Chapter 1 of Estaroth

by EstarothAvestas

A mantle of mist lay low over the mountains. Like a dense shifting blanket, it made its way through the deep valleys, swallowing trees, plants, animals, giant rocks and even the mountains themselves in its cold embrace. The inexorable journey of the mist through the vales and natural basins was the ushering of a new beginning. Spring was close.

The massive peaks, towering to all sides with their snowcapped summits were almost completely shrouded in the clouds that rode on the mists. The sun, as if reborn, peeped over the distant horizon, a pale yellow ball suspended over the earth as if frozen in time. Its orange rays lit the air, shooting shafts of light into the sky as if they were heavenly pillars to support the far-flung bowl of the sky.  It was a sight to see, but if one were not caught in the midst of the mist.

Two powerful chargers galloped down an old worn road to the south of the mountains. One was a glossy black gelding which flew over the ground with tremendous bursts of speed; the other, a heavy chestnut stallion followed a pace behind, keeping up with its steady thundering gallop. The loud drum of their hooves filled the forest, startling animals away from the road as they rode by.

Astride the chestnut was a burly man with long curly red hair and beard that fell to his chest. His arms, each so thick that one hand could not encompass their girth, were bare and at his waist hung a long broad sword. His large crooked nose hinted that it had been broken several times in his violent past. On the other hand, his piercing dark brown eyes showed wisdom and experience.

On the black gelding sat a boy who was at complete odds with the large man. He was lean and full of energy, balancing easily on his horse. His long brown hair whipped in the air behind him and he threw back his head occasionally, laughing in exhilaration. The boy’s bright green eyes were set below dark bushy eyebrows, and his hooked nose gave him the fierce look of a hawk. He wore the finery of a young aristocrat, a red brocaded doublet and coat, billowing behind him as the wind swept it up. A bow was held in his hand and a single-edged blade hung at his waist.

The thick snow was thawing as winter gave way to spring, and yet, on this morning it seemed that it was as cold as a midwinter day. Only those trees that kept leaf or needle throughout the winter had green about them. Meshes of last year’s bramble spread brown webs under the trees. Nettles numbered most amongst the few weeds that grew at this time of the year.

The sounds of life were like a multitude of jumbled noises as the forest came awake at dawn. The high-pitched chirrup of birds overlapped each other, outlined by the chattering of the squirrels high in the branches. It seemed to become even more of a frenzy as the birds warned the forest of the presence of outsiders and it drowned out most of the noise in its brilliance.

Powerful flurries flattened the boy’s shirt to his back, lashed the light brown wool around his legs, and made his hair whip across his face. He wished his clothes were heavier, cursing himself for not wearing anything extra. He spent most of his efforts trying to tug the cloak around him, a wasted effort because it would snag in the quiver at his hip. Trying to hold the cloak one-handedly did not do much good anyway; he had his bow in the other, an arrow nocked in it. Without thinking, he touched the nock of the arrow; it was ready to be drawn to his cheek in one smooth movement, the way his mentor had taught him. Animals roamed this land freely and it would be foolish for him to relax his guard.

It was no longer safe to be out after dark. Men were the prey as often as sheep, and the sun did not always have to be down, but he thought little of this. He was skeptical about the fact that a wolf or even a bear could catch him off guard. He would have more than enough time to flee from a bear on horseback and he could bring down a number of wolves with his bow.

The red headed rider reined up and looked down at a snowy patch on the ground. He dismounted with agility that did not match his size and crouched beside the patch. The tracks were clearly imprinted in the snow, not more than two hours old, and between the widely spaced tracks was a smooth surface of snow. The boy jumped off his horse, and stood beside the man, like a willow beside a giant monolith.

“Are these the tracks, Havgar?” He asked.

The man named Havgar nodded slowly. “Yes they are.” he said, pointing at the surface of the snow that was smooth. “It has dragged the sheep over the snow; you can see how it’s scraped smooth.”

The boy bent over to look more closely, “Yes… how long do you think since they passed here?”

“I would think two hours ago, maybe more. You can’t really know due to the snow,” replied the large man. “But they’re close, Elathan.”

