The elders used to say that when the stars hide, it’s because the spirits are averting their eyes from the horrors of the earth.
GONG!
Or the horrors that were about to come.
GONG!
Copper bashed on copper.
The cries of the bell speared through, upwards to the night. Everyone looked above. Not to the stars. The sky had none. It had one.
GONG!
Twinkling between the stone pillars of the bell tower stood a wooden pole with a flame at its head. Its fire raged furiously against the dark, unabashed by the sound of the bell. Undaunted by the cold of night. Above the town, Betha stood alone.
GONG!
“AN ATTACK IS ON ITS WAY!” She held a voice that boomed even louder than the bell behind her. “THEY RIDE CARRYING TORCHES INTENDING TO BURN THE VILLAGE!”
GONG!
“ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SOUL TO FIGHT, STAND WITH ME!” Long and deep-rooted cracks lined the sides of the old bell tower, but Betha seemed unfazed. She had one foot on the ledge. By the ring of the firelight, she looked powerful. She was. “ALL THOSE WHO FEAR DEATH, LEAVE!”
GONG!
The townsfolk started to move, scattering into many different directions, like ants when their hill is stepped on.
Betha grabbed onto a long hempen rope and swung down from the top of the bell tower to the ground. If the rope burned her palms and fingers, she didn’t let it show. “You need to leave too,” she told the prince. “Unless you want to fight.”
“I can fight.” The wind blew harsher, colder. The prince clasped his hands together for warmth. “Who are they? Who’s coming?”
But Betha had already stormed inside the tavern.
Who are they? he had asked, but one look at Slim and the prince knew. When iron pays silver for the head of a golden man…
The Iron Prince was coming.
Nox slipped through an alleyway behind the tavern. He followed the bend of the dried river’s trail. It was named the Corner Tavern because it stood at a niche of the curling river. If the river weren’t dry, water would run mere inches away from the tavern’s back wall.
There, his horse waited patiently, still smelling of horse excrement.
Ignoring the smell, the prince saddled his horse and took on its bridle. The darkness didn’t’ hinder him, he knew exactly where they were. He couldn’t afford to lose time.
His hands moved quickly in assembling the horse’s equipment. One latch led to the next. He made sure the buckles were tight so it wouldn’t fall off. But something bothered the prince. He felt something amiss. Eyes. Someone was watching. Someone is here.
“I smell you haven’t given him a bath yet.” Leah stood by the alleyway. The bell still rang behind her, but now fainter. “Where are you going? I thought you’d fight.”
“I will, if it comes to that.” Nox had a hand on the saddle. “I won’t be gone for long.”
“Will you be gone alone?”
“No…no I’ll be with a friend.” He stepped up on the stirrups and sat nimbly on the saddle. The horse whinnied but settled quickly after.
“You’re a mystery, Nox the orphan boy.” Leah walked towards him and placed a hand on the horse’s neck. “Have you named him yet? I told you to name him.”
“No.” Nox barely thought this to be the proper time for horse naming. “I’d appreciate suggestions though.”
“It’s not my name to give.” She stroked the horse’s mane. “Also, don’t forget this.” She presented Nox a musty cloth. Inside it was a small and thin steel dagger.
“That’s mine.” He took the dagger and hid it by his waist. “How did you—”
“Everyone knows everyone in this town. A mystery isn’t a mystery for too long, Nox the orphan boy. Not here.” She smiled. “Betha gave it to me. Told me you might have some use for it.”
“I might.” He grabbed the horse’s reins, and he began to trot. “Hopefully, I won’t,” he said. “Thank you.” The prince whipped the reins and pressed his feet sharply against the horse’s body, and he galloped to a run.
Leah waved him farewell. “You better come back! You owe me a bottle!”
The prince rode straight into the open plaza. He turned a corner, finding himself on the main road. The people scrambled, walking and shouting and running. Off by the far end of the plaza, the prince spotted Adam dropping a bag of smithing tools. The metals clinked as they fell. Nox felt the urge to help, but it would take time. Time was not something he had.
You better fight, Adam. And Garret and Garth and Harry and Craig too. You all better fight when the fighting comes. The prince would gladly fight with them. But he didn’t have arms except for a dagger. A dagger and a friend —a friend is all I need to make a difference.
