The Fall of the Stars Book 1: Wheels of War

Tyler Colter III

Tyler left Cole Castle with an escort of two hundred men and thirty knights. If he had requested himself, Tyler would have less than half that number or no escort at all, but his Uncle Edwin had a way with swaying his kingly brother. Heading to the Trident was idiotic enough, but attempting to broker some sort of deal was madness. Tyler couldn't begin to understand how Edwin convinced King Gunther to let his eldest son ride out to treat with Griffin riding barbarians. Against Tyler's wishes, Edwin was not allowed to leave with him, but it was victory enough to be able to leave the castle for such an outlandish mission.

Tyler and his two hundred and fifty men rode along the banks of the Cole River, following it until they came upon Riker. They rode past the grasslands near the old abandoned ruins of Flagg Castle and the towns in its vicinity. Only forty years ago the castle was occupied by Lord Gerald Flagg, a proud and rich man. He shared his wealth the lesser people who lived around his castle, causing a flock of common folk to settle as near as they could to him. Unfortunately for them, Lord Flagg was dragged into the Colters' war with Voika, which they were winning at first until the Griffins showed up. The Griffin King at that time descended on Flagg Castle with two Griffins and about three thousand men. The town was burned and looted, its people raped and killed, and the Castle was pulled apart by the Griffins. The Griffin King fed Lord Flagg to his Griffin. Shortly after that, the Colters yielded the ruined castle and a large chunk of land surrounding it to the Griffin riders, never to disturb them again.

The burned and destroyed buildings served as a constant reminder of what could come of troubling the Griffin. Daunting as it was, Tyler and his men pressed on. Justin Wayne, younger brother to the Ruler of the Gold Ford, seemed uneasy after passing the ruins.

"My Prince," he said, "Is it too late to reconsider this venture? Those bird lords are not ones that could be reasoned with. I feel that we are heading to our doom."

"It is not too late at all. But I will not turn back at this point. We will have to face the griffins at some point anyway. Do you fear of ghouls, Justin? Does the destruction panic you?"

"No, My Prince. I only fear the Gods of the Horn. I just feel that we may not return from this."

The Gods of the Horn. Tyler sometimes forgot that there were still people in the kingdom that didn't worship the Great Star. The Gods of the Horn were not something Tyler was particularly familiar with, but he remembered being taught that it was a major religion in the region before Dreward Starfront converted half of the kingdom to his faith, back when the Eastlands was part of the Starfront kingdom. From then it has pretty much run into obscurity, almost completely replaced by the Great Star. Tyler himself wasn't a pious person, though.

"Rest easy. We will be fine. If these Arnish lords were as savage and mad as you say, they would have taken over our kingdom with their griffins hundreds of years ago."

They rested that night in Ealma, a reasonably well populated and prosperous town near the bank of the river. With the power of his coin, Tyler tasked the townsfolk with finding temporary housing for his two hundred and thirty men. Some of them stared shamelessly at the bandaging on his ear, but he ignored them. They would not stay but for two days, as the skies grew dark and dingy, begging for rain. Tyler himself stayed in the house of an old fisherman and his old wife. They eagerly invited him in and welcomed him to dinner, which was not more than fish and fish and more fish with vegetables placed around it.

Is this their idea of a grand feast? He laughed silently at the thought. Sitting beside him was Justin Wayne, Greg Sail, and Sir Scott Travis. Sir Scott was among the most famed knights of the realm, earning his stripes in tournaments all around the kingdom. He once came close to unhorsing Sir Steven Curry, but did not succeed. The king tasked him with keeping Tyler safe under any circumstance. Scott, being as honorable as he was, followed his orders and demanded that he taste the food his prince was being served before it got to him.

The food was not poisoned, fortunately, so the eating continued. The old couple was delighted to share the goings on of their town and demonstrating how pious they were with all sorts of random prayer and gestures. They harped on about their two 'lovely' daughters and their five 'strong' sons, and since the very mention of them Tyler knew what they had in mind. I wonder how I should go about refusing them.

"If it pleases ye my prince, our son is a smith in town," said the old man. "He's a real strong one. Used to smith for the Marks til they were kicked out their own castle. I sure know you might be in need of a man as skilled and such."

"We have plenty of smiths at Cole Castle, good man. I must refuse."

"I see, no trouble at all, my prince. Oh, you see I know you're a married man and such, but surely there could be somethin' you could do with our daughters. Ullah, she's a beautiful one, only twenty and two and ain't have that many men. Ain't never been a king without a bed warmer."

"Oh, and don't forget about Uriah," his old wife added. "She might not be the most pretty thing, but she sure is bright. You might can teach her to read."

"And our granddaughter Ulna, she's a young one but I doubt that'd be too be a..."

"Enough." Tyler tapped his cup on the table. "I am no boy from hereabouts, so do not propose your bedswerving daughters to me. I have many important things to do, many things to consider."

"I apologize, My Prince." The old man lowered his head. His wife looked at him worriedly.

"If you are true in that, allow me to eat in silence."

The old couple silenced, though Tyler could tell they were sour. After the food was finished, the old couple led Tyler to a room they said belonged to their sons. There were four beds, each harder than any Tyler had ever slept on, but he had no choice but to choose one. He slept on what he believed to be the softest one and left Sir Scott and Justin to the others.

The morning brought clear, bright skies and no rain at all. Justin advised him to stay another day, but he would have none of that. All of his men left with him as soon as he finished eating.

They came upon countless villages and small towns, and the closer they got to the Trident the more Arnishmen they saw. The people were all short and ragged, with violet hair and brown skin and eyes blue like opal. They stared at Tyler and his company queerly, but none made a word or gesture toward them.

"We're entering griffin territory," Sir Scott said glumly.

"Is it not too late to turn heel?" Justin added.

Tyler ignored them. They had long passed Markhouse and would soon come to the river that separated the Eastlands from the Trident. To turn tail now would be defeat, and Tyler had no intentions of tasting that again.

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