Onyx was just another island in the world. Nothing terribly special, though a bit bigger than most in the region. There was just enough distance from any sort of mainland to separate it from the rest of the world but just enough to make a journey across the ocean to whatever mainland the journey entailed possible, though few ever came to Onyx on purpose. To further segment the island, a small mountain range called The Great Divide extended diagonally from nearly 5 miles away from coasts to the north and double to the south with a pass down the center built by person or peoples unknown., but both lost to the passing of time.There were no ports and the island held no interest in trade or exploring what may lie outside their oasis.
All of this to say that vacationing was something taken within the confines of the island. Still, the Melas family farm was large and it provided some of the very best fruits and vegetables ever to enter a king's court, which is how Celeste came to meet Raul in the first place. The two were arranged to be married very early on and that was truly the end of it. Both accepted the engagement and the marriage wasn't ever put into question. Celeste did grow to love Raul and Raul, in return, was kind to her, believing her to be of great value as a future mother and confidant.
Once Eric was conceived, preparations were made to make a single trip to the Melas family estate for Celeste to feel comfortable in her home to give birth to her first and, a couple of years later, a second to bring their newest and last child, Andrew, into the world. Both boys grew up quickly and were catered to by the finest of nannies and wet nurses the kingdom had to offer. Celeste, as it turned out, wasn't quite as interested in their upbringing as many other mothers in the kingdom might have been in her place. Raul was similarly inclined to allow others to foster and raise Princes Eric and Andrew. One might believe that this was heartless, but neither boy felt slighted by the fact that their parents would forfeit their role as guardians to indoctrinate or otherwise lead their minds or hearts in any particular direction.
So the boys grew into young men in the passing of time that comes when few things of any consequence happens, save for one thing...the loss of their favorite teacher and protector. The man had been a marvelous swordsmen and taught them often, taking great care to keep both boys close and guiding their minds as they reached their 16th and 14th year respectively. As a high ranking member of a group of elites, this man knew well what kinds of things would matter to those who would follow orders of this future king and his brother and he poured into them great lessons about character, compassion, esteem, and confidence. The studies were grueling, but the boys loved every moment as their teacher was engaging and had a keen grasp of most of the finer workings of strategy and philosophy.
Eric was developing a keen interest in the rule of law and the governance of a nation that was surely destined to be his birthright. This pleased the king and queen and they encouraged his education in that regard, allowing their teacher more frequent visits and giving him more access to the castle library and scribes to answer the millions of regular questions Eric would bring to the table.
Andrew's pursuits were more ethereal, even religious and it was that fact that worried both Raul and Celeste and brought their wills down on him on occasion since their devotion to their own order was absolute and no heir of theirs would have anything to do with another, not while they shared space. So Andrew would often keep his thoughts to himself or journal in a leather bound tome he kept well hidden. His talent with the written word was nigh unrivaled and even his greatest teachers began to call him among their contemporaries even at his young age.
The brothers were very close and they shared most things in common. Even the most delicate things in Prince Andrew's journal weren't kept from his brother, who often asked his opinions and reasonings on many things all the while keeping both in complete confidence.
It was a misty, dreary day when the news came, a mere month of days from the first Evening Market in the better part of ten years; when citizens and traveling dealers of all kinds set up shop in the city streets from gate into the city all the way to the city square. This day was special for many reasons, but the news came from a special carrier, who came to Prince Eric's quarters first, in the middle of his lesson for the day no less. There was a firm knock at the door and Eric, who was sitting at a desk near his window overlooking market preparations, motioned for his instructor to pause his lesson and in tandem, stood, waiting for another knock, which came in short order. Eric walked to the door, cracking it first and then opening it wide in astonishment.
"Father! This is an unexpected surprise. Is everything-"
"May I come in?" Raul interrupted. Eric stepped aside and Raul crossed the threshold, giving his son an embrace.
"Is everything alright?" Eric asked again.
Raul paused, taking great care in choosing his words precisely.
"It's about your last teacher. He's missing. "
"Seriously?! What's happened to-"
Again, Raul interrupted. "We don't know. Your mother and I have been asking around, but he up and vanished in the night two nights back. No clues, no notes, nothing. We're looking into this thing as deeply as possible and have even employed our Throne members to aid in the search, but it appears he's fled the kingdom."
Eric's face flushed and his mouth stood agape. Tears began to well and his heart sank into a pool in his chest. A mugging in the street would have been preferable to this news as Eric slunk onto his bed heavily.
Raul walked to his son, and put his arms around him, pulling his son into his chest. And as Eric sobbed angry, bitter tears into his father's shirt, Raul's mouth rose into a terrible, dark, knowing smile.
