The Tales of Miriela: Shadowborn

Chapter 4: Kline Wullmont

"The boy may have been found," Said the King.

"The Shadowborn?" Giddeyal asked in return.

"The one who's blood is poison. Just as you told me so many years ago," Said the king.

"What makes you so certain this time? You stopped sending them to me, I thought you'd given up and searching. It's been years, Kline," Asked Giddeyal.

"I'm still not sure that I believe the tales of the Shadowborn were any more than the lies of a priest. But I can't quite clear the thought of it from my mind. Lord Siln tells me about a boy named Odwin, at the Grounds," Responded Kline.

"He's told you of plenty others in the past. He was wrong about all of them. But you choose to believe him? I thought we both had given up on that prophecy long ago. Nearly a decade of training those boys at the Grounds, and not a single one of them turned out to be anything special at all," Giddeyal said.

"I'm not sure if I believe him. He says the boy's blood melted the skin of an Overseer, right off his bones," Said the King.

"Infection perhaps?" Giddeyal suggested.

"Perhaps. But we must do as we did for the others that we suspected. I will have him sent to Tasilmire."

"And I will do as I have each time before," Giddeyal said.

"If you think it is indeed him, take him to the Balen Hall. Ask the God of Sight to show you," Kline said.

"We must first be certain it is truly him, Your Grace. There is only one Seeing Stone, only one chance to see. Even then, I betrayed the Magee, the God of Sight may not grant me vision at all. For all I know, the God of Sight died with Kaeon Dane" Said Giddeyal.

"We must see the fate of the boy. The Estern tribe moves West again. Of that I'm certain. The Shadowborn was said to one day defend an army from the North, but we may need him first to defend one from the East," The king said.

"And if I see that the boy is not Shadowborn? If he has no connection to the darkness?" Giddeyal suggested.

"Do as you did for all the others," Kline said coldly. Giddeyal looked desperately back towards him. The king knew Giddeyal was right. They must be certain before using the Seeing Stone, it was far too valuable to waste.

"If the The Realm is to remain intact, we must find the boy. I fear that our armies are too weak to defend against another invasion of Miriela. I may not believe, but I do hope. For without the Shadowborn, defeat is likely before us," Said the King. It was a harsh truth to face, but a necessary one. Kline was a proud man, but also a realist. He saw The Realm for what it was, a unified group of enemies. At his throne could only hold The Realm together for so long. But the power which came from the one who was prophesized, would allow Kline's throne to rule Miriela and more.

"Every day I fear of hearing Esternlund ships have again crashed upon Mirielan shores. Every day I fear that the unity of The Realm will break. I need him to fight for me. There is no other army or force that I can raise which will keep our land safe from another attack. There is nothing else which will protect my throne," The king said. He spoke the words of a desperate man, and he was humble enough to know it.

"Have faith in yourself, Your Grace. Do not forget that it was you who defeated the Esternlund army in the West of Miriela. It was you who took back our land and it is you that The Realm calls their King. Continue to prepare the kingdoms, if this Odwin is the one we seek, I will discover him," Giddeyal said.

The king offered a soft smile, and a tip of the head. Giddeyal's words were charming and Kline knew that he meant well, but the all too imminent reality of war weighed relentlessly on the king's mind.

"I suppose you will, if you truly are what you claim to be. But I've grown to believe you are likely no more than a crazed Magee priest, and I myself a crazed fool. I will send word to Thomas Siln. I will instruct him to visit the Grounds and retrieve Odwin to Tasilmire. I'll have him bring a boy from the orphanage to replace him. Odwin will be with you shortly, Giddeyal," King Wullmont said.

"Yes, Your Grace. And when he arrives, he shall learn the darkness, if he is able. The dark will mold him, and the Queen in the Shadows will see him. Only then, can we be sure."

"Peace be with you Giddeyal, now and always," King Wullmont said.

"And with you, Your Grace," Giddeyal said.

Kline left Tasilmire and rode West in the light of the midday sun. Kline was still uncertain. The promise he had once felt so long ago had dissipated. Kline feared that his days as King of Miriela were limited, and perhaps so was his life. But the Shadowborn could change it all.