The Mad Queen

Chapter Nineteen

The gods created our world. There is a God for almost everything that ever has or will exist in these lands. Though there are five gods who deserve our gifts and prayers. The High gods.

The Water God was first, creating an ocean world. The second God to contribute was the God of Earth. He built great masses of land and made them rise from the vast oceans. Upon these lands, he gave us rich soil and flavoursome foods to grow in them. He gave us beautiful mountains and vast open spaces of wildflowers or rolling hills of green grass and thick forests. The Water God once again worked his magnificent powers. He gave us rivers that cut through the countryside and great lakes that sat in between huge mountains. Together, they made a beautiful home for us to live upon.

Next came the God of Creatures. He made all the animals on the land and in the oceans. Animals that would both sustain us and entertain us. Animals to add to the beauty of our great home.

Then came the God of the Day who gave us warmth and light so we could look upon all these gifts we'd already been given.

The Fifth God gave us what was most precious. Life. He was what made it all possible, giving life to every plant and animal. Though for a few precious beings, he gave something else. He separated them from the animals, giving them the ability to think beyond animalistic instinct.

He gave us the gift of true life, freedom and independence. So we shall thank him with our prayers and gifts. We shall follow his laws and worship him with our complete devotion. For those who do not shall face his eternal wrath.

~The Creation

Reaching the forest is a huge relief. The cover of the trees blocks out the scorching heat of the sun and provides a pleasant coolness.  The road opens up wider, cutting through the trees. The ground is more used.

I pull Trouble to the side of the road and open up the map. The map is in a book. Opening the first page, I see an illustration of a complete map of Vivelle. I skip over it quickly, wanting to find the page that I need. Finally, I find the region I am in. The Capital lands. On one page is the cliff, our castle drawn at the centre point of the long hundred-mile line of towering rock. Falling back from our castle is the city and the walls surrounding the huge population of buildings. On the opposite side of the cliff face, is the flat farmlands I've just come through. Huge and rectangular in shape. The smaller edge follows the cliff. The longer side spans just over one hundred miles toward the forest I now reach. Cut into the rectangle are thousands of lines all running parallel to each other. They are the thousands of tracks which lead across the flatlands. The paths from this road back to the cliffs into the city.

The Forest I am now in is on the next page. I turn it over carefully. I see the thick line of the road I am now on. It is one of the main roads in Vivelle. It goes around the whole edge of the forest. This forest itself surrounds the great mountain range and this road is the main way to get to each of the small villages and towns which sit both in and around these mountains. That and it is the main road from this region to get to the capital city. I follow the line of the road, trying to decide where to go. It darts off into smaller roads into various villages. All dotted here and there. Some cut into the forests, some deeper into the mountain valleys. A few in the mountains themselves.

With a sigh, I close the book and pack it away, deciding to go left. I want to stop soon, to have a proper break. That can't happen yet. I need to find a way to try and hide my trail. I know that there is a very high chance they came down the same little farm road I did. So there was no point in trying to hide my path then. Now, there are so many directions and places I could go. However, wherever I go I will leave some sort of mark. Trouble is a big horse and will leave bigger tracks than average horses. Even if I strayed from the path, they'd still be able to track his hoofprints plus the broken branches or the snags of hair I'd undoubtedly leave tangled in low hanging plants. Then, there would be eyewitnesses of course. This is a busy road. Even now a large cart comes along toward me. I sigh, unsure about what to do. So I continue to walk for a while, enjoying being in the forest. I barely look at people who pass. I just offer them a small smile or nod and they don't bother me. Most are too busy transporting goods from one town to another.