Elathan was the second and youngest son of Viscount Aquilo, a man who cared very little for anything other than his duties. His mother had died when he was born fifteen years ago and he did not even remember her face except from the portraits of her at the castle, but he was told that her beauty had shone like starlight. As a child he had occasionally imagined her to look like one of the court women, all dressed up and regal. However those thoughts had long since faded away because growing up amongst men, all of whom were sturdy warriors, had toughened Elathan to the point where he had lost all resemblance to children his own age and enjoyed spending his time in the company of his father’s soldiers as well as Havgar.

A snow leopard had recently started to terrorize the villages. The forests that they were riding through were all is fathers’ property and thus the duty came down to his family to go and kill any animals that preyed on game or farm animals. From what he had heard from the villagers on his way, it was obvious that there was only one of them. Leopards were native to the mountains that lay north of the forests they rode in. Vicious and intelligent creatures, at times they would even attack a man when hunger drove them to do so. It was known that a snow leopard could take down three men in a group before the fourth felled it with a sword or arrow. Unlike the other cats, Elathan had heard of, leopards who took down everyone before they began their meal, whereas lions would concentrate on a single target in a group and attack only him. Elathan was in no way overly optimistic or confident that he would be able to find and kill the creature easily. He knew the leopard had come down from its high hunting grounds because of lack of food, meaning it was willing to kill more animals to keep alive.

Elathan had come alone because his elder brother, Volun, was on an errand for his father. He knew from the accounts of the villagers that the leopard had attacked not once, but several times. Leopards were never so confident or stupid; they were weary of traps and never attacked the same place in a single week, but Elathan did think that that mattered much. He really had no choice since the villagers looked to his family to take care of the problems concerning the Viscount’s fief. Elathan had snuck out without the permission of his father, and now as he thought about it he had no idea about what excuse he would give the Viscount. It would have been just as appropriate for his father’s soldiers to search the forests and hunt down the leopard. Whatever he was going to say it would have to be good.

The attacks had started two weeks before. In the beginning, one head of cattle would vanish every two days or so, however after a few nights two or three would be killed in a single night, which in the end brought the villagers to the Viscount’s doorsteps as they complained to him. When a week of the villager’s arguments had passed, Elathan could take it no more. He told his mentor of many years, Havgar, that he was going out after the leopard no matter what anyone else said and Havgar, though a fully-grown man, could never resist the temptation of adventure and had readily agreed to accompany him, claiming that it was all for the sake of the villagers, whereas Elathan knew the whole truth.

Havgar had been his tutor since childhood. The large bearlike man had taught him how to ride, use a sword, fight with his fists, shoot with a bow and arrow and even how to survive during hard times. The strict regime he had enforced on Elathan from early childhood had been tough. He was grateful now for all those rigorous years of continuous fighting. He could hold his own against almost anyone in his father’s personal guard, except for Havgar, and Elathan was only fifteen. Elathan loved his large protector as much as his own father and he knew that he could never live without his mentor’s continuous presence at his side. He felt invincible when with Havgar.

There had been times when Havgar had been the only one that mattered to Elathan. His brother was much older than he was, thus the chance of friendship between them had never really blossomed and his father was too strict and abided by iron rules that gave no room for familiarity. Thus it was Havgar who Elathan turned to in times of trouble as well as when he was about to undertake something he was going to hide from his family.

The bond of trust between them had always been strong and he told Havgar everything…perhaps not everything as Elathan felt awkward speaking on the topic of women with his mentor. What would Havgar think? Elathan thought silently.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Havgar spoke. “Let’s leave. If we’re lucky we’ll catch up to the beast in a couple of hours, maybe less and we may be able to take it down with plenty of time to spare for the return journey.”

Elathan looked over the tracks one last time before mounting his horse named Oistos. He set him into a fast trot, following close behind Havgar who went after the paw tracks. At times the tracks would disappear if they came across rocky ground, however a while later they would re-emerge, heading in the same direction.

Elathan had never seen a leopard, but the villager said that it was a very large one, about the size of a bear and with jaws that could swallow a man whole without even chewing. Elathan knew that was an exaggeration of the truth. Swallow a man whole?  What fools they were. There was one thing that Havgar always beat into him during the sparring lessons and that was always to overestimate your opponent so that when you faced him you were more than just prepared.

