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.”“Nedehaven,” Rowan mouthed the word to himself, remembering the story Sir Aldwyn had told him early in his training.The fall of Nedehaven is what had eventually brought the Prince to Arrethtrae.Rowan stared up at the stars for a long time that night, contemplating many things.When he thought of Mariah, the ache in his bosom threatened to overwhelm him.Had he failed her, failed them both? What if this new mission met the same fate as the last one? How could he and Lijah possibly prevail against the evil they were facing?Then he seemed to hear the voice of the Prince once more, whispering in his ear, “You must do it in My strength, not your own … Trust Me.”And Rowan whispered once more as sleep finally came to him, “Yes, my Prince.No matter what happens … I will trust You.”THE ARMOR OF THE KINGIt took Rowan and Lijah two long days to cross the vast Altica Valley and make their way into the foothills of the Northern Mountains.On the evening of the second day, they reached a wide river that Lijah called the Frates and made camp beside it.The next morning they found a place to ford the river and traveled north along its banks toward the confluence of the Frates and Tisgri rivers.Lijah seemed to know the way, and Rowan found himself content with following.By early afternoon, they came to an area that seemed forgotten by time itself.It was a scene of ancient beauty.The Tisgri flowed nearby, tumbling gently over shallow waterfalls.The trees seemed larger than usual and widely spaced, and the ground between them was padded with thick grass and soft mats of forest moss.Green vines and brightly colored flowers provided a garden atmosphere, and a canopy of leaves and pine branches filtered the sunlight into golden spires.They walked quietly through the trees until they came to the ruins of a forgotten estate.The outer walls had crumbled, and the rusted iron gates had fallen from their hinges.Rowan and Lijah walked through the gate and stood in the outer court of what once must have been a majestic palace.The trees and vines had nearly swallowed the blackened structure, and it looked as though it were trying to return to nature, but its residual magnificence was unmistakable.“Nedehaven,” Lijah breathed.“It must be.”“But how could there be anything of worth for us here?” Rowan asked.Lijah shrugged.“It seems unlikely, but let us look just the same.”They combed the ruins for several hours and found nothing.Finally, Lijah sat down on a fallen stone slab that sank deep into the soft ground, as if the vines and moss were gradually pulling it under.“Can you imagine the splendor of such a place before Lucius came to destroy it?” Lijah asked, sweeping his gaze across the ruins.Rowan came to sit beside him, but with his last step his foot sank deeper into the moss than before.He pushed harder with his foot and realized the moss had overgrown a void at the base of the stone Lijah was sitting on.“What is it?” Lijah asked.“I’m not sure.” Rowan knelt down to the impression in the moss.He dug in with his hand and began peeling back the thick layer of moss.“Look, Lijah.” Rowan peered down through the small hole he’d dug.“I think this stone you’re sitting on is covering a stairwell.”Lijah knelt to look and help pull back the moss.They were able to uncover a portion of the first step to what looked like a circular stone staircase.“It makes sense,” Lijah said.“This would more than likely be the location of the great hall.We’ll need to move this slab.”The stone was too heavy for even these two powerful men, but they were able to leverage a timber into the hole and slide the stone far enough off the steps to allow them to crawl through the opening.The light from the opening wasn’t enough for them to see beyond a few steps, so they fashioned a couple of torches from a portion of a horse blanket and sticks.Setting them aflame, they started down the staircase.At the base of the stairs, they found themselves in a hallway that led to numerous chambers.All of them looked strangely untouched by the tragedy that had happened above so long ago, but there was nothing of significance for Rowan and Lijah.At the end of the hall, they came to another staircase that led deeper into the ground.Rowan was a little unnerved as he looked down the steps that seemed to be swallowed up by the blackness.Lijah didn’t hesitate, however, and Rowan followed him down.At the bottom of this staircase was a single door.It took both of them to force the door open, for it was heavy, and the rusty hinges creaked in defiance of the movement.They entered the chamber and immediately knew there was something special about it.The chamber was empty except for a monolithic square column in the center.Embedded in the column was a metal plate with a small opening that looked like a keyhole.The flames of their torches flickered off the walls of the chamber, and Rowan’s threatened to die out soon.He looked at the dancing shadows that fell across Lijah’s face.