Orange Blossoms...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 12:18am

(Originally started on October 13, 2008)

Dark clouds swirled overhead as storm winds cut through the city, which fit his mood like the dark forest-green gloves fitted snugly over clenched fists . Before the sun would set on this lightless day the Companions would be mustered outside the city walls and ready to march. For how long was a question few were willing to consider, and none within earshot of the Lord Captain.

Kaitze sighed. Had it really been three years since the Lord Captain had taken him into service? A boy whose highest ambitions rested upon cutting enough purses and fulfilling enough contracts to gain some measure of comfort in a nameless backwater town? So much had passed in that time. So many changes. Kaitze looked at the man who had brought him so far. A nobleman by birth, which normally would have sent Kaitze running in the opposite direction, but Graidon was different. A man who fought a tireless battle every waking second. Where other men would bow to the strain or retreat in the face of overwhelming odds, Graidon would stand fast alone surrounded by utter Darkness. Come to think of it, he already had.

Suppressing a rueful smirk, Kaitze stood as he realized that Graidon was striding for the door. When Graidon had first entered the antechamber Kaitze had not noticed the changes, but as he paused in front of the door a number of startling revelations made themselves apparent. The fact that he was wearing full plate armor and his sword did not surprise Kaitze at all. Not anymore; not after recent events. What did give him pause was that his Lord Captain, the man he looked up to and admired, no longer wore the colors of the Imperial House. Instead of the gold and green Kaitze had become so accustomed to was a rich blend of blue and white flowing down the back of a full-length cloak. Blue-steel greaves and vambraces reflected a pale light that illuminated the room in a eerie glow. Kaitze was already so astonished that he surprised himself again by nearly gasping when he noticed the emblem on the Lord Captain's chassis. There in the center of his breastplate, plain for all to see, were two symbols that could easily start a blaze that could engulf the entire City: three blue snowflakes strewn overhead a leaping white hare. The Winter Army The name sent a shiver down Kaitze's spine and froze the breath in his throat.

If his reactions were only half as visible to Graidon as Kaitze thought they were, he showed no sign of them. "Kaitze," Graidon's voice was as hard as ice and as yielding as a winter storm. "I need you to do something for me."

"My Lord?" Kaitze could feel himself tensing in the shoulders; wishing he understood what all of this meant. It seemed that events were spinning out of control far too quickly for any thought to be had.

"Find Ingwold. Tell him to ready the men and form the legion. Outside the Gate of Twilight. Set camp for the night five miles east along the North Road. I'll rejoin you there before full-night."

Kaitze's confusion continued to grow. None of this made sense. "My Lord, I hear and obey, but if I may ask, where will you be?"

"I must say goodbye Kaitze. I must see her one last time."

Confusion turned to alarm as suspicions were confirmed and pieces began to fit together like one of Ingwold's Shadow-cursed puzzles. "Lord Captain, you know the King's Decree. No one may set foot on Palace grounds without first receiving his permission. In person. I'm not asking you to change your mind, but please at least let me go with you!"

The winter-hard gaze softened with a warm smile Kaitze had not seen in what seemed like an eternity. "No Kaitze. I go alone. I need to see her for myself. By myself."

"But what if the City Patrol, or the Royal Guard see you? I'm sure they've heard the news by now and they may try to stop you."

Graidon turned to face his student and friend, and Kaitze took a step back involuntarily. "I hope that they try, Kaitze. I very much hope that they try." With those words, he left.

As cold as the winter that forged him, and as pitiless. Kaitze released the breath he had not realized he was holding. As if his brief pause had taken an hour instead of mere moments, Kaitze gathered his things from the room before quickly closing the door to the Lord Captain's chambers for what would almost certainly be the last time. Now there's a sad thought. And I was just finally getting used to walking around these halls with a sense of permanence. Everything changes. That last thought had been in a voice other than his own. Sadness atop of sadness.

Hurrying to find Ingwold in the Companion's barracks, Kaitze changed his mind about the Lord Captain's armor. In all their time together Graidon had always been a man of compassion and mirth. Stern at times, even fiery when in battle, but never cold. Kaitze had never seen his eyes burn with such intensity before.They won't even have time to notice his armor.

As Kaitze made his way into the Barracks the storm broke overhead. There was a storm coming, and its fury would shake the foundations of the entire kingdom.

---

Graidon left Kaitze in the chamber and allowed his thoughts to drift while navigating the broad corridors. Gold-encased lighting and richly woven tapestries passed on either side as unnoticed as the patterned marble underfoot. Kaitze was a good man, and an irreplaceable companion in more ways than one. Graidon put his old friend from his mind as he exited the building and tread along the paved boulevard toward the Royal Garden; to say farewell, and to offer his last Oath.

Graidon could see the sun's dull light fade as it fell beneath the hills in the west. Most people were already outside of the Imperial Sector heading toward home or were holed up in taverns drinking, gambling, dancing and otherwise forgetting the troubles of the day. Pausing for a moment at an inn called the Emerald Twins, Graidon took in the sound of merriment and music. A three-storied building, the blonde-haired woman with bright green eyes painted on the hanging sign explained the name of the inn just as the sounds drifting from the windows betrayed its clientele. A place for young nobles and off-duty officers, the Emerald Twins offered any number of distractions depending on the amount of gold changing hands. With enough gold, the distractions could be very lavish indeed. With a rueful shake of his head, Graidon moved on. Everything he knew of the place came from Kaitze. His knowledge of such places seemed limitless at times.