Horse and rider dashed ahead and followed river.
The prince headed north and east, where the land rose and the dried river winded. Nox lowered his head and neared his body to the horse’ skin, making his body more compliant to the coursing wind. He needed to hurry. He squeezed his thighs tighter.
Faster, faster. The horse galloped on dirt, jumping over overgrown roots from water-neglected trees. Brown leaves crunched beneath the horse’s hooves.
The prince didn’t carry a torch. A mistake. But his eyes had adjusted to the darkness well enough. The only source of light he could rely on was the moon. Moonlight showed them the way forward. I must find my way up to the dam, thought the prince. Who would be there? Gold or Iron? Iron or Gold? Or both?
An eerie sense of uneasiness bit the back of Nox’s neck. Someone’s watching me, following me. Gold or Iron? He nudged his horse forward, faster. He turned his head and saw no one. The trail was empty spare for him and his unnamed horse.
“How’s Moonlight, huh? You like that?”
The horse brayed defiantly.
“Not that, then.”
The prince trudged along the slender and oft obstructed road. This path is barely used. Normally, the people would use small boats to ride down the river, then use the main road to lug their boats back up with cows and oxen. The horse paid no mind to the obstructions. He galloped over the roots and fallen branches by instinct.
“How about that? Instinct?”
The horse didn’t respond.
“I’ll take that as a yes!”
Eventually, they reached a crossroads in the river. Two paths fell downwards, separated by sheets of wood strategically placed so that the paltry stream that did come from the mountaintop flowed left, away from Kampana. The stream rose to the ankles and ebbed meekly. Barely something, but still something. If the river flowed normally, the wooden sheets would break.
He continued to ride; up and onwards the prince went.
He saw the dam first before the light. It had two wooden gates separated by a stone pillar. Above the gates was a wooden walkway covered by a tiled roof. It was a simple, humble dam. Old. Layers of rot crept on the wood, and decades-long corrosion displaced parts of the stone walls. But it served. Beyond the tree line, faint lights flickered. He rode on.
Eventually, Nox arrived at a clearing. The light from the ring of torches blinded the prince. Too bright. He covered his eyes to shield his vision. Between his fingers, he could see a tree. The last tree before what seemed like a camp. Iron or Gold? The prince wasn’t sure.
He unhorsed and hid behind the leaves of a low-hanging branch. He had to be subtle. Friend or not, it could be the death of him if he was seen by the wrong person. Carefully, Nox moved closer towards a bush. A small creature bounded out of the sprigs. Leaves rustled.
“You there!” Two men with steel armor approached the prince. “Identify yourself.” Gold or Iron? It paid no matter. He couldn’t afford to tell him who he was if it were either.
His eyes began to adjust to the light. Beyond the tree line, tents were erected, dozens of them forming a circle. In the middle was a thirteenth tent, larger than all the rest. It flaunted a banner above the camp. The banner waved, glorious with a ten-crested sun on a white plane. Gold.
The soldiers drew closer. They had their hands on their sheathed weapons.
The prince’s feet moved on their own. He sprinted out of the trees and found himself running towards the large tent’s flaps. Two spear-holding guards defended the entrance. The two other guards behind him ran after. “STOP RIGHT THERE!” one of them shouted.
The two spearmen locked their weapons to block the entryway. Sloppy. Nox slid down, under the spears. Dirt gashed his skin, but he made it through. When he stood, knees caked with dirt, a table of ten men faced him. The prince locked eyes with the man at its head.
The four soldiers the prince had run from barged into the tent. “YOUR ROYALTY!” one soldier heaved, the same one who shouted after Nox.
“I am not royalty.” The man at the head kept his voice calm, gruff, and icy.
“Y-yes, uhh, Your Kingship—”
“Worse. I am not the king.”
The soldier shifted his feet. “A-ah, yes. Y-your Kinship.”
“Much better.” He looked at the prince. For half a second, the royal swordmaster hesitated. “Out. All of you, out.” His command made the temperature of the room drop. The men followed suit, without question or protest. The prince hung his head low, hearing the clanking of armor as the soldiers stepped outside. Some of them gave Nox stolen glances. The prince let them keep their glances, but he would not give them one back.