“Be vigilant!” Havgar had always roared. “One day you’ll drop you’re guard and you’ll be stabbed in the back by a lowly thief in an alley where people won’t even pay attention to your rotting body!” Havgar always went on to tell stories of many great warriors, most of them his own friends who had been killed in such a disgraceful manner simply because they had stopped being ‘vigilant’. “It’s not the right way for a respectable man to die.”

The pair had set out in the pre-dawn darkness and had already ridden for a few hours now. Elathan had developed an ache in the small of his back that had spread slowly to his thighs and upper-back as they rode on. The pale winter sun came over the forest and slowly rose upwards into the high heavens. Its weak rays offered no relief to the riders, only increasing their discomfort as it shone directly in their eyes and induced a throbbing pain in Elathan’s head. It was only after a short while in this uncomfortable state that Elathan realized he was no longer enjoying the hunt he had so eagerly rode out for. His nose was runny, his head ached, his back ached, and his mouth was dry. Havgar seemed unaffected by the problems assailing Elathan and rode in the same fashion as he had had hours before. He was so impervious that he held discussions and pointed out birds and animals to Elathan on the way. He commented on the color and origins of the birds as if Elathan enjoyed being enlightened about them, which he obviously did not, however Havgar seemed not to notice and kept his persistent monologue running for a long while.

After a drawn out ride they entered a clearing from where the mountains were clearly visible in the clean air. Their white snowcapped peaks were shrouded in the dull grey mass of clouds that stood unmoving all winter over the mountains. The exposed high rocky crags were the only thing that gave away the presence of the massive peaks. They paused for a while to look at the sight and Havgar muttered beside him.

“Cursed mountains, why is it that trouble always has to come down from there?”

Elathan chuckled. Havgar’s bad moods were like the seasons. They came and went periodically. “This is the first problem I’ve seen and they find them beautiful.”

“Oh, there were others,” replied Havgar, “but those were before you were born, when your dad and I were still young.”

“Like what problems?”

They had started riding again. “Nothing serious, but it used to annoy us a lot. We had to go clean up whatever mess that came rolling down from there.”

He went on to tell Elathan of how he and his father had once killed a massive bear, ‘bigger than anything Elathan had seen’, in the streets of a village after it had torn down two straw houses in an effort to reach honey it had sniffed from afar. Elathan regretted asking Havgar as once again he was forced to listen to him speak continuously. Just when Elathan was starting to get interested in the story, Havgar suddenly froze. His body tensed and he looked around, holding his hand up, signaling Elathan to halt.

The silence lasted several heartbeats and Elathan realized that he was holding his breath. Letting it out slowly, he listened, to discern what had distracted Havgar but it was to no avail. “Havgar, what is-“

“Shh! Wait!”

Elathan was more aware of the cold now; he realized his muscles had cramped and that his movements were now limited. He fell into a sullen silence and drew his bow up, ready to shoot at anything that moved. The silence persisted as the pair waited a hundred paces away from the edge of the forest. If they were to be attacked out in the open, it would make the leopard’s job easier. However, considering that they were two of them, and that Havgar was such a seasoned fighter, there would be little problem for them to defend themselves. What he feared the most was the probability of something going wrong. Leopards were infamous for their killing power; they were exceptionally good at it.

The wind that had harassed them all day had now died off, leaving the world in a state of calm…too calm for Elathan’s liking. The silence was heavy; even the birds cooing in the upper canopy had fallen silent. This was strong indication that the leopard was near. His eyes ran over the wall of trees at the edge of the forest, trying to spot the leopard in between them.

“Shouldn’t we get into the forest Havgar? It can catch as easily in this open ground.” His voice had dropped to a whisper.

“No…” He replied. “We won’t be able to use those bows properly in there and I don’t think there’s one.”

“What! Not one? How do you know that?”

“I saw a pair of faded tracks a while back which had crossed over the prints of the leopard we’re following and from the look of them it wasn’t the same one. I’m guessing it’s a pair that has been taking the cattle.” Havgar jumped of his horse and motioned for Elathan to follow suit. “Leave them here, we should continue on foot.”

Elathan reluctantly left Oistos’s side and tagged along with Havgar.

Without moving his mouth, his mentor asked. “Are you ready?”

“Are you?” Replied Elathan with the same question, with more calm than he felt. He scanned the forest quickly, eyes darting from one side to the other, trying to decide where the beasts would attack.

