The Sha's Sword

Chapter 14: New Army

XIV

"Ugh!" Gwen poked around at the food in her bowl, stirring it around with a pout on her face. "Do we have to eat this boring dried stuff again?"

"Yeah!" Andrie announces in rebellion, throwing his in the fire, seemingly regretting his actions as his stomach rumbles noisily.

"Be quiet and eat up." Avoca's green eyes regard the twins with disgust. "Have you no appreciation for anything?"

"We have only been gone just two moons." I remind them. "You'll be eating a lot more rabbit by the end."

"I want to find some berries." Gwen turns her nose up, looking at Andrie. "Coming?"

"Don't be long." I say, glancing over Seth's shoulder at the map he's holding. "We'll be on our way very soon, and we can't wait for you."

"We'll catch up." Gwen and Andrie take off at the speed of light, disappearing into the forest beyond the trail we've been following. "If my calculations are right, we're on the right track." Seth says, sounding pleased. "We need to follow this river for a little longer and we should reach Wedgemore in no time at all. Then we'll be right on the swamp's doorstep, just before we reach Blanchland. It'll take us a little longer to go around it though."

"That bothers me little." I feel butterflies in my stomach when I think about speaking to a crowd of people who may not already be on our side. I'm happy to put Blanchland off for as long as possible.

***

Once the twins come back, abounding in black and blue berries, our curious little procession starts making its way slowly forwards. The twins and Avoca are still fighting about something trivial, and Seth has his eyes set straight ahead, trying to ignore their bickering.

"So Arrafrey." I ride Soule next to him. "I've heard so much about the curious Forest Folk, but not enough for me to understand why there seems to be so much mystery surrounding them. Would you care to enlighten me?"

He turns around to regard me with large dark eyes, his sharp angular chin jutting out slightly. "The Forest of Councey is not to be spoken of lightly, Miss Aria. We are but a peaceful people who keep to ourselves as best we can. Long ago, there was no Wedgemore, or Cheviot Hills, or even Stonygate. The Forest of Councey existed here long before the other kingdoms came and built their stone castles and their iron gates. We lived in peace and harmony with the land, sewing seeds, watching them grow into the tallest of oak and fir trees." His eyes, which had adopted a faraway, dreamy look, now switch back to the present. "And then, slowly, small kingdoms began to surround us. Cheviot was first, built into the mountains over many years. Blanchland built their homes near the swamps of the Tybolt river, and Yorkenshire became our closest neighbour. Although these kingdoms were around us, they didn't bother us, except to extend an offer of trade between our close kingdoms. The elders of the Forest disagreed with the surrounding tribes' way of life, and chose instead to close our gates to them, hoping to keep our sacred way of life private and preserved. Unfortunately, that is exactly when your King Sadon came. He set up Stonygate as a separate kingdom, conquering the nearby city of Knavesmire, and then seeking to reach his kingdom further by adding the neighbouring cities to his lands. One by one, he conquered them, until it was our turn. He could have laid siege to our land, and his men would have gone hungry waiting for us to open the gates to him. It is no secret that the Forest Folk are extremely resourceful. Instead he extended an offer to the youngest of our council. We believe that a kingdom shouldn't just be ruled by one generation. We had set up a council of young rulers to be a voice for the younger generation of our people. They were ready to agree to King Sadon's terms, unaware of his ulterior motives. The Old council were hesitant to agree, however they had little choice but to agree, or risk dividing our lands. After the agreement was settled, the King gave us a heavy yoke to bear. It is far known that the forest folk are the best around with a bow and arrow, and so he scoured our forest for any young ones. He took them back to the castle, taught them how to fight using swords and then made them take the Oath. After that they were forced to fight on his side until they died."