When the soldiers were gone, Vex lifted the prince’s chin. “I thought I would never see you again.” He kept his voice calm, gruff, and icy. And low, so no one outside could hear. But he allowed himself to smile. “My prince.” He roughed his hands through the prince’s hair. “You look different.” The smile looked odd on him, the prince would admit.
Equinox smiled back. “You look the same.” A scar ran through Vex’s face, from above his left brow to his lower lip. A number of Vex’s bruises had come from the prince’s hand, but not by blatant intention. And the prince didn’t leave a lot. The royal swordmaster was hard to hit, and when he did, it was because Vex let himself be hit. But the scar was something that predated their training, something that predated even the prince himself. The swordmaster was thirty years the prince’s elder. “Albeit well, for an old-timer.”
“I’m an old-timer now?” He chuckled.
Equinox walked to the long table, where a large map of the entirety of Clavore was laid over. “You’re thrice my age.” He ran his hand over the map’s callous paper.
“And you’re too young. Far too young to be a fugitive, don’t you think? To be wandering alone? To be listening in on the king’s council meetings?” Vex returned to his seat at the head of the table. “To be playing with black powders?”
“That was one time!” The prince kept a small lab in his room. His best friend Alexander called it the Alchemist’s Table. The prince’s exploration of the elements rarely amounted to anything apart from dirt, waste, and the occasional scolding from the castle’s housekeepers. All except for one. “I had half a mind it wouldn’t work.”
“Still, if someone else had seen it and not me… discovery is a dangerous thing, my prince.” He laughed lightly. “How are you, Equinox?”
“As fine as I can be, I’d wonder. Hiding, but not so much as adept at that considering that I’m here.”
“Truly?” He didn’t seem convinced. “Last I heard you lost a duel, and your sword was taken from you. I see the latter is true. Is the former true as well?”
“And where’d you hear that from?” the prince asked.
Vex tilted his head slightly. “People tell me things, my prince. I have ears to hear. Word spreads like wildfire in the capital. You know this.”
Rumors have wings, that much was true. “And my father?”
The royal swordmaster shook his head. “The king is enraged. He didn’t even have the courtesy of sending me out after you, no. I reckon he knows,” he said. “He sent the two.”
Those two. “The bow and the hammer.”
Vex nodded. “Harbingers of destruction, those two are. They raided the Core Glades trying to find you, your sword, and any hint or clue that might lead to you. Anything.”
“And?” Is Kalen all right? the prince wanted to ask. Is she still alive?
“They found nothing.”
The prince sighed under his breath. He tried to keep it subtle, but Vex looked at him intently, as if he heard him.
“The last I knew, the kap of the Core Glades sailed a ship and is now raiding shore towns to supply her and her crew. And that she leads them with a sword as bright as the morning sun. My oh my I wonder what that sword could be.” He paused. “Is it true though, my prince. Did you really lose a duel… to a girl?” He brandished his mocking smile that Equinox so desperately hated.
“To a warrior,” he answered. “But no, I didn’t lose the duel.” Through death or submission, and the prince neither died nor submitted. He came close to the first, though. “I did lose the sword.”
“I see.” His fingers tapped on the wooden table, like he was trying to remember something —a lot of things. He peered into the tent wall. “I didn’t remember training you to lose.”
“She was fast.”
Vex turned his head. “Faster than you?”
“Much, much faster.”
“Well then next time, I’ll arrange for you a different curriculum. A harder curriculum. A much faster one.” Vex chuckled, but his eyes were weary. Something’s happening in the capital, thought the prince. Something he isn’t too keen on telling me.
“The last time I saw you was under the Coliseum of Clay,” the prince said. “That was—"
“Three months ago. Three months and eight days. The coliseum was dank and humid and hot. How could I forget? It is a day that would define me. Whether now or later it will define me.” He scratched his brow where his scar was. “Do you plan to come back?”
“No.” Equinox set his eyes on the west side of the map, where a small insignificant dot, barely even a smudge, marked the town of Kampana. A circular gold-painted wooden piece was set a few inches above a forking river. “You must help me.”
“Help?” Vex sat back. “I’m surprised you felt the need to ask.”
