Forbidden Love (Rewritten) | Arthur Pendragon

22 • THE PALADIN OF THE VANIR

"How is Alvenes Hjem?" Eowyn asked.

"The most beautiful and impenetrable city there is," Ulric said with an admirative smile.

On horseback, Eowyn and Ulric had left Camelot moments ago and were now traveling on the main road, surrounded by the forest. Two days of journey were needed to reach Usad but it could get expanded as they had to cross the Mountains of Isgaard. They could be as dangerous as calm. Its reputation surely laid on the Cocketrice that used to live nearby but as Arthur had slayed it, perhaps the mountain range had grown safer. According to Ulric, after crossing the mountain range, there would not be any danger. Only plains and forests awaited them until they would reach the North Gate of Alevenes Hjem. Of course, there was still the threat of mercenaries that could ambush them, but if everything rolled out well, Ulric and Eowyn would read East Usad's royal city by the night of the upcoming day.

Ulric was also of very good company. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but there was something about him that was calming and familiar. He was always open to conversation and seemed, somehow, brotherly to her. And he was very kind. When they were about to leave the royal city, Ulric had promised Merlin to look after Eowyn with his life (which had also seemed to reassure Arthur). This travel was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Usad's Army General. Eowyn knew nothing about him. He appeared to be a year or two older than her, was a noble and a knight, and that was it. That was all she knew of him.

"It is the largest city in the whole of Usad, and entirely made of stone," the knight added.

"Even for the commoners?"

It was normal for the nobles to live in sturdy houses made of stone. It keeps the temperature well so winter was never too harsh. But these were complex and time-consuming to build so they would hire professionals and only nobles had the money to hire people. It was the use that commoners both build their own houses and sew their own clothes; and as their incomes were a lot lesser than the nobles, they would go for cheaper and easier options, that is to say: wood. This was seen in the Royal City of Camelot: the castle was made of stone, and the commoners' houses were made of wood. So was quite surprising to know that Alvenes Hjem was different. Either it was populated only by nobles, or the first sovereigns built these stone houses for their people.

Ulric nodded. "Yes. Alvenes Hjem, the Home of the Elves, is the most important location in the kingdom. It is where the royal family lives, but also where the Spring of Yggdrasil is, so it must be solid enough to defeat the damages of time and of potential enemies,"

"I read that the Immaculate Castle was majestuous. Was it destroyed during the siege in the Great Purge?"

Eowyn had been asking Ulric many questions since they had left Camelot. She had feared that he would grow tired of it but he seemed in fact very pleased to be conversing about his kingdom. It must not be often that he gets to talk about Usad with a foreigner who is genuinely interested in it. All Eowyn knew of the kingdom had been taught to her by books but it was a lot better to hear the opinion of someone who actually lived there. So her curiosity was at its highest

"It was damaged by the fires but we managed to fix it. The legends say that Himmelsk Vind, the castle, was built after Aesir's castle on Asgard. It was also made with dwarves' craftsmanship so it has great resistance,"

Eowyn's eyes widened. "Drwarves? As if, little tiny men with beards?"

Ulric let out a chuckle and nodded. "Yes. Most people tend to forget, but a group of dwarves also came from Svartalfheim along with the elves and valkyries. Ever since they and their descendants have provided our army with weapons or helped build cities across the kingdom," Ulric paused. His brow wrinkled in a frown as his jaw set. "But they are magical creatures so Uther persecuted them,"