“Here you go,” Cyrena said as she handed me a bowl of soup. It was night and we had all decided to set up camp near a small stream. We had been walking all day and were feeling quite spent. During the afternoon, we all had also taken a break to practice more swordsmanship with Marian teaching us all. Oronia was excited and had swung her branch with a lot of gusto. We then went back to walking across the endless field that we had been going through all day. I was unsure how many miles we had walked but it had been a lot as my feet and back hurt. All I wanted to do was eat and then go straight to sleep.
We were all huddled around a fire in various stages of undress. Marian had taken off her armor and was lying on a blanket in her shift. We were all eating and were quite silent as everyone was tired. Oronia and Faye sat next to each other and hungrily ate from their bowls. Cyrena was by the fire and was making small buns that we could eat the next day as we continued our journey.
“Have any of you been to Alavie before?” Oronia asked the group. She had finished eating and was leaning against Faye. The two of them were inseparable. During our walk, they held hands during a great portion of it. I liked that they were so into one another.
We all shook our heads. Cyrena also shook her head. “No, I haven’t been there at all. No witch has. Alavie is not fond of outsiders and has always been that way. I have heard great things about the elven kingdom over the decades from elves that have traveled there.”
“What’s it like?” Faye asked Cyrena.
“It’s beautiful. It’s unlike anything you have ever seen. All of its buildings are large and made of white stone that is quite impenetrable. The castle is the biggest building of all and is quite grand with large halls and has windows that shimmer in the sunlight. There are very tall trees that reach into the heavens. The forests that surround Alavie are filled with all kinds of game and foods that the elves hunt and also grow. They are completely self-sufficient and do not have to depend on any village to keep them going,” Cyrena said. “They do trade with villages however as many of their foods are rare and heavily sought after like the Mint Jam, Gotus, Bribbleberry, and Ryangos.”
“Mint Jam! That comes from Alavie?!” Marian said in disbelief.
“Yes. That sweet mint can only be found in Alavie itself.”
“Wow, I had no idea. That jam is always so hard to find and is always so expensive but it is also very delicious. I can sure go for some mint jam on a honey bun right now,” Marian said with a sigh.
“What’s Gotus?” I asked Cyrena.
“It’s a bird that is so succulent and delicious. I have had it several times over the years and nothing compares. Not chicken, pheasants, beef, or even pork. Gotus is the best meat I have ever tasted. They can only be found in Alavie as well.”
My stomach made a soft growl as I thought about this bird. I was full from the soup but I would have loved to taste a Gotus.
“Why is Alavie not fond of outsiders?” Oronia asked Cyrena.
“I believe it started over 400 years ago when King Yamire invited several human travelers and merchants into Alavie. King Yamire was an elf who loved all creatures. He was very open and welcoming to travelers that happen to make their way to Alavie. No one was turned away from the great gates of the kingdom. These merchants had various goods to sell that the elves of Alavie had not encountered before so the elves were happy to have them. The King welcomed them as guests and offered them a place to stay as long as they wanted before they continued their travels,” Cyrena said. “However, one night quite soon after they arrived, these merchants and travelers took advantage of the King’s generosity and tried to steal many of the goods from the shops after killing the elven shopkeepers. They also had their way with several of the women in these shops before killing them. They killed many of the shopkeepers and their families who were asleep in their shops or closing for the night including the relatives of the King’s Commander. The story is that they were caught trying to sneak out of the kingdom with bags of stolen goods. It was also discovered that all of their goods that they had brought with them were stolen and that they had been robbing and killing merchants that they encountered during their travels.”
“What happened to them?” Faye asked Cyrena.
“King Yamire at first wanted to confine them to the jails for the rest of their natural lives but the King Commander wanted justice for his relatives. They were ultimately sentenced to death. I believe that there were a total of 15 in this group and they were each drawn and quartered. Each traveler watched the death of each other member of their group as they screamed and begged for mercy but it all fell on deaf ears.”
We were all silent after listening to Cyrena. A chill ran through my body as I tried to imagine someone being drawn and quartered. I had seen this in gory movies but to hear it actually happening to someone was quite unnerving even though those men did evil things to those shopkeepers.
“Since then, non-elves are not allowed into Alavie,” Cyrena said.
“How has Alavie remained standing with the demon queen trying to take control of Alargon?” I asked Cyrena.
“There were a lot of battles fought outside of the great gates of Alavie between the knights and Raziel’s army as she tried to overtake it. Many knights died but were still able to keep her army at bay. When Alavie heard that Raziel had dragons at her command, they built contraptions that fired long spears so when she sent her dragons they were shot out of the sky. I have heard that the dragon's scales were used to create armor and shields for the Alavie knights.”
“That’s rather impressive. Why hasn’t Alavie taken the fight to Raziel?” I asked Cyrena.
“After her father, King Ryhij was taken ill, Princess Neia took the throne and chose not to go to war with Raziel as she wanted to protect her people. She saw and heard of the incredible death tolls of Alavie knights who had joined humans and other creatures to fight against Raziel. Several Alavie knights joined Raziel out of fear which was another blow to the kingdom. Princess Neia decided that she needed to focus on keeping her people safe and to stop the deaths of her men and women. Since then, Alavie has not fought against Raziel.”
“What would make her change now? Why would she decide to listen to us and actually fight Raziel now?” Oronia asked in an uncertain voice.
Cyrena looked at me and smiled. “Because we have someone special who can truly bring a stop to Raziel’s evil reign. We have James.”
