The Choosing (39 page)

“Thank you for your kindness all of you.”  Felix said, looking to each of them one by one.  “It is a shame your stay could not be longer, I truly hope to see each of you again.”  He added in earnest.

Each of the companions responded thanking Felix for his delicious meals and friendly conversation.  Each too promised they would return as soon as they could assuring the man nothing could keep them away from his cooking.  Felix left their table giving them a smile and a wink before he left.  As he crossed the room the companions watched him go his limp more prevalent than it had been in days past.

As the group waited patiently for Felix’s return, they spoke briefly about the ceremony that awaited them in less than two hours time.  Both Garret and Ashton spoke boisterously, unable to restrain their excitement.  Seth and Sara tried to sound as excited as their companions, but neither of them was able to quite mimic the others’ mood.

Before long Felix returned, carrying a tray of food and mugs for the four companions.  He placed a plate and mug before each of them and wished them an enjoyable meal before he left to see to other customers. 

Upon each plate stood a large muffin, larger than any muffin any of them had seen before.  The top of the muffin had been cut away and hollowed out to hold a pool of thick syrup blended with raspberries.  The entire muffin was also drizzled with melting frosting crisscrossing the top of the muffin in milky white lines that ran down their sides and formed small pools of sticky sweetness upon the plates.  To accompany the muffin Felix had brought each of them a large mug filled with milk blended with orange juice.  It was a simple meal, but even so Felix had seen to it that it was a delicious meal.  Each of them ate quickly, knowing that time was growing short, and they still had to walk the distance to the castle which would take nearly half an hour.  They finished eating in record time and instead of waiting for Felix to return they decided to leave the inn.  Pushing back from the table the four of them rose, and grabbing their belongings, they headed to the street.

Entering the street they were amazed to find that like the inn the street was bustling with people unlike they had ever seen before.  Hundreds of people of all ages crowded the street all moving in the direction of the castle.  Merging into the crowd the four headed like everyone else toward the castle in the center of the city.  Garret and Seth walked side by side down the street.  Opposite of Garret, Sara walked beside Seth their hands entwined tightly, each of them afraid of what might lay ahead.  Ashton walked on the opposite side of Garret that Seth walked, and he knew today he would follow in the footsteps of both his mother and his older brother.  Nothing could please him more.  Garret too walked more quickly than was usual.  Being almost guaranteed that he would be joining the ranks of the elite knights of Valdadore, Garret rushed on to his future, a future he was happy to embrace, a future sure to be filled with honor and glory.  Seth and Sara on the other hand walked quickly just to keep up with their companions.  Neither of them really wanted to attend the ceremony, both of them fairly certain it would turn out badly.  Sara did not care for what she would be chosen, it mattered not at all so long as she would be able to stay with Seth.  This she knew was unlikely.  If Garret was to be chosen for the Knighthood, then so too was Seth likely to be chosen.  Sara doubted that there were any women in the knighthood.  Even though they had planned for a possible separation, Sara was afraid.

Seth on the other hand was not afraid.  He had already made plans with Sara in the event they should be separated, and that being done he was comfortable in the fact that they had foreseen the possibility and planned accordingly.  Seth was also not afraid of the ceremony itself.  It was true he knew it was likely he, like his brother could be chosen for one portion of the army or another.  Though this was in no way what he wanted, it did not scare him.  Seth had no energy for fear now, instead it now seemed as if the ceremony really held no relevance to him, with the recent revelations Seth was almost certain his path would lead to one predetermined point no matter what was to happen today.  All that mattered is that Seth pay attention, watch for signs, gather information and knowledge in his plan to regain control of his fate and untangle himself from the Goddess’s schemes.

Following the crowd like mindless sheep the companions finally emerged into the square surrounding the castle.  The crowd had not dissipated, but instead clung to the edges of the square leaving the majority of the road open to those actually traveling into the castle for the ceremony.  The gate stood open across the square from them, and today it seemed the normal guard had been doubled.  They walked slowly toward the giant gate that now resembled a massive iron maw that occasionally ate a person or group of people who dared enter.  As they approached the guards looked them over, and determining their age and purpose allowed them to pass unquestioned.

The companions passed through the portcullis into the stone entrance of the castle courtyard.  Just inside the massive walls to either side of them stood a pair of stone staircases that appeared to be a reflection of one another across the paved street.  Each set of stairs ran parallel to the massive wall up its side to a higher level.  Upon that level spaced evenly at each slit in the stone stood lightly armored soldiers.  Each of the soldiers held a bow with and arrow already in place to draw and fire at a moment’s notice.  The archers spanned the wall as far as the eye could see in either direction.  It was an impressive sight.  Upon passing the stairs that led to the upper levels of the outer wall to the castle, the group walked into a giant courtyard.  Here stood massive towers and spires of varying height and size.  Each of these rose great distances into the sky above, casting long shadows across the paved courtyard.  Above them, spanning great distances, elegant web like catwalks ran between the giant structures crisscrossing the sky this way and that.  Flags and pennants waved in the early morning breeze from various locations and levels among the towers and spires.  The entire castle was awe inspiring and the four companions could not help but gawk like tourists as they walked.  Passing between two giant towers the group came to an even larger portion of the courtyard.  This portion consisted of several levels.  The paved courtyard ran for hundreds of feet before rising three steps and then running another couple hundred feet to yet another set of steps.  The trend continued with an large open expanse raising steadily a few steps every so far as if smaller and smaller courtyards had been stacked one upon another creating dozens of layers each one rising a few feet and at their very center sat the castle proper.  The actual castle was not as impressive a sight as the group had expected.  It was a large building for sure, but it stood small next to the towers and spires that had been built around it.  It rose only a few stories higher than the massive outer castle wall, but was dwarfed by some of the towers by nearly a dozen floors.  It was still some ways off, but at this distance it was not as magnificent as any of them had expected.  As the four walked they noticed that people were gathering on the next tier of the courtyard and so they continued towards the steps ahead of them, assuming that this is where the ceremony would be held.  Topping the five steps that rose to this tier they looked around at what lay before them.  This tier held no towers or any other structure for that matter.  In fact besides the small groups of people gathered here and there the only other item upon the tier was a small canopied tent that stood across from them at the opposite edge of this tier where the steps again climbed to the next.  The tent had no walls, it consisted of poles supporting a roof, and beneath its canopy more than a dozen people stood speaking, though they were too far at this distance to see clearly let alone hear.  Looking around at the others inhabiting this level of the courtyard it was apparent that those gathered were here to be chosen as well.  Realizing they had come as far as they needed to, the four companions stopped, and not knowing what else to do they stood looking around, waiting for some sort of instructions.