No longer than an hour later, King Raul left his son and went back to his throne room, covering the distance much slower than he otherwise might have. Waiting to the left of his throne, a slight man in a dark hood stood, motioning for him to sit.
"Sire," the man said with a low voice, slow in meter, and an ever so slight gravel that may have indicated age, if his hood was all a person could judge by.
Raul sat resolutely, knowing full well why the Artisan was here.
"How did the boy take the news?"
"As well as could be expected. He loved his teacher dearly. I admit, his break with my service was off putting, but it may well do our cause more the better in your care."
"I see. Shall I send an emissary to tail the boy? The last thing we need is for him to develop a sense of curiosity."
Raul raised his hand. "No. Leave him be. I have no doubt he'll stay in his quarters a day or two before telling Andrew and they both will mourn for a bit. There's no need to kick my children while their hearts are broken."
Eric fell asleep in his exhaustion, having cried long into the night, his mournful sobs lasting until the early morning. He awoke in the afternoon and set aside his studies for the day in favor of a walk with Andrew. His attendant was happy to call for Andrew and they met within the hour in the castle courtyard.
"Brother, I heard you needed a word." Andrew said.
Eric put a hand on Andrew's shoulder as he relayed all that their father had said the night before. The two brothers shared a sorrowful walk that day, talking for very little of it in favor of tears and the occasional question and answer. By the end of the day, the two were far better for it and began to discuss ways to move on, finally arriving at the annual weekend evening markets. Before those words were exchanged, however, they had to make at least mention of the Throne agents their father had recruited for aid in bringing back the renegade instructor to stand trial for desertion.
The King's Throne was only a whisper in the dark for most and a grisly ghost story for the rest. Raul only referred to them as his agents, but it was rumored that these were the king's secret service, responsible for conducting clandestine official government business in ways a person doesn't want to learn. Tales of disappearances and torture were the kinds of things parents would tell their children when they acted up in the market or when there was a chance of going to the various festivals and such that came about each year. Plenty of speculation to be had, but very little of it confirmed and even less from someone who had survived.
Many tears were shed. Many stories told. And, as was often the case on those evening walks, the brothers two passed from street to street until they found themselves at the castle gate. It was at that moment on that day, Andrew had an idea.
"We should see about bringing back the Evening Markets, brother," he started, looking about at the closed shops and noticeable gaps in the amount of traffic moving through the streets.
"Remember a few years back when Angela would bring us to the market and we'd get the most amazing treats and meet with the people from mother's village?" All the while, Eric was salivating and nodding.
"Roast turkey legs and corn and such sweets! I would probably need a crowd to carry me home if we brought it back now, but I heartily agree. I'll have a talk with father first thing tomorrow and see what he says. In the meantime, I ought to get some rest, I've got weaponry training with the quartermaster and a very difficult exam to work through in the afternoon tomorrow. Let's head back." And the brothers walked back reminiscing about very good days past.
In the morning, Eric, true to form, brought his request to Raul, who was in a jovial mood and, astonishingly, agreed that the Evening Markets should return and so he gave Eric the charge to take his brother and their guards, Nathaniel and Thaddeus to spread the word to the surrounding villages concerning the return of the markets. The markets took place each weekend and brought goodwill and much needed extra revenue to the villages and towns surrounding the city of Delvyn. Raul rarely gave way to the ideas of his boys, but perhaps it was a pang of compassion or maybe even pity, but whatever the case, this time the request was met with gusto and affirmation.
Gathering their supplies and packing their saddlebags, the party set out; Eric headed north with Nathaniel and Andrew to the south with Thaddeus. The process took little time as there were only a handful of villages in any direction leading to The Great Divide, which served as a natural boundary for the kingdom and the village of Melane, where their mother had grown up, was among that number. The village elders were delighted in every town they arrived in and promised to bring word to all in their care as far and wide as those close to the Divide.
The mountains in the Divide were lovely and just high enough to contain a healthy amount of trees and vegetation, while still being cold enough at the summits to give parties wanting to make those mountains a home pause to reconsider. Why is this important? Because any kingdom or clan wanting to make their way to the other side of the island has to contend with said mountains on some level. Whether they trek through a natural pass at the midriff, which closes routinely during the winter months with avalanches - or at either end, where the ridges were more like a rolling hills. Either way, the lakes and rivers into which they fed provided more than enough liquid sustenance to not concern any kingdom with conquest or invasion without cause.
The brothers were given instructions not to venture too close to the mountains, lest they find themselves face to face with the Wizard of the Divide. Sparing details, Raul told of a time before either were born when his conquest travels led him into the Divide with a battalion of troops. Three days into their campaign, he sent his battalion ahead to scout and capture any ground they could. Half returned and of those, only a few would tell what they saw. Each described an event where a brilliant light blinded the men ahead of them, terrifying them and causing confusion to sweep through. Those same troops began swinging their weapons, often killing those in their ranks. Neither Eric nor Andrew wanted any part of that kind of repeat experience and so both took care to leave the Divide to its own devices, so to speak.