“Here you go,” Cyrena said as she handed me a bowl of soup. It was night and we had all decided to set up camp near a small stream. We had been walking all day and were feeling quite spent. During the afternoon, we all had also taken a break to practice more swordsmanship with Marian teaching us all. Oronia was excited and had swung her branch with a lot of gusto. We then went back to walking across the endless field that we had been going through all day. I was unsure how many miles we had walked but it had been a lot as my feet and back hurt. All I wanted to do was eat and then go straight to sleep.
We were all huddled around a fire in various stages of undress. Marian had taken off her armor and was lying on a blanket in her shift. We were all eating and were quite silent as everyone was tired. Oronia and Faye sat next to each other and hungrily ate from their bowls. Cyrena was by the fire and was making small buns that we could eat the next day as we continued our journey.
“Have any of you been to Alavie before?” Oronia asked the group. She had finished eating and was leaning against Faye. The two of them were inseparable. During our walk, they held hands during a great portion of it. I liked that they were so into one another.
We all shook our heads. Cyrena also shook her head. “No, I haven’t been there at all. No witch has. Alavie is not fond of outsiders and has always been that way. I have heard great things about the elven kingdom over the decades from elves that have traveled there.”
“What’s it like?” Faye asked Cyrena.
“It’s beautiful. It’s unlike anything you have ever seen. All of its buildings are large and made of white stone that is quite impenetrable. The castle is the biggest building of all and is quite grand with large halls and has windows that shimmer in the sunlight. There are very tall trees that reach into the heavens. The forests that surround Alavie are filled with all kinds of game and foods that the elves hunt and also grow. They are completely self-sufficient and do not have to depend on any village to keep them going,” Cyrena said. “They do trade with villages however as many of their foods are rare and heavily sought after like the Mint Jam, Gotus, Bribbleberry, and Ryangos.”
“Mint Jam! That comes from Alavie?!” Marian said in disbelief.
“Yes. That sweet mint can only be found in Alavie itself.”
“Wow, I had no idea. That jam is always so hard to find and is always so expensive but it is also very delicious. I can sure go for some mint jam on a honey bun right now,” Marian said with a sigh.
“What’s Gotus?” I asked Cyrena.
“It’s a bird that is so succulent and delicious. I have had it several times over the years and nothing compares. Not chicken, pheasants, beef, or even pork. Gotus is the best meat I have ever tasted. They can only be found in Alavie as well.”
My stomach made a soft growl as I thought about this bird. I was full from the soup but I would have loved to taste a Gotus.
“Why is Alavie not fond of outsiders?” Oronia asked Cyrena.
“I believe it started over 400 years ago when King Yamire invited several human travelers and merchants into Alavie. King Yamire was an elf who loved all creatures. He was very open and welcoming to travelers that happen to make their way to Alavie. No one was turned away from the great gates of the kingdom. These merchants had various goods to sell that the elves of Alavie had not encountered before so the elves were happy to have them. The King welcomed them as guests and offered them a place to stay as long as they wanted before they continued their travels,” Cyrena said. “However, one night quite soon after they arrived, these merchants and travelers took advantage of the King’s generosity and tried to steal many of the goods from the shops after killing the elven shopkeepers. They also had their way with several of the women in these shops before killing them. They killed many of the shopkeepers and their families who were asleep in their shops or closing for the night including the relatives of the King’s Commander. The story is that they were caught trying to sneak out of the kingdom with bags of stolen goods. It was also discovered that all of their goods that they had brought with them were stolen and that they had been robbing and killing merchants that they encountered during their travels.”
“What happened to them?” Faye asked Cyrena.
“King Yamire at first wanted to confine them to the jails for the rest of their natural lives but the King Commander wanted justice for his relatives. They were ultimately sentenced to death. I believe that there were a total of 15 in this group and they were each drawn and quartered. Each traveler watched the death of each other member of their group as they screamed and begged for mercy but it all fell on deaf ears.”
We were all silent after listening to Cyrena. A chill ran through my body as I tried to imagine someone being drawn and quartered. I had seen this in gory movies but to hear it actually happening to someone was quite unnerving even though those men did evil things to those shopkeepers.
“Since then, non-elves are not allowed into Alavie,” Cyrena said.
“How has Alavie remained standing with the demon queen trying to take control of Alargon?” I asked Cyrena.
“There were a lot of battles fought outside of the great gates of Alavie between the knights and Raziel’s army as she tried to overtake it. Many knights died but were still able to keep her army at bay. When Alavie heard that Raziel had dragons at her command, they built contraptions that fired long spears so when she sent her dragons they were shot out of the sky. I have heard that the dragon's scales were used to create armor and shields for the Alavie knights.”
“That’s rather impressive. Why hasn’t Alavie taken the fight to Raziel?” I asked Cyrena.
“After her father, King Ryhij was taken ill, Princess Neia took the throne and chose not to go to war with Raziel as she wanted to protect her people. She saw and heard of the incredible death tolls of Alavie knights who had joined humans and other creatures to fight against Raziel. Several Alavie knights joined Raziel out of fear which was another blow to the kingdom. Princess Neia decided that she needed to focus on keeping her people safe and to stop the deaths of her men and women. Since then, Alavie has not fought against Raziel.”
“What would make her change now? Why would she decide to listen to us and actually fight Raziel now?” Oronia asked in an uncertain voice.
Cyrena looked at me and smiled. “Because we have someone special who can truly bring a stop to Raziel’s evil reign. We have James.”
