CHAPTER 2: bravery and fear

Kaspy was silently moving along with the rest of her group. The scepter of the snake stood above each one, being held lovingly by each one of the black robed individuals. The room smelled of parsley leaves and the atmosphere was dense within that small boxed room made of black marble. The shaking and dancing intensified and finally came to a stop. The 5 people within the room stopped and looked at each other taking off their hoods. The exertion made Kaspy sweat with droplets falling upon her long neck and behind her thick, straight, shiny, black hair which she wore short.

She leaned on the base pillar, catching her breath. People around her were exiting the room with slow deliberate steps. Everyone was silent aside from the few chants thrown around as people were passing by the statue of Elderon. Kaspy awaited her turn and stepped in front of the marble statue of the god. She chanted mutely and decided to make her exit out of the heavy room as well. She took of her hood absent minded as she was, pumped into a muscular pillar. She looked up only to see Areler.

"You are blocking your Queen; don't you see where you are going?" Kaspy said with stern voice.

"Apparently I don't your majesty, you have my sincere apology"

"You are not hiding your irony very well".

"I am once again truly sorry for offending my queen" he said following it by a very deep bow.

She looked around, the halls were empty. Again she just couldn't find a reason to punish him. Sometimes she just wanted to take an axe to his face, but Areler was simply too precious to the court. And especially to her, his loyalty and opinions were sincere despite his lack of respect.

"Let's walk, we can talk on the way" her attendant came from around the corner as they began their walk through the open stone corridors of the castle. She brought to her the royal robe and her crown. She wore them hastily and turned two other corners before reaching the aisle leading to her throne room.

"What's the first order of business" the queen asked absent mindedly.

"A villager came, with a very familiar claim. I wouldn't call it uneducated but it certainly resembles one".

"Another undead animal?" she asked frustrated.

"Another one indeed"

They reached the golden engraved doors of the throne room. The queen opened them forcefully making a couple of the nobles jump from surprise. They looked at her with wonder and hesitation. She heard a few 'your grace' acknowledgements. But she ignored them whilst taking her sit. She sighed. Areler stood next to her throne. She waved her guards to bring in her first audition of the day. They went to the waiting room next door and a few moments later, the villager was bowing in front of the Queen.

"Speak. Quickly" she said coldly.

The villager got up hurriedly from his bow, almost dropping his hat from his quick motion.

"My Queen, my name is Lowrk. Yesterday I was hunting inside the forest on the east. Before too long, I run into a dear''. Kaspy moved uncomfortably on her sit. Oh here we go again she thought, listening once again to this story. "I took aim carefully and shot the dear, my arrow landed on its neck. Normally it would have been a clean kill but the deer got up and walked away undisturbed, I didn't dare go after it but when I went to the area I shot it, there was not even a pinch of blood"

Murmurs followed the end of the story. ''all praise Elderon" a voice said weakly. More praises followed.

Kaspy, clicked her tongue in annoyance. "All right, silence everyone". She shouted with authority. The hall went quiet; a few heads fell forward in submission.

Areler turned to his Queen with a slight nod asking for permission to speak. The queen waved away lazily.

"And what do you expect of the court then Mr Lowrk, do you wish me to send a royal hunter to show you how arrows can kill animals?" a few laughs followed Areler's sarcastic comment.

The villager looked embarrassed by the court's reaction.

"But sir" the villager managed to mumble. "There are more people back home who can tell ya what they saw too".

"Oh, yes. Drunken fools in the inn always tell the truth" more laughs followed Alerer's sarcastic comment.

The queen raised her hand, silencing the court once more. She had to take a moment to consider an appropriate answer to this delicate subject. She knew that discrediting the story completely like Areler attempted, was not a wise move no matter what foolishness that uneducated fool was spewing. Areler's idea of embarrassing him was the best possible move if it would be done in a more delicate way, considering the priests of Elderon had arrived and were watching her with their steady sight and their dark robes enveloped in red collars.

"While you have confidence in your shot Mr Lowrk, I do not know you nor do I care to. Now listen carefully; unless you bring, concrete and physical evidence, this story is just a drunken man's yarns. And no one in the court has any inclination to hear any of this any longer.'' She shooed him away right at the moment the priests of Elderon approached her court. She sighed but the villager thankfully wasted no moment clumsily exiting her court, but not before bowing with a slight motion towards the priests.

The head priest approached without any indication and without expecting permission. "My queen" he said respectfully and with a hashed tone as it was intended only for her ears. "That man might have been a fool, but even the slightest chance he is right should not be dismissed. Elderon's signs are not easy to spot by any means. It is a treacherous road we would be following if we dared ignore them." A lot of nobles seem to incline their heads in agreement.

The queen almost rolled her eyes but she restrained herself. "What do you suggest then your holiness?" she asked knowing the answer.

"We venture forward, time to explore the forest of Lers, we send a team of trained hunters along with some soldiers and we can finally put the case to rest" The priest spoke with assurance, with emphasis on each word. The lords listened intently. At this point everyone turned to the Queen for her answer. Little did they know that the priest's suggestion was anything but that.

