The Fall of the Stars Book 1: Wheels of War

Tyler Colter IV

Voika was an intimidating sight, so large and bustling. He could hear the city a mile before he saw it. Atop the largest building that could be seen beyond the wall was a golden gryphon statue with a kraken in the gryphon's claws. Tyler did not know the meaning of it, but he would soon find out, perhaps at his peril. He looked behind him, noting the fear in his own men's eyes. Justin Wayne was the only one praying audibly, but Tyler knew the others would as well if they did not fear looking cowardly.

The closer they got to the city, the taller they realized the wall was. Tyler stopped about a hundred feet from the gate and judged the walls around the city to be at least five hundred feet tall. This place would be impossible to take by force. Tyler shook his head. No, that is not what I came here to do. I must keep my mind clear for this.

The city's gates were as high as the wall, with small balconies jutting from the wall at its sides. On each balcony was a man armed with a crossbow. All eyes turned on them as they rode to the gate, where a line of armed and armored men awaited them.

The men guarding the gate wore bronze plates on their chests and wildly colored feathers on their helmets. The many colored kilts they wore made them a humorous spectacle, but the weapons they brandished were not the least bit funny. About half had swords the size of men slung across their backs, and those who did not have giant swords had giant hammers. There were fifteen of them, Tyler counted, and none of them looked easy to kill.

One of the men broke from the line and stepped forward removing his helmet. Tyler signaled for his party stop and rode to meet the man himself. They stopped five feet from each other, Tyler still on horse. The man did not move or speak until Tyler unhorsed. He would have removed his helm, too, but he felt shame of revealing his missing ear.

"I am the one they call Braha, known to the Chief as Left Claw. Be you the Yellow King?" The man spoke slowly in a deep, slurring Arnish drawl. It took Tyler a second to realize he was being asked a question.

"I am the Yellow King's son," Tyler replied.

"What do you business here?"

"I wish to have an audience with your king."

The man huffed and then spat. "We serve not kings. If it is the Chief Rider you wish to speak, you may meet with him. But you may not stay for long. Do what you must and leave."

Tyler's party rode close behind him through the great black gates of Voika. The gate cried deafeningly as the men on the other side turned two large wheels to open it. Tyler was not a very pious person, but he found himself silently praying and clutching his heart. Why am I so afraid? He looked back at Justin Wayne, who was shouting prayer as if he meant to overtake the sound of the screeching gate.

Tyler's fears were swiftly forgotten when he saw the great city for the first time: Buildings and towers higher than he had ever seen, pointed spires that stabbed at the dusky sky, a porcelain fountain nearly the width of Queen Elizabeth's garden swarmed with great white birds, small white homes with golden doors, and countless golden gryphon statues erected on every corner. The city was a stark contrast to the hovels of the Arnish foreigners he had met on his way to Voika. Unlike the poor and ragged people he encountered, these citizens were clean and dignified, dressed in fine silks and many colored robes and scarves. There was not a single naked child in sight, nor was there the usual unruliness associated with places with high populations of peasantry. The women were tall and beautiful, most of them with their violet hair tied into tails and buns on their heads. They wore short dresses that hardly extended beyond their thighs. Most of their eyes were blue, but there a few red and green as well. The men were gigantic in comparison to Tyler, who was of middling height. The majority of them had some sort of weapon on them, commonly a hammer or an axe. Very few carried swords. All of them turned their heads in confusion at the sight of Tyler and his men.