6 The Chronicles

The five of us went on the expedition as planned, and I needed one more day to recover from my wounds from that battle with the brown bear. We decided to stay the night at an inn once we got to Cragswallow. However, we got attacked by an anonymous group of thugs. They were wearing this insignia at their left arm, and they were headed towards us.

"Battle formation men! Keep your wits about you and we'll make it!" I commanded the group.

Gels, Sir Galbrant, and I, held our ground at the fore. While Alayah and Holsten, steadied their stance at the rear. Alayah managed to make some shots at some of the men attacking us, but we were outnumbered.

"How many are we seeing lad? It's hard to notice their numbers as I am shielding us," said Sir Galbrant.

"About twenty men in my estimate, or maybe more. I don't know why they are attacking us, but let's survive this for now," I replied.

We fought back, even though we were outnumbered, we pushed them back. I cut down some of their men while Gels clobbered anyone who got too close. Holsten on the other hand, was panicking and hesitating.

"What's the matter with you Holsten? Come on! Fight!" said Alayah.

Holsten was still panicking and I managed to hear him murmur. What I captured from what he said was that he knew their insignia and a phrase on repeat: "I am fucked".

I scanned the area for any artillery that we might encounter while we held our ground. It was getting hard to observe at the time for any signs of long-range attacks because of the darkness of the night was approaching, and there were still a few men, shouting and attacking us.

I left my position and slapped Holsten, in an attempt to wake him up, then I said, "just a few more thugs to deal with and this will be over. Are you with us, Holsten?"

Holsten gave me a nod, then gathered himself up. He started to throw knives at a remarkable accuracy, straight to their foreheads and necks. Then he scrambled away from our formation, and went on killing the remaining thugs at close range.

"Keep your guard up men and stay alert. The worse may still come. Holsten, stay behind Sir Galbrant and Gels. Alayah, cover me while I search their bodies," I commanded the group.

I approached the corpses of the dead thugs, one after the other, while Alayah was at my back in case of any hostile encounter. I grabbed the thugs' pouches and went back to the group.

"Alright. I am glad that was over. Let's get out of here, post-haste," I commanded the group.

We left the scene of the attack and went on the road to Cragswallow. We lit up our torches and we were in constant guard in case of an ambush. I heard a whistle at a nearby tree, just as we were about to approach Cragswallow. I looked in the direction of the sound, and Holsten, who was beside me, started to murmur again under his breath.

I could not see any human figure at the nearby tree where the sound came from, but we heard a voice that said,

"Holsten, you, nasty, insidious freak! We knew what you did, and we remember. I have no intentions for the rest of the group, so be at ease. Just you, Holsten."

Then I heard an arrow shoot forth from out of nowhere. And in my instinct, I immediately positioned myself in the formation, in front of Holsten, and the others followed.

Right at that instant when we had positioned ourselves, I dropped to the ground. I took the arrow, and was paralyzed, unable to talk.

Holsten immediately took notice, and he went right beside me and whispered, "I guess the jig is up then. You see, I guess that arrow was supposed to be for me. It's been fun, Hardnir. I need to leave before they kill me." And I felt something was piercing my side, as Holsten's silhouette faded into the darkness.

"Hardnir! Hardnir, are you okay?! You're stabbed and shot! Please, Gods, please. This can't be happening!" cried Alayah.

At first, I could still hear their distorted voices. But as my vision faded, it gradually went quiet.

"Papa, Papa! Can you read me a book?" said a little girl, wearing a green dress.

A man, standing up close to a pyre, carried the little girl into his arms and said, "oh, read you a book now, Frisha? I just read you one, right after we finished our meal."

"Aww, pretty please?" said Frisha.

"And what book do you suppose I should read?" the father answered back.

"My favorite book, Papa! The Chronicles of Anthora," said Frisha.

The father put young Frisha down and started to scan the bookshelves near the pyre. He grabbed this book with a green tone and took a seat near the pyre. Frisha sat in her father's lap and giggled in excitement.

"The Chronicles of Anthora, by Aemir the First. You ready, Frisha?" asked the father.

Frisha nodded and the woman, sitting right next to them, smiled as well in anticipation, while holding his husband's arm.

The father started reading the book, and Frisha, and her mother, listened to the tale.