She clicked her tongue with annoyance. The priest hid his face in the shadow of his hooded garment. She seemed deep in thought, but in reality the decision was already made in her mind. "We can spare a few guards. And you speak true your holiness. It is past time to assure the populace that nothing is amiss."

She stood up glaring at the nobles gathered in her court. "I shall lead the expedition. Anything we find I would like to see it for myself." Silence fell to the court, everyone looking at each other.

Nobles gathered in small crowds. The count of Esferen stepped forward. "My queen, I apologize first for daring to argue with your announcement. But your place in this court is important. Your life is important."

"It is, but so is our quest to find Elderon"

The priest's face lit. He was undeniably shocked to hear his queen stating that desire. She looked at him daring him to speak up. He simply bowed approvingly. The court erupted in clapping and shouts.

After the noise receded, the queen nodded towards his counselor to continue bringing in the matters to the court.

The queen sighed slowly whilst listening to noble Kark list all the items that were stolen on the last raid he suffered. "alright lord Kark, just find the treasurer and he will arrange a fair tax cut this year.''

His stubby face brightened "oh thank you, your magnanimity knows no limits your highness".

"Yes, yes. Now leave me in peace". She got up and proceeded to walk towards the doors and the guards lined up on two parallel ranks and stomped their lances to the ground in a rhythmic routine. The guards closest to the door flaps opened them for her. She passed through gracefully with her attendants and Areler following closely by.

Areler opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it and kept it closed.

Queen Kaspy shooed her attendants away and entered her dimly lit office. The place where she spent the most time organizing and signing documents with no relation to real events and situations half of the time. But nonetheless it had to be done. Areler followed her inside without delay, shutting the door as he entered the room. The white oak stand next to the office with the mirror was the first stop of the Queen. She took down her crown and pulled her black hair back.

Areler stood still with his hands clasped behind his backs. Kaspy turned her attention to him.

"Come on. Get on with it". Areler looked annoyed and had a disapproving expression drawn all over his thin smacked lips.

"Why did you agree to this madness?" Areler exploded and began pacing around. "Your highness" he added all too late.

Kaspy couldn't help herself and let out a laugh, which irritated Areler further. It was quite rare to see him so serious with all his usual sarcasm having completely evaporated.

"The priests of Elderon have simply grown too powerful as you might have noticed" The queen said with a sudden change of tone to her earlier light-hearted voice.

"Yes, today's situation serves as a good example. It is a problem." Areler agreed hastily.

"It is. But you see, we are in a weaker position. People revel at them and rely on them for advice nowadays. Their churches are full and people are becoming more and more superstitious. When my father agreed to make Elderon's religion the official state religion he never expected them to grow this powerful. And to tell you the truth, neither did I".

"Understandable, no one saw it coming." Areler said with a condescending tone.

Kaspy smiled again "Yes, Areler, except for you, I am aware. Remind me, what was your strategy back then in case we found ourselves in this situation?"

Areler smiled back. "Cutting the problem to its core, of course; Imprisonment and execution on grounds of treason."

"Indeed, and it would have worked back then. But now we would face martyrdom turning their church into a more powerful entity. They have become too important to the mass." Kaspy grasped a paper from the pile next to her desk and pulled it open.

"What is that?" Areler asked as he extended his hand to receive it.

Areler's eyes widened while reading the contents of the piece of paper. "This is impossible." He whispered.

"Not as much as we thought, apparently."

"This is enough to imprison most of those fat, self-absorbed nobles who go around throwing dirt at your name." Areler said with passion.

"As you read, most of them have already submitted to the church. I cannot touch them. All I can do is making sure the filthy, greedy little fingers of the church are cut short before they extend any further."

"And how would by going on this crazy venture accomplish that?" Areler said disregarding his manners.

But the queen simply smiled. "I would get to personally dispute any such claims once and for all."

"It's much harder to prove something doesn't exist rather than that it does."

The queen disregarded his comment with a wave of her hands. "Let's both agree that the claims of immortal animals by uneducated farmers are moronic."

Areler snickered. "I agree, but what if it's true? What will you do then?"

The queen stood up and paced around the small office room casually and stopped near the fireplace placing her hand on top of the archway. "You are a cautious man, as always Areler. In the unlikely case it is true then my rule will be in jeopardy".

"We can't have that" Areler said slowly.

"no we can't" she retorted with a sneer. She paused and glanced at Areler. "Once I leave for my venture, I want you to deliver this to the church of the forgotten gods."

"So you plan on exchanging one for the other once the cult fails?" Areler's brows furrowed. "No, wait. You are planning on pitting them against each other. Of course!" he said with amusement. "That would give you time to reorganize the state in your favor".

The queen's head bobbed in approval. "For all of that to work we need the venture to be a failure."

Silent contemplation filled the room. A few moments later the queen's royal voice broke the silence. "It is time I prepare for the next order of business, leave me Areler. Find me my attendant first".

"It would be a great pleasure to serve my queen in any manner that is necessary" Areler said sarcastically once more. The queen glanced one last time at his back as he was leaving the room. She wondered what the limits of his faith to her were. His doubtful demeanor could not and would not be overlooked by the vigilant queen. She simply smiled once more. Her odds were against her but she was feeling excited. The war was just beginning.