“One marked child with a key,” Rowan said, reciting the words from Lijah’s scroll that Mariah had read.Lijah took a deep breath.He lifted the key from around his neck and looked back at Rowan.It appeared to be a perfect fit.Lijah put the key in the lock and turned it.The click of the lock echoed in the room, but that was all … at least at first.A few seconds later, something rumbled beneath their feet, and then Rowan heard the sound of large iron rods sliding across granite.Escaping air filled the room, and puffs of ancient dust shot from the corners of the far wall.Rowan heard something akin to a gate winch rumbling; then slowly the far wall began to sink into the floor.As the upper portion of the wall dropped down, Rowan could see a void beyond it.He held his guttering torch up higher, and the weak light spilled into another chamber behind the descending wall.Within a few moments, the wall had disappeared into the floor, and both men stood in wonder at the hidden chamber before them.It was circular in shape, approximately fifteen paces in diameter and equally as tall.Eight massive marble plates hung around the perimeter of the room, each one framed by elaborate moldings and bracketed by sconces holding large, ornate oil lamps.Lijah lit one of the lamps, and Rowan did the same.There was enough light to see that this chamber had been fashioned by craftsmen of remarkable skill.They finished lighting the lamps and gazed around them, awed by the chamber’s beauty.Rowan walked over to one of the marble plates, his eyes fastened on an exquisitely carved image.It was a detailed scene of a battle between great warriors.Chills ran up and down his spine as he took it in.Rowan put his hand up to touch one figure that stood majestically above the rest.Across a gulf stood another figure equally as powerful, but with a countenance that portrayed a darkened heart.Rowan went from plate to plate, mesmerized by each one.Each portrayed a grand scene of apparently supreme significance, although the two men could only guess what the significance might be.“Mosiah,” Lijah called.Rowan broke his gaze from a plate that depicted a strangely familiar city on a hill skirted by a sea.He walked to the plate that Lijah was inspecting.Two knights wielding swords stood back to back, locked in mortal combat against a seemingly endless sea of enemies.Below the carving were words he had seen before.“It’s the verse from the scroll your mother gave you,” Rowan said.Lijah nodded.Rowan began to read it aloud [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.”“Nedehaven,” Rowan mouthed the word to himself, remembering the story Sir Aldwyn had told him early in his training.The fall of Nedehaven is what had eventually brought the Prince to Arrethtrae.Rowan stared up at the stars for a long time that night, contemplating many things.When he thought of Mariah, the ache in his bosom threatened to overwhelm him.Had he failed her, failed them both? What if this new mission met the same fate as the last one? How could he and Lijah possibly prevail against the evil they were facing?Then he seemed to hear the voice of the Prince once more, whispering in his ear, “You must do it in My strength, not your own … Trust Me.”And Rowan whispered once more as sleep finally came to him, “Yes, my Prince.No matter what happens … I will trust You.”THE ARMOR OF THE KINGIt took Rowan and Lijah two long days to cross the vast Altica Valley and make their way into the foothills of the Northern Mountains.On the evening of the second day, they reached a wide river that Lijah called the Frates and made camp beside it.The next morning they found a place to ford the river and traveled north along its banks toward the confluence of the Frates and Tisgri rivers.Lijah seemed to know the way, and Rowan found himself content with following.By early afternoon, they came to an area that seemed forgotten by time itself.It was a scene of ancient beauty.The Tisgri flowed nearby, tumbling gently over shallow waterfalls.The trees seemed larger than usual and widely spaced, and the ground between them was padded with thick grass and soft mats of forest moss.Green vines and brightly colored flowers provided a garden atmosphere, and a canopy of leaves and pine branches filtered the sunlight into golden spires.They walked quietly through the trees until they came to the ruins of a forgotten estate.The outer walls had crumbled, and the rusted iron gates had fallen from their hinges.Rowan and Lijah walked through the gate and stood in the outer court of what once must have been a majestic palace.The trees and vines had nearly swallowed the blackened structure, and it looked as though it were trying to return to nature, but its residual magnificence was unmistakable.“Nedehaven,” Lijah breathed.“It must be.”“But how could there be anything of worth for us here?” Rowan asked.Lijah shrugged.“It seems unlikely, but let us look just the same.”They combed the ruins for several hours and found nothing.Finally, Lijah sat down on a fallen stone slab that sank deep into the soft ground, as if the vines and moss were gradually pulling it under.