2023 Story Collection

The Isle of Dragons and The Land of Giants V

"Who are you to trespass in an Elder Kingdom?" The Old Queens voice is deep, gravely and smoky as she speaks. She moves with the elegance of a queen but speaks with the authority of a King. Knox straightens in her presence without realizing it.

"I am the previous prince of The Kingdom of Gold-" he begins to introduce himself when she suddenly recognizes him.

"Oh, Knox!" Her voice becomes lighter, filling with joy at her excitement. She runs over to him, embracing him fondly. "It has been a long time."

The Old Queen smiles warmly at Knox, just as she had when he was barely a man. When she'd come to ask his advice, on how to win an impossible war.

Omens, had been his answer.

She'd trusted him, she'd heard his reputation of solving even the most difficult military problems and had come to him for help in return for a favor.

They'd laid out the plans and she'd told him all of the details of the battles, withholding nothing. It was odd, the other kingdoms had hidden things that he'd warned them of. But she hid nothing.

He'd listened and pointed out the omens and helped her come to a conclusion.

It hadn't been a pretty solution, he knew she'd most likely think him a fool for what he'd told her, be ridiculed for it. But he'd also known that she was desperate enough to come to him for answers and smart enough to be completely honest. So, maybe she'd be desperate enough to listen.

She had been.

---

She'd followed Knox into a room below deck. It was small but nicely furnished.

"When I asked you to visit," she jokes. "I didn't expect it to be with a whole military fleet."

"Yes. Well, I wish it was under better circumstances."

Knox pulls out a chair for her at a small table in the center of the room. He gestures for her to sit.

She glides over and takes a seat. The man took a seat across from her. She notices the hardness to him. He usually was more relaxed but now he was wound so tight. It seemed every muscle was strained from stress.

"So, what happened?" She asks in a similar tone she'd use with a wounded warrior that had come to report back to her. The tone she'd used when she knew he'd have to tell her he was the only survivor.

Memories flood her mind of the war: of all the men she'd lost, of all the nests smashed. The waters had ran red for weeks after, so much blood was shed on both sides. It was a short but filled with casualties on both sides.

She tries to focus on the moment but struggles until Knox speaks again. His voice able to finally pull her back to reality.

"As you know," he began. "My parents and brother are absolute fools."

She knew this well, all the kingdoms knew of how dreadfully incompetent the royal family of Gold were. All except Knox. He was the only reason that kingdom got any respect from neighboring countries and The Elder Kingdoms.

The Isle of Dragons and the Land of Giants were the strongest and oldest of the Elder Kingdoms. Most had fallen in the War of the Elders a few thousand years ago. It had lasted a thousand years and only ended when all leaders had finally come together to set their boundaries where they currently lay in that moment. They were tired of fighting and had decided it'd never end.

Now, the only immortals left were the Giants, Dragons, Serpents and Sirens. And now with the Dragons winning the war against the Giants, they were the strongest of the Elder Kingdoms.