The prince had doubts whether or not Vex would agree to help him. Whether or not Vex was still the same Vex. Three months was a short time, but it was time still. Times change people. “The Iron Prince is on his way to the town of Kampana. He brings an army of mercenaries and vagabonds. Ronins and warriors from wherever he could find.” Outside, soldiers scampered about. “He aims to kill you. He knows you’re near.”
The royal swordmaster tapped the table. It was just now, the prince noticed, that Vex had already been wearing his armor. “I know,” he answered. “That is why I am here.” He rose. Beyond the tent’s walls, a horn blew. “I will defend the town, if that is what you are asking. I will defend it to the last man. To the last breath. And you? Where will you be?”
***
The prince stayed behind as Vex and his battalion left for the town through the main road. No one was left spare for a few handfuls of soldiers to guard the camp’s supplies.
He decided to rest and wait on the dam walkway, where the wind was cooler, and the view of the horizon was clearer. Beside Equinox, two barrels of compact wooden barrels rested. A few more of these barrels were stationed sparingly across the dam. A long and knotted hempen rope connected the barrels together. The prince and Vex had prepared them before the latter had left. Discovery is a dangerous thing…
The royal swordmaster had gone with a parting message. “Will you not come home? With me?”
“I can handle my own,” the prince had answered. “For a few more months, may be years.”
“If you will not come with me by virtue, then you will come with the bow and the hammer by force,” he had replied. “They will find you.”
“They will find me if I let them. I’m fast, remember?”
“Apparently not as fast as Kalen Moras.” And he’d left.
The sun was rising. A shy gold rimmed the surface of the leaves. The prince turned and sat facing the other side of the river. Here, the water ran deep and healthy. His reflection stared back at him. That, not so healthy. It was the first time he’s seen himself in months. He’s grown one pimple on the left cheek. This’d be the first time he’s ever had one.
Some meters from the dam, five small dinghies floated above the lake. Vex had given him leave to use one.
The water lapped. The leaves on trees whistled as the wind blew. A few birds chirped over beyond the lake. A floorboard creaked.
The hairs on the back of the prince’s neck sprung up. He felt the cold face of his dagger against his waist. The prince drew it and stood.
Slim’s fingers gripped the hilt of a sword more than twice the length of Equinox’s weapon. “Y-you shouldn’t b-be here.” His sword rattled as his body did.
“You were the one following me.” Equinox kept his distance. “Ever since Kampana, you trailed me. How did you —”
“I-it’s easy to find a h-horse in a town in panic.” His eyes moved lazily from the prince to the prince’s dagger. “You’re with them, aren’t you? You’re with the golden ones.”
“Put your sword down before you do anything you regret.”
“No!” Slim held his sword mere inches away from the prince’s face. “I trusted you… you…. you spy!”
“I’m no spy.” The prince stood his ground. As a sign of good faith, he returned his dagger back to his waist. “I mean you no harm.”
Slim kept his sword straight. “Why are you h-here?” The morning wind blew, and the lapping lake water disturbed the reflections on its surface. “You’re not s-supposed to be here. And now I’ve missed him. It was my chance, and I missed him!”
“You’ve a man to kill. You believe that man represents all those who killed your son,” the prince said. “When I return to the capital, I vow that there will no longer be stonings. In no place in this kingdom will it be a just application of law.”
Slim sneered. “And how can a tavern boy promise me such a thing?”
“I am the prince.”
Slim’s eyebrows twitched. There was a twinkle in his eyes, a twinkle that wanted to believe Equinox. Slim shunned it away. He shouldn’t have. “NO MORE LIES!” He swung his sword to the prince’s neck, but Equinox ducked in time.
It was by reflex that the prince drew his dagger and pushed it straight for the side of Slim’s body. But he stopped. Mid-swing he stopped and balled his fist instead and punched Slim’s ribs.
“ARGH!” Slim retreated and grasped his side. He reeled for a moment, then he took a step forward and swung his sword again. But he was too slow, too weak, and too tired. The prince easily stepped to the side, avoiding the sword’s bite. He grabbed Slim’s arm—the arm that held the weapon.
