True Warriors Sing by Rowan Erlking (classic book list .TXT) 📕

“Jonis healed me.” LjuBa agreed, nodding.

“It wasn’t just him,” Ljev replied in a lower voice.

“Jodis healed you?” The king stared at her.

“Jonis.” Ljev stepped back towards the king. “I told you, that is the name of the magister we met. And he gave us a great deal of good advice, the first being not to invade Westhaven—a country that has long been renamed, Brein Amon.”

“That is from the ancient tongue,” one of the doctors whispered to the king. “It means the Land of Man.”

Ljev nodded. “Yes. Jonis said that it is best to keep our country a mystery to those of his nation, because his nation would in fact overrun ours rather than the reverse. But personally, I believe that we ought to fix the troubles in our nation first before we even consider things beyond our borders. The Eastern Provenance and the Baron Hoisten must be dealt with. That should be our prime concern.”

Sighing with exhaustion, the king murmured, “And here we have come full circle. My son, you are stubborn as always.”

“As are you,” Ljev said back. He then turned to the doctors. “Tell me, our scouts that went into Westhaven, did they ever share any information about things they could not explain? Such as flying machines? Machines that look like huge snakes that blow out steam? Carriages that move on their own?”

“Yes,” one of the doctors said, stepping forward. “But we thought they were delirious, because when they returned they were exhausted.”

Ljev turned to his father. “They were not delirious. They told you the truth. We are no match for them.

“Jonis said our one advantage is that the people in his country believe our land is infested with demons,” Ljev laughed. “I saw it marked on a map called the Western Wild. The Hann maintain this fallacy also. I suggest we keep this advantage until we are able to stand up on equal ground with them. I suggest we open up trade with the country to the east instead of conquering it. That way we can obtain their technology and advance with the age.”

“And then conquer?” the king asked.

Peering over at him, Ljev replied, “If you are so eager for blood, Father, then focus it on the Baron Hoisten. I would be glad to lead an army against him.”

Everyone watched the king lean back in his seat, thinking over the words the crown prince had said, bolder than he had ever spoken in any place in his entire life. His eyes flickered on his son as if assessing the man for the same reasons the doctors were. Clearly the question of worthiness to lead the people had been on their minds a number of times, though this time they seemed to be satisfied with the answer. It was yes. The prince was ready to become a king.

Drawing in a breath, at last the king said in declaration. “Crown Prince Ljev has called for warriors to take arms up against a seditious barbarian claiming to be a baron in Eastern Provenance. All warriors willing to stand with him, raise your sword.”

The king raised his, squaring his shoulders as he looked out into the crowd.

MiKial lifted his, his steely eyes fixed on the prince with a firm gaze. The guards all heaved up theirs and soon droves of warriors and warriesses in the crowd raised their swords with a cry.

“There!” The king stood onto his feet. “Everyone, gather your things and tomorrow meet in your respective zones with your horses out on the east field. The crown prince will lead us into the Eastern Provenance.”

The crowd started to disperse. The prince was safe, the captain of the king’s warriors was not going to be beheaded, and they had preparations to make.

“We should send scouts ahead to the baron with a message,” Ljev said to the king, walking up to him once most of the people had dispersed.

The king frowned, clearly not fond of diplomacy.

Seeing it, Ljev added, “Just enough notice for them to face us on the plains of DiNo. It is about a two day’s ride there.”

“Don’t you think they will run away?” the king asked. “Barbarians are cowards, you know.”

Smirking, Ljev nodded. “That may be, Father. But I was more thinking about dispatching notice when we make camp on the fields. We would be able to see them fleeing and round them up.”

“Father!” a sharp woman’s voice cried out, pressing through the thinning crowd of people. The king, the prince, and MiKial’s family turned, looking back at the entrance where the loveliest warriess anyone had ever seen ran in, the skirts to her robes flying after her, her red curls whipping from her face. She embraced MiKial at once. “When I got home the house was empty! And then I heard you were going to be beheaded! What is going on?”

“K’sjuSha!” MiKial wrapped his arm around her in a hug. “You’re back from the north!”

“I came to report to the king,” K’sjuSha replied, nodding towards the king ZanDer standing beside the prince whom she only slightly recognized. “But I wanted to see you all first. What has happened?”

MiKial rubbed his daughter on the head, pulling LjuBa up. “Your youngest sister had an adventure, and became a full fledged warriess.”

LjuBa ducked, especially when she saw her eldest sister stare with her wide mix-colored doe eyes. Just looking at her made LjuBa feel plain. She snuck a peek at Ljev who blinked at her family, his gray eyes flickering on K’sjuSha’s perfect figure.

“Really?” K’sjuSha stepped closer to LjuBa with surprise, grinning widely without any mockery in her smile. “With your heart?”

“She overcame that,” SoFija answered, glancing to her youngest sister also. “She’s healed.”