Trumpets blared across the open expanse of the immense stone courtyard, reverberating off the stone walls and paved road around and under all who now stood within the Castle’s shadow.  As the trumpets announced the beginning of the ceremony a deafening roar exploded over the castle from outside its walls.  Thousands upon thousands of voices cheered in unison as their many small voices joined and twisted together through the air to become one great blast of sound.  The four companions remained standing apart from the many others who had gathered here this day, and watched as dozens more quickly poured onto this tier of the castle’s courtyards.  As the crowd gathered outside the castle walls began to fall silent, a thunderous drumming could be heard coming from somewhere within the walls.  The sound beat like a giant heart that shook the stone beneath the companion’s feet and they looked around as far as the eye could see to locate its source.  The rhythm continued growing ever louder as time progressed, and all of those gathered for the ceremony looked around in anticipation.  It was not long before the source of the pulsing drum beat was revealed.  It was not what anyone had expected, and as the source of the sound was revealed many exhaled loudly at the sight that appeared from behind the castle proper.  From beyond the castle itself a line of heavily armored soldiers appeared.  At first all that could be seen was their helms, polished to a mirror surface gleaming in the sun.  As they approached they climbed the steps of each tier revealing more and more of themselves to those who were gathered to see them.  A solid line of soldiers marched in unison, their swords drawn, spanning the entire expanse of the Castle’s courtyard.  Their feet pounded the stone paved road as they came creating the drum like rhythm that sounded so much like the heart of some giant beast.  As they neared, the soldiers looked more and more menacing.  A giant wall of polished armor, thundering ever nearer with swords drawn marched across the open expanse driving before them those who had gathered for the ceremony.  As the wall of shining steel approached the canopied tent, those soldiers that stood behind the tent stopped immediately creating an impassible wall.  From the ends of this wall that was created by a dozen soldiers, another wall began to form from each side.  As the remaining line of soldiers continued to move, with each step two more soldiers would stop, one from each side where they had been split at the tent.  This created a diagonal line of sword and steel fanning out from the back corners of the tent.  These two lines of soldiers continued to form across the entire expanse of the stone tier that the companions stood upon.  When the line of soldiers had finally reached the end of this particular tier they marched straight down the three steps without hesitation, never missing a beat.  As their feet thundered off of the bottom step all the soldiers turned on some silent command and marched inward upon themselves in two lines slowly closing the gap that had been created by those who had stopped to form lines across the courtyard.  As the two lines came together closing the gap the Soldiers halted in perfect time, and driving their heels together both lines turned to face toward the courtyard they had just surrounded.  Raising their swords above their heads as if to attack, the immense line of soldiers that stood at the bottom of the steps to the courtyard crouched as if all controlled by one mind.  Then as before, as if from some unspoken command they lunged.  A hundred soldiers moving as one body gained the four steps in a single bound, bringing them like a wave from an ocean made of steel onto the tier where their brethren held those attending the ceremony captive. 

As the soldiers landed, swords drawn as if for battle, a sound arose that landed on hundreds of unfamiliar ears.  It was the first time anyone attending the ceremony had heard the sound, anyone but Garret anyhow.  He had heard these words many times before.  It was the same words, the same sound, as he had heard in his dreams.

“For Valdadore!”  Every soldier roared valiantly as their precision display had come to an end

All those who had come to The Choosing had been penned in by the soldiers’ procession and now stood in one giant mass of bodies between the walls of gleaming armor like herded sheep.  More than five hundred had come for the ceremony yet no one spoke as they all stood together unsure of what would happen next.  It was an awkward uncomfortable silence that seemed to last an eternity as the many faces looked around for any sign of instruction.  After many long moments movement finally stirred from within the canopied tent as the people there parted to allow a solitary figure to emerge into the open.  As the man stepped into the sun, light gleamed and glinted off his gem encrusted and gold inlaid armor.  Upon his head a myriad of colors gleamed from the many gems inlaid within the crown of gold that rested there.  With The man’s approach all of the soldiers creating the wall around them sank each to one knee and bowed their heads to the ground in reverence.  Following the soldiers lead the mass of young men and women too dropped to their knees at the sight of their King, though none took their eyes off him.  The King strode forward only a few paces from beneath the tent before he stopped.  Beckoning for everyone to again rise to their feet the King waited as they each rose to again regard him on an even level.  The King watched as all those around him regained their feet and he waited a moment longer before he spoke.  When he did speak it came as a surprise to all those who had gathered that a single man could speak so loudly without shouting that his voice carried clearly through the air to each and every set of ears that had come to listen.