The Enlightened Few - The Journey Begins

In starfish we trust

King Aris arrived with a platoon of men just outside of the star pools.

"Commander, kindly setup camp here. The fog will offer us a protective cover for the night. We are only but a short ride from the City of Glendower."

"Yes Sire, immediately!"

The commander was a tall sturdy man with a long fiery beard and also had strong chunky arms and hands. He was known to love wielding an axe, it was his most preferred weapon of choice and a useful tool when not used for fighting purposes.

Peace was a relative word to the soldiers, there was no fighting as such, and occasionally there were the odd unexpected events that had to be handled. Politics was always peace's greatest ally and it's greatest enemy. Without agreements, needs, treaties, the world of Entirisia would be a much different place.

"At daybreak, the first squadron and I will ride to Glendower. We will send a hawk messenger if our situation becomes delicate. You will move in swiftly, but remain hidden until you receive a red cloth from a second messenger. Once that happens, we relying on you for a quick intervention and a smooth extraction from the site. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Sire"

"Good. Now get me my serving boy, I need my dinner or else I'll lose my temper."

"Immediately, Sire."

"Aden, there you are my boy! I thought I had lost you to the tales of the soldiers. Brave men, aren't they?"

"Indeed father, it is what worries me."

"Why is that, son? Nothing should trouble a prince, you should have answers for your people."

King Aris noticed the company around him. "Leave us in private." The remaining guards left them to their own conversation.

"What is going on with you, Edan."

"I am no fighter, Sire. I cannot match up in any way to these men."

"That I can agree on with you."

"I will fight for you father, you know I will do anything you ask of me. All I am saying is that I cannot guarantee the outcome."

The King let out a mighty laugh that shook his belly and echoed in the temporary tent they had erected for him.

"I think I am old enough, wise enough and skilled enough to take care of the both of us my son."

"Thank you, father." Edan bowed lightly.

"Now be a lad and make sure my dinner is coming, I am famished and these men are taking their time."

"Indeed I will, Sire."

Over dinner, the King ate hastily and without any graciousness or courtesy. That is usually what happened to men after many Suncycles of having no wife to please. Edan was much more of an eloquent eater and his thoughts remained focused on the journey ahead, a journey that would reveal the many intentions of some of the more private kingdoms.

In the morning, both were up before dawn and had begun their journey across the sandy water amid the thick, breathless fog that had engulfed them and all their men.

The sound of crashing waves was getting louder and louder as they closed in on the city of Glendower. Starfish could be seen shining in the fog, directing their every move towards the city itself. They switched off and on mesmerizingly and in unison while the horses of the riders floated ghostlike in the correct direction without any instructions from their masters.

Suddenly, there were silhouette figures emerging from a white wall, they faced the ocean's crashing waves, leaving behind them the white blanket of fog. Boats had been moored right along the coast and fishermen were seen either sitting around, gathering nets or inspecting their catch.