"The world is full of wonders and mysteries. And if you think for a second, we are blessed to have a sky so blue, bountiful forests and wilderness, beautiful seas, and fresh air. Imagine if you are in need of water, food, and all other things you need; it's already there, ready and waiting for you to take it. But, how did that come to be?" said the father when Frisha interrupted and said, "oh, I know, I know! The Gods created the world, right, Papa?"

"You are no fun, Frisha. You already know the answer. Yes, that is correct. The Goddess of the Sun and Supreme Rule, Esme, created the world alongside the other Gods, which are: Aphelion, the God of Dusk, Quasar, the God of Dawn, Lucian, the God of Life and Death, Rachel, the Goddess of Harmony, Jerwin, the God of Wisdom and Enlightenment, Gawain, the God of Air and Earth, Cairn, the God of Judgment, Lucille, the Goddess of Love and Compassion, and Basch, the God of War and Might. They are the Gods that we call, the Celestials. However, it was not recorded as to when did they start the creation of the world. We all know it through the word of mouth, from myths and legends, passed on by our ancestors," read the father as he flipped the page of the book.

He continued reading and said, "from those legends, it was said that humanity, is the descendant of Goddess Lucille. While the animals and beasts, are of God Gawain. The Celestials combined all of their power in order to create the world, taking their turns toward each part they need to rule over. The Celestials were happy that they created our world, as they see the fruit of their labor. But it is not just the Celestials who took interest in our world, the Old hand was interested as well. The Old hand, Agir, was the father of all the Celestials. However, the Celestials took it into their hands and banished the Old hand out of the heavens for killing their mother, Frelja, the Goddess of All. And from that, the Celestials asked the Old hand to leave the world alone and banished Agir once more. Why do you think they did that, Frisha?"

"Because the Old hand is a bad guy. He killed Goddess Frelja," answered Frisha.

"That's right. But the Old hand, never gave up. He started to influence the humans of the world and they started war against each other. The humans were divided among the land, each human division claiming their own territory called themselves different from the other division. The lands were divided into six, which are?" asked the father.

"The Edge of the World, the Southern Alliance, the Iron Crow Empire, the Salamander Nomads, the Free Cities of Taos, and the Isles of Hjarik," said Frisha, and then she giggled.

The father patted Frisha's head and continued, "very good, my sweet. But after some time, the humans stopped their fight between each other and started to build their countries. The population of their countries grew and they invented a lot of things. They traded their produce from one country to another, to procure gold coins. Gold coins are made from the rich desert lands of the Salamander Nomads, making them the richest country in terms of coins. You know the chest I have, right, Frisha? There are gold coins there, and they all came from the Salamander Nomads," read the father while showing where the chest was located and also shown young Frisha a gold coin.

The father continued, "but that's not the only invention humanity created. Humanity also tapped into the wisdom of God Jerwin and produced magic. It is the power to control the forces of the world and its elements such as fire, earth, wind, and water. I have never seen a magician, Frisha, but I believe the army has a dozen of them in their command."

"Wow! Take me to the city some time, Papa! I want to see magic!" said Frisha, as absorbed as she could be with the tale.

"I will Frisha, soon I will take you and Mama to the city to see magic. I promise. Oh, and humanity also created religion, but one is different depending on the country. Some worshipped Goddess Esme, while some worshipped God Basch, and so on. There are those that worshipped them as the Celestials, like us, Frisha. However, there are also ones who worshipped the Old hand, Agir. But nevertheless, it was faith that made the humans together and thrive."

The father paused for a moment to kiss Frisha on the head and flipped the page of the book.

"The leaders of the time gathered together to put it into writing that they are at peace with each country. And they have all agreed that the name of the world shall be Anthora, in reverence to the Celestials, and in respect of each country. I, Aemir the First, the thirtieth emperor of the Iron Crow Empire, writes this down, so that the generations of humanity that follow us from this day, will remember and know our origins," said the father.

"Our little lass asleep now, Hardnir. Let me take her to bed," said the mother.

I passed my daughter to my wife and returned the book in its shelf.

"That was quite a storytelling, love. I sure did love seeing the both of you reading the book," said the mother.

"Nah, it was a little bit shabby, Ygruhn. The little kid fell asleep, meaning it was boring," I answered back.

