A Betrayal of Faith ✔

TWENTY-NINE: The Mother

Turian's lack of answers irritated him, but at least he had given him something to go on. That irritation was part of the reason he had asked his uncle to accompany him. If he had to go all the way out to the Sanctum of Ishin to find answers, then so did his uncle. It seemed only fair.

Harudan sighed and leaned back in his seat as the carriage rolled over the bumpy dirt road. They'd only been on the road for a little over a day and he was already wishing he was back home. Travel had never been something he enjoyed, but he enjoyed it less so with everything he had to deal with in Ishmar. His advisors had mixed opinions about him leaving, one saying that he needed to stay, the other stating that they could look after everything. But he needed to go. He needed answers.

He wasn't even sure if the Sanctum and the Mother could give him those answers, but it was the only thing he could do until Turian got his books. The monk was something new and dangerous, he needed to get all the answers he could so Jonin could go after him again. He wasn't going to send the man out against something he couldn't fight against.

During the ride to the Sanctum, Turian had been talking to himself about whatever the monk was. It was obvious that he wasn't a normal Ishini, but something more. Harudan never should have underestimated him. He didn't even remember his name. He was just a boy who had annoyed him, so he'd given him to Nerin to deal with. He never should have done that. Maybe if he hadn't, Nerin would be safe in Ishmar.

He had thought that when he declared war on Minisia, he wouldn't have any regrets. But he did. Of course, it had nothing to do with the war itself, but everything to do with Princess Sharina and the monk. He had so many regrets about how he had handled it. He should have gotten Jonin to kill her the second she arrived. Making her think that everything was fine had been a stupid idea.

It was too late to dwell on it now. All he could do was find the answers they needed to deal with the Princess and the monk before anything happened to Nerin. He needed to get his brother back before they used him to try and stop the war.

The carriage rolled over a ditch in the road and Harudan let out a grunt as he jolted. "How long until we're there?" he asked with a sigh.

Turian glanced out the window. "Not far. Another hour I believe," he answered. That was still too long. All he wanted was to get out of the carriage, find the answers to his questions and get back to Ishmar as quickly as he could. There were things he needed to do, answers from the nobles and the King of Minisia to wait for. He needed to work through battle plans with his advisors again, now that Jonin would return.

The hour passed slowly and all Harudan wished he could do was drift off so that time would go by faster. All he saw were the same evergreen trees and fields. But soon enough, he caught sight of the ruins of the Sanctum of Ishin. He let out a loud sigh of relief and rubbed at his tired eyes.

He'd been to the Sanctum once, as a child. His father had taken him to teach him about the Old Gods and how they must respect those who still follow them. It wasn't long before Nerin had been born, but his mother hadn't come with them. She'd been stuck in bed as she had been for most of her pregnancy.

It looked much the same as it had when he was a child. The same ruins, the same small crowd of people milling about the shoddy wooden buildings. Most of them stopped and stared as the carriage trundled towards them. An old woman pushed between the growing group of people and walked slowly towards them as the carriage pulled to a halt.

The carriage driver pulled open the door. "His Highness, Prince Turian Oshana and his Majesty, King Harudan Oshana," she announced. Shocked gasps and whispers drifted towards him as he climbed from the carriage and everyone before him gave a low bow.