Legend of the Seven Gems Book I: Journey to Calicostan

Chapter V: Entrance to Sastrom

Not one sound could be heard through the forest except for the ocasional songs the trees sang as the wind swept through their narrow branches. Lapis and Royland furthered the distance between themselves and the sounds of clanging enough to almost feel a strong sense of loneliness... as if they were the only people in the world. The two of them gazed upwards at the stars for a second until Royland collapsed from exhaustion. As he fell backwards, letting out a strong sigh of relief- after all, he did make it out alive... but he can't say the same for his people. His demeanor felt heavy, and unable to move even an inch if he wanted to.

Lapis lay beside Roy, wrapping her arm around him. This startled Royland, but not enough to drift off, transitioning himself into a state of pure ease. It would appear as if the anxiety of having his people obliterated was the forefront of his exhaustion. Lapis spoke, but her words were lucid.

Lapis: It's going to keep us both warmer if we are close...

Royland didn't know the meaning of warmth, or if it truly existed. His veins remained chilled to the core, yet the subtle warmth of her paws wrapped around his chest felt as if he tossed a chunk of ice into a burning blaze, slowly melting the bitter chills within the depths of himself. He felt a familiar sense of peace.

Roy had been living in relative isolation for the last decade, in the northernmost region of the world, at least to the extent of his knowledge. What is a bipedal feline doing all the way up here anyways? As he continued to ponder more questions, his eyelids grew heavy, and soon dozed off.

Only a few seconds later, he caught himself. The elders always told Royland that it was not safe to fall asleep outside of the house, as he could very well freeze to death despite being Winterborn, or worse... he could be eaten by creatures of the night. Few folks could live to tell tales of what lurked out in the night. Being caught off guard is nothing he can afford to promote, and it was as if he'd awoken well rested despite only being out for a few seconds. This appeared to work in his favor.

Upon opening his eyes, he noticed something was off... he was surrounded by what appeared to be a temperate lush with subtle white dust, and the suns vibrant rays peered brightly through the gaps in the tree branches. Worst of all, it would appear as if Lapis was gone. Could she have been a dream? Could it all have been a dream? Without saying a word, she left...

Royland got up, as he didn't have time to sit and contemplate his vividly lucid imagination. He noticed that he ran so far away from the clashing that he made it to what seemed to be the middle of the continent- in other words, he was now further away from the Winterborn tribe than any other tribe member had ever been.

Roy still felt somewhat heavy, but reluctantly arose from his slumber. There seemed to be an opening in the distant forest. Slowly, he made his way towards the light at the end of the forest.

The sun was out, could it be early morning? Or mid afternoon? Slowly pacing himself as to not slip on the muddy ground barely cloaked in a dusting of the slushy excuse for snow, he could only barely grasp the view of a towering structure before nearly tumbling down a less-than-sturdy ledge. He slid down a sharp rocky slope until he fell on his rear, with mud spilling over him as he landed.

Royland yelped in pain, but brushed the mud off his warm coat. As he wiped the dirt off from his eye lids, there appeared to be a large, stone fortress in the distance, towering over the valley. He paced himself as positioned himself to get up, and slowly rose, as to not glide through the mud for a second time.

Royland found a small, narrow, but long stone staircase leading down the mountain. Could that be a way down? On his way down the stairs, he walked past a few strange faces... these folks looked quite similar to snow foxes, and they gave him quite a glare of disgust- as if, he weren't supposed to be walking down the stairs the way he was. Thankfully, these creatures, bipedal much like Royland, were reluctant to speak their minds, so he continued onwards down the trail to the bottom of the cliff, as if he hadn't any idea whatsoever that they were appalled by his demeanor. Eventually, he found a large gate... it was guarded by a few of those fox-like creatures, all of whom held spears, which poked skywards, and were several times the size of Royland. All the weapons he was used to weren't even remotely as large, let alone, as well kept- there was a shiny blue mineral at the peak, whose glean was blinded by the sun, but it's point could pierce through the deepest layers of solid diamond.

As he crossed the bridge a long manmade river, he glanced down, though not for too long. Roy felt as if he were bird gliding through the valley. Though, his strong sense of ambitious grasped him from continuing his valiant effort in halting the greater battle at play; despite having a strong overwhelming sense of curiosity from the new and unknown depths of the world he knew very little about.

When approaching the guards, they appeared to be somewhat uneasy. Could this perhaps be due to the fact he was evidently elven? Perhaps they were expecting someone else? They could be protecting something of value.

Fox-Like creature: H-Halt... State your business with the city of Sastrom, elf!

Royland: I am Royland, and I am not your enemy. All I ask is to seek refuge in your city, for the night approaches, and with it, the terrors it so gracefully-

Fox-Like Creature: Enough of your petty attempt to stall! No more formalities. Where art thou from? Speak, elf!

He knew that if he were to tell the truth, there was a good chance he could end up dead at the bottom of that river. Best he'd lie.

Royland: I am a traveler, seeing refuge in... Salstrom, was it?

Fox-Like creature: You're a traveler? What domain do you pledge your allegiance to, alleged "traveler" Royland?

Royland froze up, and was not able to speak. War... what brought the war to his village?

Fox-Like creature: I am Azif, a gatekeeper. There will be peace so long as you oblige to my line of questioning, be it, truthfully and honestly.

Royland: My name is Royland Winterborn, I am a tribal warrior from the north. I come from a village who was locked away in isolation for many years, and I desperately need your assistance. It's likely you know who we are, but our village was invaded by an unknown enemy. Our people were entirely wiped out and I really beg for your assistance.

The fox like creatures looked at one another, and then back at Royland.

Azif: You realize how ridiculous you sound, Elf? The war is down south. For what reason do they need your tribes grounds?

The fox like creature next to Azif signaled him to come closer, and whispered to one another, as Royland sat and bared witness. Azif got back to his post, clearing his throat.

Azif: It's evident that you couldn't make something like that up. We were aware of the Winterborns existence for some time now, and accept your plea to bargain with us. Our king must know of your endeavors, and possibly will ask of your aid.

Royland: I... I will help in any way possible.

Azif: Good, if you weren't willing to comply, there would be a swift and painful end to your suffering. We will need to evacuate the village. My associate here will evacuate the town. We trust you aren't going to cause mischief while you spend time here. Allow me to show you the way to our king.

The gates to Sastrom opened. Royland would compare the gates more to a portal, since warm air nearly swept him off of his feet. He was entering his first ever city.