“Now listen Elathan, this is important.” continued Havgar. “I need you to watch the left side of the forest while I lookout on the right. No matter what happens do not look towards my side, let me handle everything that comes out of there and I will do likewise with yours. If any of us looses concentration for a second then that’s when they’ll strike. Understood? This’ll be a good test of what you’ve learnt. Be vigilant!”

Elathan nodded without a word and lifting his bow higher, pulling the arrow back slightly for instant release. He could hear the thump of his beating heart and the sound of rushing blood in his ears. He could feel the snow that he treaded on and the tiny twigs that broke beneath the pressure. His senses were heightened to a completely new level. So this was the feeling danger…he thought. Elathan tried to listen to the forest, straining his ears to catch some tiny sound made by the two hunters who watched them so closely. He realized the irony of the situation that they were in. The hunters had become the hunted.

Suddenly from behind him, Elathan heard a sharp grunt that was followed by the twang of a bowstring. He looked around impulsively to see what had happened and was just in time to witness a leopard running full pelt across the ground. An arrow flashed through the air, striking it directly in the chest and bringing it down in a cloud of snow. Before the dead cat even stopped sliding, he heard Havgar’s roar of warning.

“Elathan you fool! Look behind you!”

Elathan cursed loudly, turning in a full circle and drawing the arrow to his cheek. A silver blur flew over the snow, covering the distance between him and the forest in short rapid strides. He released the arrow reflexively, praying it would hit. The arrow soared over the shoulder of the cat, burying itself in the snow behind and Elathan reached back for a second arrow from his quiver, but at the last moment realized it was futile…the leopard was too close.

The creature hurled itself into the air ten paces away from Elathan, flying like a spear at his chest, yellow canines bared to bite into his face, and front paws extended to grip his chest. Elathan was frozen in shock, knowing that there was nothing he could do. Was this the end? Abruptly Havgar’s massive shape moved in front of Elathan blocking the leopard, as it struck his chest. His mentor was tossed backwards by the impetus of the charge and landed motionless in the snow, face down.

Elathan hurled his bow to the side at the same time, screaming, “Havgar!”

The leopard rolled over, snarling viciously at Elathan it lowered itself into a crouch. Its voice tore through the air and shattered the silence that had existed only seconds before. Elathan did not dare to glance at Havgar’s form, knowing that the moment his eyes left the leopard he would be dead. He could feel tears of anger stinging his eyes, as he stared topaz yellow eyes if the cat. Elathan had already drawn the long dirk at his hip amidst his rage, knowing that it was up to him to kill the creature. He held the weapon tightly in his fist as he covered Havgar with his own body from the path of the leopard, all the time looking into the depths of its eyes. He was surprised but more so relieved when he heard his mentor groan in pain, Elathan gathered his resolve, bracing himself for what he had to do. It was all up to him now that Havgar was hurt and he would not fail for a second time.

The cat had grayish fur and a long bushy tail. Numerous black dots covered its face and larger, more widely spaced ones were across the body. Its chest and stomach was bright white in color and completely spotless. Elathan could not help but admire the beauty of such a ferocious creature.

Leveling his dirk in front of him, Elathan stepped forward facing the leopard. Staring into those yellow eyes, he felt as if he was gazing into an infinite world of animal rage. Elathan realized that losing was not an option. This was not one of his sparring lessons; much more was at stake. Both his and Havgar’s life were on the brink of a precipitous cliff because of his stupid mistake, even though Havgar had warned him. As the leopard circled, Elathan felt the urge to bare is teeth back at leopard, an instinctual reply to man’s primeval enemy, and not being able to control himself, he growled deep in his throat.

Just then, the cat sprung forward, swinging its paws at him. Elathan jumped back avoiding the poisonous claws, and slashed back with his dirk; however, the leopard had already recoiled and now paced around out of Elathan’s reach. It was only a feint, thought Elathan. It’s testing me. Reaching down slowly, he drew another blade from his boot. He advanced forward slowly in an attempt to scare the cat away, but to his surprise it did not even budge from its position which made him stop his progress and trail the circular path that the cat was following.