And so the Evening Markets came to be once more. The first year was a tremendous success and both Eric and Andrew served as Grand Marshals for the event that year. It was the only year they would view the event with joy, however.
Andrew awoke in panic. Sweat and blood mixed on his forehead as the intensity of his nightmare gave rise to a muffled shriek into his pillow. It was but a single day until the second Evening Market and it had been planned out to the last detail. Once again, they had intended to be the marshaling the event and even had plans on a parade to kick off the opening ceremony, but this nightmare was chilling, even to the point where he couldn't shake the notion that something terrible was happening beneath their feet and without their knowledge.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Andrew asked at Eric's bedroom door that night.
"Come in, please. Absolutely."
Andrew came inside and paced restlessly as he looked for a place to sit that he was confident would be comfortable for a while. When he was satisfied with the chair next to Eric's bed, he began.
Eric listened as Andrew recounted details of his nightmare; gruesome images of implements of torture being put to use- pieces being taken and the smile of the man who watched, if it could even be called a smile. Lidless eyes in the veiled room, fiery resolve and a kind of bliss that delighted in the carrying out of such agony shone through, penetrating his sanity with a precision he couldn't fully explain. It was at the edge of that sanity that the torture stopped and he saw a withered man, unrecognizable atop the table, unshackled and holding a stump, where a hand had once been. Then running and a splash of cold and wet followed by voices and-
"And what?" Eric said as Andrew paused. "What else?"
"You were there," he answered.
"Me?! What do you mean-"
A knock came at the door, startling each of them. Eric shushed his brother as he went to answer the door. Raul stood, waiting patiently to be asked to enter in. Eric motioned him in.
"I'm glad to see you both here, it saves me the time I might have needed to find you both separately. I have decided that I would rather you both stay in your quarters this year for setting up the opening ceremonies of the Evening Markets. We have been holding some very dangerous prisoners and I have a procession scheduled just before festivities, but in the spirit of keeping you and the rest of the city safe, I have spoken with the shopkeepers and the various merchants and we have come to an agreement to postpone things for a couple of days. I hope there isn't any problem with my decision." Raul looked expectantly at the boys, who, in turn nodded. The king, satisfied with the agreement, took his leave.
"Eric," Andrew said.
"I still want to oversee things and help, if I can. I can book us a room at the inn in the square, that way we'll still be honoring our father's orders by not being in the streets for the procession."
Eric paced for a long while, considering how this could all be done. Finally he turned to Andrew.
"Okay, see to it," he began. "I'll get Nathaniel and Thaddeus and we'll come when we can."
The procession left around midday and, true to form as well as promise, the streets were empty down to the last peasant. Once the procession had passed, on the other hand and the new Honor Guard Captain motioned for the shopkeepers that all was clear, the streets began to flood with people, each man and woman teeming with purpose and each with their role to play. The brothers and their guards were no different, aiding the various shopkeepers and merchants in unloading their wares or, in some cases, sampling a few.
That evening, Andrew grew restless indoors and motioned for Nathaniel to walk with him. The two had become quick friends on the ride to assemble the villagers the previous year and became training partners in their lessons with the quartermaster the spring following. Both men, determined to not be recognized by the guards from the castle, wore cloaks and helped in the earlier hours in the shops just a few doors from the inn and only paces from the well that kept cool water for drinking and the like for the city.
Suddenly, in the midst of all the preparations and glad-making, a man climbed out from the well, clutching his arm and covered in cuts, bruises, and sores. He was freezing and stumbled towards the inn, begging for help. Andrew spotted him first and grabbed Nathaniel, who yanked off his cloak and put it over the man, quickly squirreling him inside. Both Nathaniel and Andrew rushed the man past the bar, up the stairs and into their room in a mad dash and Andrew hurriedly began building the fire in the room's fireplace. It was as he turned to finally meet the man's full gaze, however, that his mouth became slack with astonishment, joy, anger, and fear; all washing over him like a tsunami, carrying his outside thoughts away, leaving him helplessly in the moment.
"ERIC! GET IN HERE!" Andrew screamed as the men burst into the younger brother's room from the backside of the building. Eric ran upstairs, having dropped his drink in the process. Pulling his hood down and with one hand on his sword, he reached the door. Eric instantly knew this man and as he drew nearer, his knees became weak and tears flooded his eyes. He knew this man. Both brothers did. And there, in front of the fire- a man they thought they would never see again- was Julien, their teacher.
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