“She’s a wizard,” S’vjeTa added, her eyes wet.

Blinking her lovely lashes, K’sjuSha looked impressed. “Well… I’m…speechless.”

LjuBa ducked her head more.

“She was traveling with the prince,” SoFija added, glancing to Ljev.

K’sjuSha looked up at the prince also, peering slightly at him with wonder. “Alone?”

MiKial grunted, taking a step towards Ljev also. “Yes…. Ljev. Now that it is just us, I have a few questions to ask you concerning my daughter. First is how did she end up alone with you?”

Ljev ducked his head now, going white.

The king smirked at that and took a step back to get out of the way, walking straight to the doctors to talk. Clearly he didn’t consider this his business.

“Secondly,” MiKial walked up the prince, his steps firm as if he would stomp on the man who had been his squire, “If you laid a finger—”

“Father!” LjuBa jumped up between them, standing in his way with her feet firmly planted. “He has not done anything dishonorable to me! He made sure the campfire was between us.”

But MiKial still glared at Ljev, setting a hand on his daughter to push her aside. “But I heard him address you familiarly. That means somewhere he stopped calling you by your proper title.”

“He’s a prince!” LjuBa snapped.

MiKial shook his head. “But you didn’t know that until now.”

LjuBa stamped her foot, clenching her fists. “Father! Leave him alone! He saved my life several times! Without him I’d be dead!”

The king’s captain froze, looking down at his daughter who stared up at him earnestly.

Closing her eyes, she murmured, “I am not a great warriess. He has exaggerated my skills.”

“I have not,” Ljev walked forward, peering into her face.

But LjuBa shook her head, retreating from them both. “No. I need to admit it. Without you, I would have died.”

Ljev groaned with that same tired look he had been using with her the entire trip. “LjuBa!”

MiKial shoved him.

Ljev cast him a look, then said, “MiKial’s daughter, stop thinking of yourself so meanly. I need you to be part of the warrior army tomorrow. I know you are a worthy warriess.”

“Agreed,” K’sjuSha said, nodding her chin sharply as she rested her arm around LjuBa’s shoulder. “If your heart is healed, you can do anything. You are a daughter of MiKial.”

Blinking at her older sister, LjuBa did not know what to say. K’sjuSha’s sparkling smile of confidence was more than enough for her to simply nod to Ljev.

“Yes, Your Highness,” LjuBa said then stepped back.

SoFija and S’vjeTa wrapped their arms around her, grinning and steering her towards the open doors. MiKial nodded to the prince then put an arm around K’sjuSha to lead her back also so they could all go home.

Ljev watched them, his cool gray eyes fixing on LjuBa as she glanced back once more—both of them taking their proper places again, back to where they belonged.

All the horses were loaded for the ride, except for two. The horses LjuBa and Ljev had borrowed from Jonis remained in the castle stables where the prince gave strict instruction to their care. LjuBa was loaned a horse for the journey, starting off with her father and K’sjuSha before the sun got too high. Her father’s horse had returned home just as she and Ljev had hoped.

The warriors of KiTai rode at a moderate pace eastward over the countryside. The king and prince led the army, camping just beyond the Eastern Provenance border around sunset. The captain’s tent had to be next to the king’s pavilion, MiKial on call to discuss strategy with the prince and the lead warriors. K’sjuSha was in there with them standing close to Ljev as her musical voice also carried a strain of strength that was respected by those that listened to her. LjuBa remained silent mostly, watching the discussion, but also listening to the unusual music of anticipation among the warriors. It was different from the daily song, yet somewhat mesmerizing. It had a beat, like a march.

“MiKial’s daughter, LjuBa, noticed from the top of our outpost the watchtower in their city. So they will most likely see us coming,” Ljev said. “I suggest we sneak in a few warriors ahead of the main group into the town to dispatch any real threats and hold the baron there. We need to make certain the baron is here and not somewhere else.”

“Sneaking in?” MiKial looked at the prince narrowly. “Isn’t that a little cowardly? A warrior announces his arrival and expects to be met on the field. You speak as if you are still afraid to die.”

Ljev returned that look equally hard. “No. I am not afraid to die. I am thinking of the innocent people caught in the middle of the fighting. It is the baron and his men we want, not to decimate a thriving town.”

“Hmm.” The king peered at the map. “That is a problem.”

“We also have to send people out into the rest of the land also,” Ljev added. “After the battle.”

“And why is that?” the king asked.

“The baron has men everywhere in this provenance,” Ljev replied. He looked over to LjuBa whose expression was down. His brow wrinkled. “We were attacked on two occasions in the north. And a farmer we met told us all about how his men take liberties with the farms and villages.”

The king nodded. “Alright. Let it be done. MiKial, you choose the best warriors to go out from the army to each of the villages in the Eastern Provenance to deal with the Baron’s men. We’ll handle the baron and the center of this