"Don't worry, love. I bet you she enjoyed every bit of it," said Ygruhn.

My memory of that night at my house, popped up in my head right after my vision faded. As I went to the end of the memory, I heard someone, yelling out my name.

"Hardnir! Hardnir! No! Please, wake up!" cried Alayah.

I tried to reach out to the call of my name, but to no avail, I could not see where it came from.

Another vision entered my mind, but this time, it was not from one of my memories. It depicted a woman, shooting an arrow at the distance, and after she shot the arrow, she left a note stuck to a tree. Then the vision turned to a haze, and I wandered off to nowhere and nothing.

Sunlight hit my eyes, and I slowly woke up from slumber. I held my back against the wall of the room where I stayed at, and was unfamiliar with the place. What I could observe at the time was that, the room was a bit cramped, but there was a table, a quill, an ink, a ledger, and two sets of chairs, right beside the door. I also took notice that I was covered up in bandage from my chest, until my waist.

I heard some chatters outside of that room, and began to wonder why I was there. I decided to be up on my feet, until I heard footsteps approaching the room.

"By the Gods, my boy! You're finally awake!" said Sir Galbrant.

Gels and Alayah were there too, along with the old man, when they entered the room. The three were delighted by me, who woke up from slumber. I wondered at the time, so, I asked.

"Why the awful joy, old man? And why are you crying, Alayah? What in Esme's hair is going on?" I said to the two of them.

Alayah wiped her tears, then immediately hugged me, thanking me that I woke up.

"I thought you were gone! Like, you were never going to come back, you asshole! I cried for days, not knowing what to do," said Alayah, while obviously letting out a couple of tears.

"You almost died back there, Hardnir. Be nice to sister. Do you even remember what happened, the night we got attacked outside of Cragswallow?" asked Gels.

I tried to recall the events in my head, and grasped the situation. I was shot in the chest by an arrow, and took a stab at the side. I just pretended that I have no memory of what happened.

"Help me remember then, what happened back there?" I asked.

Alayah took a seat beside me in the bed, then Gels and the old man grabbed the chairs and took a seat.

"You were shot by an arrow out of nowhere, lad. We did not see it coming. Right as we were looking for the archer, we heard you collapse from behind. I took my shield, and placed it in the ground to cover you," said Sir Galbrant.

"But the bastard, Holsten, vanished into thin air. I considered him as a brother! How dare he, leaving us in time of peril!" shouted Alayah.

"Calm down, sister. Maybe he has reasons for abandoning us. And by the way, we found a note stuck to a tree as I carried you all the way here," said Gels.

I took the note from his hand and read it. It says, "it took me years to perfect that coat of poison on my arrow. It is a damn shame that it landed on the wrong target. Apologies for the mistake. We will hunt down Holsten, and make him answer to his crimes."

"And we have that archer to thank as well, lad," said the old man.

"Why?! When all that archer did was shot at me, and I almost meet my death?!" I said in disbelief of what the old man said.

"The healer in this village treated you, my boy. He said that, whatever you took from the arrow that hit you, prevented you from bleeding out of your stab wound. The wound was pretty deep, and you could have died without that poison," said Sir Galbrant.

Shocked as I was that the arrow, the one I took from that archer that saved my life, might be a blessing of the Gods. I scratched my head and brushed my beard, in an attempt to collect my thoughts.

"So, where are we now at the task? Is it done? And, where are we?" I asked the three.

"Still in Cragswallow, stupid. We can't leave you behind and fight the bear ourselves. If we are doing this, we do it together," said Alayah.

"How long was I out then?" I asked again.

"Nine days, Hardnir. Nine, long, silent days," said Gels.

Sir Galbrant stood up from his chair and said, "but for now, let's get you fed up. You have not eaten anything for the last couple of days, and we will need your strength to come back."

"As should I. I am starving," I answered back as my stomach growled in hunger.

I followed them outside of the room, and into a set of tables. I guessed that it was the inn of Cragswallow. Yet, the place was empty at the time. We sat down on a table near the innkeeper, as the old man ordered the whole meal. I went down from one platter to the next, and I was never that hungry from what I could recall.

"Easy now, you don't want yourself get choked to death instead," jested Alayah.