“Stop.” Slim tried to wriggle free, but Equinox held. Slim breathed heavily. The smell of wine. “I do not want to hurt you, friend.”
“I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND!” He jerked away and whirled his sword wildly, missing the prince by an entire foot. Slim huffed, struggling to raise his sword upright. Too tired and too drunk.
The prince stood there, waiting for another strike.
It came soon enough. Slim pressed forward. Equinox took one step backwards, avoiding thrust of his sword. Slim huffed again as he lifted his blade for another strike. He brought his sword downwards. This time, the prince didn’t even dodge. Slim missed entirely, hitting the floorboards of the dam walkway. The wood groaned, and the sword was lodged on the crevice it created.
Slim pulled at the sword, but he was a little too tired and a little too drunk. He fell on his bottom. He lurched and stayed there. “I—” He held a hand up to his face. “I…” He cried.
The prince took a knee. “Friend—”
“We are not—”
“Friend,” the prince said. “I will make it right for you. One day, I will return to the capital and make all things right. What’s your name?”
Slim wiped his reddening eyes. The twinkle was there again. Dying but not dead. “Lem, short for Lemuel.”
“Well then Lem, short for Lemuel, when you hear news that the exiled prince has returned, find me in the capital. I will remember you. I will wait.”
“You will?”
“I’ll be there.” The prince helped him up.
***
Lem decided to leave through the main road, back north where he’s from. He’d taken the horse he stole. Equinox thought he’d just give one back to the town from Vex’s battalion. There were a few spares in the camp anyhow.
Back at the dam, the sun had risen to eye-level. The dried river seemed drier for some reason. Beyond, down south and west, fires burned. Arrows coated with flame shot through the sky. Even from afar, Equinox could see the torches. “Crap.”
He hurried, taking a torch from a sconce and throwing it to the hempen rope. “Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.” The rope ignited immediately. This is going to be a pain. He jogged away, making space between him and the dam. Discovery is a dangerous thing.
“YOU THERE!” a guard shouted. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”
“Stay back!” the prince waived. “Don’t go any closer.”
The soldier paid the advice no mind. “YOU LITTLE RASCAL!” He ran after the prince. Equinox had nothing left to do but run. He had no more time.
He leapt from the lakeshore to one of the unmanned dinghies. The boat rocked, but the prince managed to find his footing enough not to knock him overboard. The guard was about to leap on too, but he was aptly confused when Equinox pressed his body flat on the dinghies’ floor. “LOOK FOR COVER!!!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The prince’s ears rang. Silence, but noise at the same time. Two—five—ten different explosions roared, shaking the world. He held the sides of the boat, hoping that the dinghy wouldn’t turn and tip over. A forceful gust of hot wind blew over the prince. And it continued to blow. Equinox looked.
A wall of flame plumed, hands of fire trying their best to murder each other. It engulfed the old dam. Wood and stone scattered everywhere. The water responded in kind.
The force of the explosion sent the lake splashing upwards. In those moments, the brightness of the fire reflected on stray drops of falling water like small stars. It would be the last thing he’d see before the impact pushed him back to the stern. His spine crashed against the wood. And his eyes were forced shut. Too bright. And the wind—the wind was too strong.
Before he knew it, the boat was being pulled inward—onward. Through the ringing, he heard the water rushing. He opened his eyes. The sun greeted him. The lake had turned into a river. The dam was gone.
He held his stance. The wild water did not cease to rush. He was past the old dam now. Ahead of him, the river flowed onto the dry soil where it should have always been.
The boat continued to rock, but Equinox kept his balance. He couldn’t stop. Not now. Let’s hope I’m not too late. He reached the fork in the river, and the wooden sheets were no longer there.
And so the river continued to flow and bend and wind. Eventually he heard shouting, words he could not hope to discern. Sounds of scattering footsteps. And heat. That, most of all.
The river fell into a rapid descent. It took a sharp turn, and the prince’s knee collided with its inner hull. He winced, but he had no time to dwell. He was here.
The river opened to a town in flames. Thatched roofs burned like kilns. Birds flew overhead evading areas where smoke swarmed. No longer did they fly in flocks; they fended for themselves. Men in roughspun clothes tried their hardest to quench the fires. Men in armor were ranked and filed on two sides, divided by the once-dried river’s run. One side gold and one side iron. The former much more numerous than the latter. They all looked at him. They all looked at the water.
