Legacy

Chapter 2 - The Foggy Morning

It was early Sunday morning when Kane and the young prince made their way to the village. They headed from the house along the old dirt track, Kane pulling a small wooden wagon loaded with sacks of grain, clay jars of wild honey, and several boxes of nuts and herbs.

They passed through empty fields, over the low hill, and across the wide valley. The path wound through grassy fields of wild flowers filled with the heady scent of cherry milk blossoms. The large red flowers were always the last in the year to bloom and marked the end of summer with their sweet smelling aroma. Soon the balmy nights would give way to the deep-hued oranges and browns of fall. Pumpkins growing fat and ripe, corn smoked to perfection and the annual autumn festival, marking the end of harvest and the birth of the first empress, were all still to look forward to.

It was a bittersweet time of year, the end of summer but a time of excitement and activity. Local families got together with their neighbours to help clear fields and gather the harvest. Nestled in the warm southern hills amongst the plentiful forests the villagers had no fear of the winter like their northern counterparts. So while planting and harvesting may end, there was always more to do, be it hunting the plentiful game in the imperial hunting grounds, fishing for dower fish in the streams, or gathering wild herbs. There was never a shortage of food to go round.

It was also a time of birth and construction. The cooler weather and extra coin from the harvest sales made it the ideal time to begin building and repairing homes. Already the frame of a new home had appeared in Ponder's field, once a favourite spot of the young prince's where he watched the antics of silver hares, and lay amongst the wild flowers watching the sun drift lazily across the sky. It would soon be the home to Ponder's eldest and his young new wife. The wedding had been a big celebration and the young prince had enjoyed it immensely. The family were old friends of Archon Kane's and he had arranged for three large casks of ruby red wine for the celebration which had lasted well into the early hours of the morning.

Even Demus Calvin had been generous enough to present the family with a gift of metal cutlery to help get them started. The set was old and slightly tarnished by age, but any metal of decent quality was hard enough to come by that they were thrilled to receive the present.

The wedding had been the talk of the village for ages and bets were already being placed on who that next one to walk down the bridal path would be. The young couple were still living with the groom's family at their home but in another month or two the villagers would get together and help finish building them a home and farmhouse out on the field of ruby red wild flowers. The old matron couldn't help but remark once in passing that the girl was rather ripe with child for such a new bride, which had provoked a great roar of laughter from Kane that the prince hadn't quite understood.

Kane waved to the family as he drove past. Old man Ponder pulled his own wooden cart down the dirt track and joined up behind them and the two chatted about the latest local events. Soon the path started skirting the edge of the forest leading to the narrow bubbling stream at the edge of the village.

The young prince watched the forest intently looking for movement in hopes of catching sight of one of the many rare animals that lived within its depths. Just as they crossed the last bridge a sudden blur of movement caught his eye. A small silver hare made a break for it running from its hiding hole across the clearing pursued by a wily old fox. Before it was barely halfway across the field there came the cry of an eagle as it swooped down towards the frightened hare, its claws outstretched as it bore down on the helpless animal. The eagle was nearly on the hare when it cried out in pain as, from nowhere, the fox leapt out from the undergrowth catching the eagle in its vice-like jaws. The confusion created as they fought gave the hare enough time to scamper off through the undergrowth and escape up a rocky hill. The young prince smiled; the hare would live for another day while the hunter had become prey for a larger predator.