Returning his attention to the immediate surroundings, Graidon noticed a squad of patrolmen making their way down the road to check that everything was in order in this part of the city. Without breaking stride, Graidon circumvented the patrol by casually striding into a side-alley. It would not bode well should he be noticed and confronted by the City Watch so near to the Palace. Graidon was in no mood to answer questions, but fighting his way through the city would not serve his purpose one whit. Nearing his destination, and safe from curious eyes, Graidon slowed his pace. Winding his way through the narrow walkway was a matter of routine for Graidon. So many years spent protecting these streets and those who walked them. Before he realized it Graidon had reached the entrance. There, across the cobblestone street stood the gates to the Royal cemetery.

Located near the border to the Great Forest that spread for miles all around the southern portion of the city, the cemetery was a small piece of acreage meticulously tended to and maintained by palace servants. Several clustered groves marked the different lineages that the royal family had descended from. Graidon had never been allowed to walk its hallowed ground when he was a young boy of course, but that had not stopped him back then. He had went in search of adventure and returned with more than he ever would have imagined. Barely...

Climbing the wall would be impossible with its smooth, marbled surface. Even if he grew an inch a minute he would still need...well, he wasn't quite sure how many minutes it would take to get tall enough to make the jump. Looking to his left, he laughed when he saw the solution...

No. Graidon slammed the door to that memory. Harshly. Its brief recollection stirred powerful emotions. There would be time for memories later. Reflection would have to bide its time. Drawing a ragged breath made him aware of just how long he had be staring at the entrance.

He had not been allowed within the royal cemetery then, and he most certainly was not allowed inside now. With firm resolve, Graidon made his way to the entrance. Just as it was when he was a child a solid lock was built into the finely-crafted gates. Lacking Kaitze's patience or skill with subtleties, Graidon focused a small thread of his Strength into the joint at his fist and crushed the lock. Pushing his way in,the gates gave way grudgingly, screeching in protest on hinges no longer properly aligned. Moving quickly, Graidon made his way inside. The gates were patrolled, and his time was limited.

The path that led to the different grove-stands was straight and lined with rows of white rose bushes.
Taking the first fork to the right Graidon walked to where he knew she would be. As the trail gave way to the cluster of trees Graidon felt a sad smile alter his frozen face. Orange blossoms. Memory stirred again, of a young woman singing beneath orange blossom trees, and laughter. A time long passed. It seemed ages ago, and yet the memory was as strong and clear as if he was reliving the previous day.

Standing beneath the trees, Graidon breathed in the smell of the trees and hoping to stay in the moment longer, but his time was short. Too precious to spend on a memory.

Walking slowly into the center of the grove, a single Sentinel stood silent vigil over the marked grave. Frozen in its duty, the statue would watch over the spirit and ward against any who would try to defile this consecrated ground. Beautifully carved in detail, Graidon paid it less heed than the wind buffeting his cloak. His eyes were locked onto the marker of a tomb. Hertomb.

As if the weariness and strain of the past months had just made themselves known, Graidon sank to a knee and slowly touched his head to the stone. There he stayed, as if becoming part of the serenity that surrounded the grove. Inside, his thoughts swirled with the tumult of a tempest wind.

I...I am lost without you.Graidon had never before believed in the spirits the Brotherhood so often preached of, but she had. She had believed, and had kindled a spark within him that now was gone. Yet she had believed, and so he reached out in desperate hope. I failed you. That first night I promised I would see you home. I swore on the light of my soul that I would protect you. I could not be there. I could not...From the depths of despair rose a swelling anger tinged with a blind rage that searched for an outlet. Graidon fought a war within himself to contain the fury that would shatter the peace of Elloren's resting place.

Suddenly, the aura of Graidon's Iscu surrounded him like a blazing star. Consumed by the cold-void that seemed an abyss within his very soul, he scoured the emptiness with fire. Trembling with the force of it, Graidon's voice rattled as a whisper from his lips that reverberated through his skull with mind-shattering force. Strength to succor. Power to protect. Life for light. Defend 'til death. Shaking with the effort of invoking such a powerful Oath, Graidon stumbled to his feet. Laying a hand on Elloren's tomb, he envisioned her face one last time. My soul is forfeit,atemorenus,and I shall know no rest this side of death. Watch over me, and we shall meet again in the Realm of Light, where no Shadows fall. Just as you told me long ago. Goodbye, my light, and my life. Goodbye.

Walking down the path toward the entrance, Graidon felt a sense of peace within himself. His grief would forever consume him, and the world had lost its luster, but now he had a purpose. A conviction so firm that it would light his path and guide his hand in the days to come. He would hold his Oath no matter the cost. No matter what forces arraigned against him. He would see it done.

Feeling a shift in the breeze, Graidon suddenly spun away from a presence he sensed more than felt. The faint trace of another Iscu had just appeared from behind him in the opposite direction of the only entrance to the cemetery. From where he had just descended. Reaching for his sword, Graidon prepared his Defense...

...and stopped dead. Letting his sword-hand drop from the hilt, his wide eyes could not have expressed more surprise. There, standing beneath beside the path with the grove of orange blossom trees in the background was the last face he ever thought to see.

"It's not possible..."