Suddenly a thought struck him and he reacted quickly. Lifting his hand, he hurled the dirk with all his strength at the leopard. It spun twice before hitting the cat in the face, but to Elathan’s horror, the hilt struck first. The cat screeched in pain, thrown off balance by the sudden attack. Elathan understood that this was the only chance he would get and charged at the leopard with all he had. Swinging the dagger in an underhand thrust, he slashed the distracted cat across its shoulder. The blade sunk into the flesh, meeting resistance and then came free, spinning Elathan around. He caught himself before he fell as the leopard jumped back in pain; he struck out again, this time managing to slice deeper into the chest, but not deep enough to cause grievous harm. However, the second blow left him stretched out in an awkward position from which he could not come out fast enough. The leopard pitched itself on to him, throwing Elathan down while it landed on his chest.

The first thing that entered his mind was the stories he had heard from hunters. When leopards brought their victim down, they would sink their teeth into the back of his head and tear the top of his skull out, while using its back legs to tear open the stomach and disembowel the person. These thoughts set his body into motion.

He thrashed his lower body energetically, not letting the leopard get a proper grip with its back paws while at the same time he pushed the cat’s neck back with his right hand and tried to slash its face with the dagger in his left. The hot blood from the wounds he had inflicted on the creature gushed over his face and chest as he struggled, sour bile rising into his mouth. Its screams were the only things he could hear and he hit it repeatedly from below, remarkably managing to escape all the kicks from its back legs. Finally, desperation took over, and with all its might, the cat tried to get at Elathan’s face with its jaws.

Suddenly one of his slash’s struck properly, sinking into the cats’ eye. What he saw next he would never forget. The leopard threw itself off him, beating widely across the ground. He watched in horror as it smashed itself repeatedly into the rocky ground in complete pain. Scrambling away in repugnance he ran over to his fallen bow and clumsily fitted an arrow into it. His hand shook violently as he watched the once beautiful cat kill itself. Sobbing in revulsion, he took careful aim and released the arrow. It went into the leopard’s neck, severing the jugular and arteries in its path. The cat fell to the ground. However, it still twitched. He fitted another arrow and walked up to the cat. Closing his eyes, he pointed it at the head and released the second projectile. He felt flecks of blood land on his face as the arrow hit its mark and several seconds passed before he realized that silence had descended once again.

Elathan felt his knees weaken and he collapsed in a heap. Still not opening his eyes to see what he had done, his breathing was labored and to his own surprise, he felt a deep sorrow for the creature. They had both been driven by necessity to fight each other. Still not opening his eyes, he felt with his hands for any wounds on his stomach. To his utter amazement, he was free of any wounds that may have been inflicted in the melee. Elathan did not know how much time passed, but then he remembered Havgar and turned around quickly to look around.

Havgar was leaning against a tree several meters from Elathan, hand against his chest and a grimace on his face. He shook his head slowly. “It’s a bad way to go for a creature like that, eh?”

Elathan did not reply, a lump forming in his throat.

Havgar smiled then and Elathan felt as if the weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Don’t blame yourself, boy. You only put it out of its agony. You were fighting for your life, as it was too, and you should have no qualms when it comes to a situation like that.”

Elathan shook his head numbly. “None of this would have happened if I had listened to you.”

Havgar stood up, pressing his chest experimentally. “You’re right about that.”

Elathan looked up at him angrily. “You know I’m quite disturbed at the moment so it would help if you supported me right now.”

Havgar walked over to him and offered him a hand. “You’re not a little child Elathan. I don’t have to console you or help you justify your own actions. The fact is that you did not take seriously, what I told you, and you paid the price. However, you learnt a valuable lesson. One, you’ll never disobey what I say, and secondly, you learnt how to kill. It’s best your first kill was a leopard rather than a man, because all men will fight as brutally as you did when their life is threatened and you’ll be ready next time.”

He hauled Elathan to his feet, who thought about what had just been said, and he had to agree the words rang true. Havgar went to pick up his bow and Elathan looked over at him. “How’s your chest. You look alright.”

“I had the wind driven out of me and after all I’m not as young as I used to be. It took me a while to recover my breath.”

“Thanks for saving me. I could’ve died.” Said Elathan sarcastically.

He and Havgar walked back towards the horses with the two leopards lying where they had been killed.

“Yes, you would have, if it had not been for my training.” Havgar grinned.