I slowed down my pace, and after a while, felt full and unable to move. I chugged down a mug and yelled, "oh! What a delightful taste this is! I have never appreciated the taste of mead, and now I am doing it!"

The three laughed and I joined in the laughter.

"Glad you're back, Hardnir. I knew you would come to," said the old man. "Don't you dare die before me, or else, I will hunt you down in the hereafter," added Sir Galbrant.

"Haha, not in your wildest dreams, old man. Too young, and I still have more to accomplish," I replied in haste.

Sir Galbrant grabbed me by my shoulders and patted my back hard. So hard, I almost spilled the mead in my mouth.

"Alright, with the matter at hand. When do you suggest we move on this Savage Bear?" I asked the old man.

"Don't you forget, Hardnir. Holsten left us. We need to deal with that as well," said Alayah.

"Right, of course. Holsten. He was the one who stabbed me that night, right before disappearing," I answered back.

The three were stunned by the statement I made.

I continued and said, "he whispered that he needs to leave before that archer kills him. But I wonder why he stabbed me?"

"So that the focus of the archer be put on you, lad. Holsten sure knows how to distract. I'll give him that much. And, he succeeded," said Sir Galbrant, while he was obviously frowning.

"That two-faced, fucking coward! I'll put an arrow between his eyes when I see him!" yelled Alayah in anger.

"Calm down, everyone. We don't know where Holsten is now. Can we talk about something else instead? This makes me angry, and sad," said Gels.

We sat there in silence for a short while, calming ourselves down. Alayah brought out a map from her bag and placed it on the table.

"So, here we are right now, at Cragswallow. Elder's Gorge is just between this place, Sargova, and Whitesand. The road there, Elder's Crossing, is where the bear was spotted, according to the report the Augur gave us, and that was more than a week ago. We don't know its whereabouts now, but we need to start there, if you guys were to ask my opinion," said Alayah.

"Alright. And getting there by foot will take how long? Two or three days?" I added on the thought.

"Yeah. That it is. Not to mention, maybe there will be thugs again coming from Sargova, or whatever. So, when do you think we should move on this, Sir Galbrant?" asked Alayah.

"Let's ease up for a while and think. Is Hardnir in any condition to move about now? Do you think that the thugs will still pursue us, now that Holsten is in the wind? Are we sure that the bear will leave Elder's Gorge and move on from that place?" asked the old man.

I stopped for a second to examine myself. I touched my wounds and there was a slight pinch of pain, but nevertheless, I could handle it as long as I would not get hit. And second to that, the old man was right, the thugs held no threat to us as Holsten already abandoned the group. And lastly, since time immemorial based on the lore, the bear has the gorge as its habitat. It would not wander off from the place in search of food, as the gorge has both lakes at each side.

I unwrapped my bandages to check if I still had a gaping wound at my side. And to my surprise, it was already closed up from its stitches. I stood up from my seat and showed it to the group.

"Well, that is for your concern, old man. I am good and raring to go. Nine days were an awful lot of time to recover, although, the stab wound still hurts a little," I said to the party.

"Well, that is interesting. You see, I know most men lie down for at least a month to heal their wounds from battle, and yet, you heal at a remarkable speed," said Sir Galbrant in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, Hardnir. How come you heal so fast? That was pretty deep cut from what I could remember, when I laid you down on your bed that night. The healer did stich you up, but still, that is amazing," said Gels.

"Well, I guess he is blessed by the Gods or whatnot. Are you done? Cover yourself up, please, jeez," said Alayah while her cheeks turned red.

I sat on my chair, grabbed my shirt in my bag, and had it on. Never knew Alayah would react like that, but that was on me, not being mindful that there was a woman in our midst.

"I suggest we rest up a good long one tonight, and head off tomorrow at noon. The bear will not go anywhere, and if it did, we will just follow its trail. What do you say, commander?" asked the old man, teasingly.

"Stop it, for the love of the Gods, just stop it. It weirds me out, old man. Just carry on your boy, lad, or whatever you are calling me. And yeah, that's good enough for me. Let's take this day easy, do what you want to do. I will be in my room, and I will try to rest up as much as I can in order to fight with all my might against the beast," I said to the group.

The group stood up from the table and went about to do their own stuff.

Alayah approached me as I was collecting my bag and said,

"Can I talk to you for a little bit, Hardnir?"