Edited by Brett Heller

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 license.

Buelgwarn Edge Castle baskes in brilliant sunlight. The King's home and fortress stretches high to the silk blue sky. A white flag emblazoned with the royal sigil, a blue flike against a field of white, waves majestically off each of the castle's parapets. The sight sickens Azor. All the Golon can see is endless tons of brother flesh, hacked and cracked from father mounts - all to build one man a macabre home. As a Golon, Azor sees castles as one of man's most grisly creations. It reminds him of the many ways man consumes.

A titan of living stone, Azor has no need to eat or drink. He does not sleep or wear clothes. He has no use for gold. Klage, a blade forged by a decade of dwarven labor, is his only possession. As the castle looms closer, Azor marvels at how complex the lives of humans are. They spend half of their lives struggling for food and shelter and the other half pursuing things they do not need. Azor had traveled with Kinewyn for four years now.

Despite the powerful revulsion Buelgwarn Edge Castle causes Azor the sight beyond the castle delights him. The King's fortress sits on a circle of stone large enough to hold ten villages. Beyond that circle is naught but the open air. Cliffs a thousand feet high surround the castle making it accessible by only one thin road of stone. Golons are only born on the peaks of Thrycion's greatest mountains but the sheer volume of rock in the canyon behind Buelgwarn Edge Castle remind Azor of his father mount in the Kraster Range. The stone figure moves close to Bryong as the band and their escort of fifty King's knights enters into the killing ground. The narrow stone road before the castle gates is purposely thin, no side barriers to prevent a fatal fall down the jagged cliffs. Azor watches dozens of archers position themselves along the castle's crenellations. They can slay a hundred men in seconds if need be. Their arrows will be no more than kisses on Azor's granite skin. Nonetheless Azor is wary of the danger the archers poses for Bryong and Kinewyn.

"Kinewyn's band, expected urgently by King Trajon." Baron Grell barks out the sentence like an order. The clanking of mammoth gears is the only response from the gatekeeper. Azor steadies himself as he enters the gaping maw, the castle's iron gates. His revulsion is turning to anger. Kinewyn warned Azor the night before to remember the effect the castle had on him the last time. Kinewyn urged his warrior to control his anger so the King could explain why he had decided to forcibly bring the band to Buelgwarn Edge. The Golon tries to suppress his rising fury but everywhere he looks his eyes are assaulted with the carved flesh of his brothers. The castle yard rings with the metallic chirps of a young man's blade. Four years ago, Prince Jayce had been a boy turning into a man. Azor remembers a gangly, clumsy youth. The young man before him now has shed that skin.

Prince Jayce hammers his trainer back with ferocious energy and yet each strike is well placed, calculated. Azor can see the Prince is skilled, dangerous. Azor has spent years of his time in the world separated from the father mount in dedication to the blade. Klage is counted as a brother. Their countless hours together have bred a familiarity between stone and steel. In mid swing the Prince catches sight of the band and their numerous escorts. Sweat drips from his brow. The trainer withdraws. "Kinewyn, thank you for coming." With casual ease the prince sends his long sword slicing through the air to bury itself in a haft of the weapons rack. "Baron Grell, I commend you on bringing our guests here in safety. I dismiss... Wait, where is Coveark?"

Baron Grell steps his horse sideways. "The ranger disappeared in the fishing village, my Lord Prince. He has followed the group for our entire journey. My men tried to apprehend him but were unable."

Azor chuckles remembering the arrow that plucked a chicken leg from Baron Grell's hand before he bit into it. Coveark had sent a warning arrow at the Baron every day of the journey, a whistling reminder that Coveark watched over his companions from the shadows and trees. The King's knights throw angry glances at Azor's rumbling laughter, but none move to quiet the behemoth. Azor feels Bryong's hand on is arm and quiets. The Prince tenses. "Well, he shall be found before he comes within a thousand strides of this castle. Turn your men around and search the Edge road, top and bottom. Then turn the outer city upside down, not a man is to rest until the ranger is found."