The horses came into sight a moment later. Elathan was glad that Oistos was safe. For the first time he noticed that his clothes were completely soaked in stinking blood that had already begun to dry.

“I can’t go back like this!” exclaimed Elathan. “Father will kill me!”

Havgar laughed. “I think he will anyway, but for the sake of the villagers you aren’t going to wash yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

Havgar hauled himself onto his horse as did Elathan and they set out the way they had come. “They’ll all be waiting outside the castle when we arrive and if they see us all clean and smelling like flowers they’ll think we had fun playing in the forest.” Havgar threw his head back and laughed at his own joke.

Elathan on the other hand gave him a cold look. “That’s not even funny and who cares if they think that. I didn’t go out to impress anyone so I’m going to take a bath when we get to the river.”

It took a while for Havgar to sober up from his joke. “Well the choice is yours, but considering the cold I think you may freeze to death and besides that it’ll be fun to see the looks on their faces as they try to imagine what happened. It may even help you with the ladies…I’ve seen those sly looks that they throw you every now and then.”

Elathan looked away towards the forest, grunting sourly. “I’ll be lucky to catch the attention of an old hag let alone a beautiful maid in such a state.” Havgar began to laugh again and Elathan banged his hand against the saddle in exasperation. “What’s wrong with you Havgar? You’re about to scare the horses, I’m serious. Don’t you think you’re a little too happy?”

“I told you already Elathan. The choice is yours. If you want to wash yourself before we reach the castle, go ahead, but you’ll catch a cold more dangerous than any leopard. Remember, your appearance has to suit the occasion. I’m not the one to teach you about how to handle yourself since I used to be a village boy myself, you have other tutors for that, but I know enough to tell you that your current appearance is perfectly fit for the situation.”

Elathan decided to drop the argument and agree with Havgar; however, he realized that he would have to endure with all the grime for quite a while. Changing the topic, he said. “Don’t you think that was extremely dangerous? I mean, you’re not the one to underestimate anything so how did you not know that we’d be facing two leopards instead of one?”

Havgar shifted his bow into a more comfortable position and looked up at the sun, which had climbed much higher. “I came out thinking there was only one. If I had known there was another I wouldn’t have brought you along, let alone come with only one other person, but we got lucky, if you hadn’t thought of throwing your weapon, you could’ve died and if you had missed then you would’ve been worse off since you’d only have a single knife left.”

Elathan drew Oistos next to Havgar and said, slightly hurt. “What do you mean by luck? I planned that out. I aimed to hit on the face to distract it.”

Havgar gave him a dull, sidelong glance. “You planned to hit it with the ‘hilt’? If you’re so good then why not just throw the knife between its eyes and get it over with.”

Elathan shrugged. “Okay, I admit that was a miscalculation on my part, but trust me it wasn’t just a-” He stopped as he saw Havgar wince, the large man was still in considerable pain from the hit he had taken from the leopard. “Are you fine Havgar? You look bad.”

Havgar shook his head. “It was worse than I thought, but no worries, I can bear it until we get to the castle. Old man healer will patch me up and I’ll be fine in no time.”

Elathan remained silent, unsure of what to do, but Havgar patted him on the back. “No need to worry, boy. I’ll be fine. Let’s just hurry back.”

From then on, they talked little and even Havgar’s commentary on the surroundings had ceased. His father’s estate was massive and Elathan soon lost track of time. He even forgot to look at the passage of the sun to find out how long they had been riding for. When he looked at the sun next time it was already zenith. Even though he knew there was much distance left for them to cover, he did not worry since Havgar and he had run for miles without a break so this was nothing to him, he had handled much more hardships in the past.

As they neared the village, small houses started to appear here and there and many children who played outside stared in awe at the pair. There were men who called out to Havgar, enquiring how the hunt had gone. Elathan was sure that the news of their return would reach the castle faster than they would and that his father would already be waiting for him and Hagar to return.

It was nearing late afternoon when Castle Enloc came into sight. The road rose up to the gate, high above. Enloc crouched high upon a hill like an animal, poised to pounce on its prey. The towering spires of the castle reached for the sky. The guard towers were manned day and night and the entire defense was in the ‘responsible’ hands of Havgar, who had much experience in these matters. From afar, Elathan could see a group, which had gathered outside the gates, waiting for their return. They had lined up on either side of the cobble stone road, their cheers faintly heard from afar. Women and children also stood amongst them however, the feeling of victory he had expected was not there and it was because he feared his father’s wrath that was to come.