“Can you imagine the splendor of such a place before Lucius came to destroy it?” Lijah asked, sweeping his gaze across the ruins.Rowan came to sit beside him, but with his last step his foot sank deeper into the moss than before.He pushed harder with his foot and realized the moss had overgrown a void at the base of the stone Lijah was sitting on.“What is it?” Lijah asked.“I’m not sure.” Rowan knelt down to the impression in the moss.He dug in with his hand and began peeling back the thick layer of moss.“Look, Lijah.” Rowan peered down through the small hole he’d dug.“I think this stone you’re sitting on is covering a stairwell.”Lijah knelt to look and help pull back the moss.They were able to uncover a portion of the first step to what looked like a circular stone staircase.“It makes sense,” Lijah said.“This would more than likely be the location of the great hall.We’ll need to move this slab.”The stone was too heavy for even these two powerful men, but they were able to leverage a timber into the hole and slide the stone far enough off the steps to allow them to crawl through the opening.The light from the opening wasn’t enough for them to see beyond a few steps, so they fashioned a couple of torches from a portion of a horse blanket and sticks.Setting them aflame, they started down the staircase.At the base of the stairs, they found themselves in a hallway that led to numerous chambers.All of them looked strangely untouched by the tragedy that had happened above so long ago, but there was nothing of significance for Rowan and Lijah.At the end of the hall, they came to another staircase that led deeper into the ground.Rowan was a little unnerved as he looked down the steps that seemed to be swallowed up by the blackness.Lijah didn’t hesitate, however, and Rowan followed him down.At the bottom of this staircase was a single door.It took both of them to force the door open, for it was heavy, and the rusty hinges creaked in defiance of the movement.They entered the chamber and immediately knew there was something special about it.The chamber was empty except for a monolithic square column in the center.Embedded in the column was a metal plate with a small opening that looked like a keyhole.The flames of their torches flickered off the walls of the chamber, and Rowan’s threatened to die out soon.He looked at the dancing shadows that fell across Lijah’s face.“One marked child with a key,” Rowan said, reciting the words from Lijah’s scroll that Mariah had read.Lijah took a deep breath.He lifted the key from around his neck and looked back at Rowan.It appeared to be a perfect fit.Lijah put the key in the lock and turned it.The click of the lock echoed in the room, but that was all … at least at first.A few seconds later, something rumbled beneath their feet, and then Rowan heard the sound of large iron rods sliding across granite.Escaping air filled the room, and puffs of ancient dust shot from the corners of the far wall.Rowan heard something akin to a gate winch rumbling; then slowly the far wall began to sink into the floor.As the upper portion of the wall dropped down, Rowan could see a void beyond it.He held his guttering torch up higher, and the weak light spilled into another chamber behind the descending wall.Within a few moments, the wall had disappeared into the floor, and both men stood in wonder at the hidden chamber before them.It was circular in shape, approximately fifteen paces in diameter and equally as tall.Eight massive marble plates hung around the perimeter of the room, each one framed by elaborate moldings and bracketed by sconces holding large, ornate oil lamps.Lijah lit one of the lamps, and Rowan did the same.There was enough light to see that this chamber had been fashioned by craftsmen of remarkable skill.They finished lighting the lamps and gazed around them, awed by the chamber’s beauty.Rowan walked over to one of the marble plates, his eyes fastened on an exquisitely carved image.It was a detailed scene of a battle between great warriors.Chills ran up and down his spine as he took it in.Rowan put his hand up to touch one figure that stood majestically above the rest.Across a gulf stood another figure equally as powerful, but with a countenance that portrayed a darkened heart.Rowan went from plate to plate, mesmerized by each one.Each portrayed a grand scene of apparently supreme significance, although the two men could only guess what the significance might be.“Mosiah,” Lijah called.Rowan broke his gaze from a plate that depicted a strangely familiar city on a hill skirted by a sea.He walked to the plate that Lijah was inspecting.Two knights wielding swords stood back to back, locked in mortal combat against a seemingly endless sea of enemies.Below the carving were words he had seen before.“It’s the verse from the scroll your mother gave you,” Rowan said.Lijah nodded.Rowan began to read it aloud [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]