Another breeze flowed by, coming from the nearby ocean, and I mentally groaned at my lack of warmer clothes.

Professor Stanley and I had driven straight here after service this morning, and I didn't have time to change.  I was wearing a white, knee-length cotton dress with a grey cardigan and sandals.  It was late spring, and I'd thought the dress was good for the weather, but I'd forgotten about the breezes near the ocean.

We didn't attend the church service for religious reasons, but for cultural.

It was a wonderful learning experience to sit through a service similar to what our ancestors, and the objects of our study, had sat through.  It was hard to call an old man reciting Scripture an invigorating learning experience, so I had decided to focus on the architecture of the building instead.  It was a breathtaking distraction.

"I'm sorry Edalyn," Professor Stanley turned to me, noticing my discomfort.  "I should have warned you this morning about the breezes, but you know how the weather in the mountains here can be, so unpredictable."  I gave him a smile, trying to reassure that I understood.

Professor Stanley was a kind and smart man, but was also socially awkward at times.  He could talk about the history of the Eastern Continent for days without stopping, but if you tried veering onto another subject, he stammered and stumbled, and didn't make much sense.

I never minded, he was full of knowledge on the subject I was most passionate about, and always encouraged me to ask questions.  Because of his expertise and years of experience, he always led the study abroad trip to Morah from our school.  When I asked if he would take me to Cosetta's Valley, his eyes lit up with the familiar passion he always has when talking about history.