“This is the part I love best.” Muttered Havgar. “The welcoming of the heroes.” He rode forward to meet the people, Elathan following a couple of paces behind. Havgar waved his hand to the people gathered, while Elathan sat motionless on Oistos, knowing that he would look like a complete fool if he suddenly stumbled upon his father while waving merrily to the crowd. Elathan saw the girls bat their eyelashes, looking at him slyly and some even screamed excitedly. He glanced sharply at Havgar to see if he had noticed but he seemed too occupied in his own glory. Elathan also saw other faces, filled with shock at seeing him in his condition.

They rode through the open gates and into the courtyard, coming to a stop in front of the main quarters. The courtyard was large, surrounded by many buildings. Archway’s led straight from the gate to the front of the main quarters, another smaller arch led away towards the stables and barracks while a third led to the smithy and the fletchers shop. A number of soldiers loitered here and there, waiting to see what would happen to the two warriors now that they had returned.

Elathan’s father stood at the stairs that led up to the main quarters, hands clasped behind his back he had a grim look on his face. Aquilo was tall and had the same hooked nose and green eyes, the same as Elathan’s but he was of a heavier build. A sword hung at his waist, sheathed in a simple black scabbard. When Elathan saw him, he felt his throat go dry. He was no longer confident and dropped his eyes to the ground in front of Oistos. Havgar stopped waving when he saw Aquilo, and glanced mischievously at Elathan, whispering under his breath.

“He looks quite happy, don’t you think?” Maybe it was the nature of the situation, however it was one of the few times that Havgar’s sarcasm seemed funny and it took a great effort on Elathan’s part not to snort loudly.

They both dismounted respectfully and Elathan was not sure if he should step forward and justify himself, before his father even spoke. He prayed to himself that his punishment would not be one of those whippings that the most disobedient soldiers got. Elathan knew those were more than just simply painful. Unconsciously he scratched at the dried blood on his shirt and stopped as soon as he realized what he was doing, instead he noticed his dirty nails and tried to clean those too, however he stopped that as well, cursing silently to himself. Elathan was in total confusion and had a difficult time in getting a grip on himself.

Standing there guiltily in front of his father made him feel like a child again many years ago, when caught in the act of sneaking out of the castle at night, or maybe breaking a rule. The three of them stood in silence as the gate behind them was shut, cutting off the sound of the crowd. Elathan stole a glance towards Havgar to see how he was doing and to Elathan’s dismay; he had a smile fixed on his face, almost as if he was beaming with pride.

Elathan promised himself that he would deal with Havgar once they were alone. When his father had gotten a good look at both of them, he spoke.

“So Elathan? How do you explain this escapade of yours?” He asked.

Elathan looked down when being addressed by his father, and prepared himself to recite the words he had planned out on the way back. “I really had no choice this time, father. The villagers were complaining about the leopards killing their sheep for two weeks and they were growing desperate. No one was doing anything and I felt pity for them so…”

“So you thought you would go and bear the duty of killing the leopard, eh?”

“I apologize father, but I didn’t think that.” He replied sullenly. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Elathan saw his father shake his head. “Look at you. Dirty with blood, smelling to the sky and looking like a street kid who fell in a gutter. Let me guess; was this Havgar’s idea of a heroic entrance from a victorious battle? He always bloodied himself from head to toe in the old days.”

Elathan tried to cover the smile that split his serious looking face. His father had hit right on mark.

“And you Havgar? I thought you would do better than to encourage this little adventurer. Is your intuition going dull or did you simply turn a blind eye to the dangers involved in taking a child on a leopard hunt?”

“No need to worry so much Aquilo. I was there with him so he was never in danger.”

The Viscount gave Havgar a cold look then addressed Elathan. “Go up to my study. I’ll be there shortly.”