The river flowed past all of them. Equinox met Vex’s eyes, who sat on his horse with his soldiers. The swordmaster gave the prince a knowing nod.
“THE RIVER HAS COME!” a man said.
“THE RIVER IS HERE!” another one shouted. The town cheered.
The prince jumped off the moving boat when it reached the Corner Tavern. He caught Betha walking out with buckets and pails and barrels hastily halved. “MOVE, NOX! GRAB A PAIL AND GET TO WORK!”
He did. Across the river, the enemy soldiers retreated, faltering to the forest and woods. They dropped their torches and fled.
Vex prevented his men from pursuing. “Help the others,” he commanded.
And so the town and Vex’s band worked together in extinguishing the fires. Soon enough, they all had a pail or a shovel or a hat or a cup filled with river water. They didn’t take turns lugging it to the burning houses. Water beats fire. That’s all they needed to know and know that they did.
The prince kept to himself; everyone else was too busy to talk. They had houses to save and people to look for.
When the flames had all been quenched, the prince moved quickly to pack his belongings. It did not take much time. He did not have much stuff to pack, and he knew where they all were. Away, that’s where he should go. Far from here.
Vex met him outside. “Going somewhere?” His armor was notably unblemished.
“You won’t stop me.”
“I’m not one to try.” He leaned on one of the tavern’s pillars, opening the prince to the road ahead. “We arrived shortly after they did. They relied on us and the townsfolk not being able to put the fires out. But the people here are ferocious, prince. They fought even when they had no means to. The Iron Prince’s plan was standing on wobbly legs. It crashed when you came in.”
The prince felt the weight of his lone bag on his shoulders. “Word will spread, like you said. It spreads like wildfire. They will tell the tale of a boy who marched into your tent and brought a river down from the mountain. The king will know. The bow and the hammer will know. Nowhere I will be would be safe.”
“I know a place.” Leah came from behind them. Her clothes were drenched in sweat. The fringes of her dress singed by the edges. “A farm not that far from here, even more remote than Kampana. There aren’t a lot of people there. Not more than twenty families. Not more than twenty people, in fact. It’ll be safer.”
Both the prince and the swordmaster looked at the singer. Equinox thought on that for a while. “Why are you helping me? You don’t even know me.”
She smiled. “I know you enough. A mystery isn’t a mystery for too long, and you’re my favorite, Nox the clearly-not-just-an-orphan boy.” She glanced Vex a wink.
He rubbed his shoulder. “Well, I guess that settles it. Let me handle the town, prin—kid. Make sure the Golden Circle don’t do it as they did the Core Glades. Make sure it wasn’t a boy who made a river. And make sure of everything else that comes with it. No one died, fortunately. Only a few injuries, a few burnt houses, and a few missing horses.
“Nothing the kingdom can’t give, I hope.”
“That’s easy work, kid. Oh, and by the way… OI!” He called for someone.
The prince smelled him first before he saw him. A soldier walked up to the three of them with a horse in hand. Equinox’s horse. “Instinct!” The prince rubbed his mane.
Leah laughed. “You finally give him a name, I see.”
The prince’s fatigue got to him as he leaned on Instinct’s saddle. “We better leave soon. Where to?”
“Not the main road,” Leah said.
“Never the main road,” the prince answered. “But I have to say bye to everyone first.”
After he bid his farewells, and Equinox and Leah began on their journey, the prince heard the bell ring one last time. Betha had climbed the bell tower. Miraculously, it was unburnt and unharmed. The people must have defended it well.
Those same people waved at them. They were smiling, he saw.
He heard Betha shout, “TO NOX! THE RIVERMAKER!”
The town roared. “RIVERMAKER!” another one said.
“RIVERMAKER!” repeated another.
“RIVERMAKER!”
“RIVERMAKER!”
Even after steel and flames came for them, they smiled. Then the world blurred. The prince sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye before it fell. Don’t cry. Not now. But when Leah closed in on her mount and put an arm around him and told him he’d done good, he cried. He put his head down and he cried.
And the bell continued to ring.
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