Elathan gave Havgar a worried look before he went through the large door of the quarters. Inside, the broad stone corridors, built of undressed stone blocks, were lit brightly with torches high in their brackets. The walls were covered with drapes that fell from the roof, embroidered with the family crest, a stooping falcon. Shields as well as full armor sets, with the same crests, were also pinned to the walls alongside maces, axes and swords that had all been used by his father and grandfathers on many occasions before. Many of them had already begun to rust away since they had not been taken care. He had as a child admired them for many long hours at times thinking he would wield them someday, but now when Elathan looked at them he thought the weapons were useless since so they were too bulky for practical fighting, or maybe they just did not suit his fighting style.

Climbing up many flights of stairs Elathan arrived at the door of his father’s study. He pushed the door open to find his brother, stooped low over his father’s table, staring intently at many parchments spread over it.  Glancing up at Elathan, Volun smiled, and then continued reading while saying.

“You’re back? How did the hunt go?”

His brother shared the same basic features as Elathan and his father, including the hooked nose and sharp eyes that ran in the family. He had black hair that lay over the side of his face, hiding his eye and giving him a darkish look, however he always seemed to be in a merry mood.

Elathan was relieved by his brother, since he did not have sharp words for him as his father did. “We killed the leopards.” He replied, throwing himself into the vacant seat. “But father’s not too happy about it. What should I tell him, Volun?”

“Well if you come looking like that you shouldn’t expect him to pat you on the back and applaud you?” Volun chuckled. “And there were two of them? You said you killed the leopards.”

“Yeah there were two and they ambushed us close to the river. I would’ve been killed if it weren’t for Havgar.”

Elathan noticed that his brother was looking at a map of his father’s lands and he recognized the locations since his tutor had made him memorize every hill and stream there was.

“Oh, really?” His brother had begun to collect the maps and was placing them back. “I’ll go thank him for saving my careless brother then.”

Just as Volun spoke, Aquilo entered the room. Elathan scrambled to his feet and Volun stepped aside to let his father sit down in his chair. There was terse silence in which Elathan gave his brother an appealing look, who smiled back reassuringly.

“I believe you’ve heard of your brother’s exploits, Volun?” Asked Aquilo. “You should teach him some manners from time to time.”

“You worry too much father.” Those were the same words that Havgar said, thought Elathan. “He is fifteen this year and he can handle himself well enough. Besides, Havgar was with him, and he has saved your life countless times before. It’s good that he’s learning to uphold his duty, at least I think so”

Aquilo gave his eldest son a long stare. “I thought you would give some useful advice, Volun.”

Elathan could not help but be amused by how the situation was turning in his favor. Everyone seemed to be supporting his actions.

Volun shrugged. “Sorry father, but that’s what I thought.”

Aquilo ran a hand through his hair as Volun examined some books on a nearby shelf. “I’ve never had any trouble like this from Volun when he was young, Elathan. You’re always running around and putting yourself at risk when you should be doing other things. Do you want to know why I did not order Havgar and a group of soldiers into the forest before today to finish off the leopards?”

“Yes father.”

“Sit down then.” Said Aquilo, pointing at a chair.

Elathan seated himself, feeling slightly guilty now.

“It was to teach the villagers a lesson. They’ve become lazy lately, and haven’t been doing their jobs properly, they’ve not tended to the land as I want them to and most of all they’re not bearing the burden that is rightfully theirs. Not killing the leopards was a way for me to convey to them my disappointment, as well as to remind them that I am the one who takes care of them and that they have an obligation towards me. Do you understand now? Don’t you ever again think that I neglect my own subjects?”

This was the first time that day that Elathan felt stupid. He had somehow missed this fact. It had never even occurred to him that maybe his father had a reason for not taking care of the leopards. Elathan had no idea of what to say so he apologized, hoping that it had some effect.

“I’m sorry father. I never thought about that…but really I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

“I know you didn’t son, but next time do think before you act. You’ll never survive for long if you just act on impulse.”

Elathan nodded with a sheepish look on his face.

“I’m glad you understand.” A rare smile spread across Aquilo’s features, making him seem many years younger. “You should see that your wounds are treated before they mortify. The healer is waiting for you in the banquet hall and in the meantime your brother and I have some important business to attend to”

Elathan thanked his father and slowly closed the door behind him. When he was gone, Volun turned away from the bookshelf and shook his head in amusement.

“That was a good excuse you made father. I know you let the leopards live to see if Elathan had enough guts to take care of matters himself. Am I right?”

Aquilo smiled, almost to himself. “I have no idea of what you’re talking about Volun.