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Begnion Era, 569
Naesala and two ravens flew through the night air, all of them injured, with arrows stuck in their bodies. Their tired wings struggled to hold them aloft, cutting through the air poorly.
The dark shadows of the plains beneath them turned to trees. Naesala looked back towards where they had flown from.
"We must be close to the coast. We've probably lost them, so let's take cover amongst the trees and get some rest." Naesala called out.
They landed on the ground and turned into their humanoid forms, resting amongst the branches. Naesala quickly set his attention on pulling the arrows out of his left arm and leg. Once the arrows were out, he slipped an overlarge pack from his back, reached into one of the pockets after feeling the side of the pack, pulled out a small jar, and slathered some human medicine over the areas where the arrows had been more deeply lodged. At least the humans were good for some things. Naesala tucked the jar of medicine between his knees as he tied the straps of the pack to the branch and let it hang down.
"Let me know if you need help dealing with your wounds," Naesala called out, "If there's an arrow in a place you can't get to, or it's hurting too much."
"I'm good," Iskra, a young woman who was one of his advisors, said.
"This one in my side will be difficult," Tihomir, an older man who was both helping Naesala learn to fight and an advisor, said after a moment with labored breathing.
Naesala slipped the jar into a pocket in his shirt and moved through the dark branches, using Tihomir's heavy breathing as a guide, until he found where Tihomir had landed. "They got you high on the ribs on the right?" Naesala asked, thinking back to the fight earlier that evening, just as the light had started to fade.
"Yes," Tihomir confirmed. Naesala reached up, waving his hand in the air slowly until his fingers brushed the feathers of the arrow and he followed the shaft down towards Tihomir's body, right under his pectorals.
"It's in there pretty deep," Naesala confirmed, estimating that only half the shaft was outside of Tihomir’s body. "Iskra, can you come yank it out?"
There was the sound of weight shifting through the branches and Iskra arrived, touching Naesala on the shoulder and leaned over him to reach towards the arrow.
“Okay, hang on just a second.” Naesala moved over to the other side of Tihomir on the branch. Naesala opened the jar and scooped some of the medicine out onto the tips of the fingers on his right hand, closed the jar with the thumb of his left hand, pocketed the jar, and placed his left hand flat on Tihomir's side, thumb and fingers stretched to form a perimeter around the arrow. “Okay, ready.”
The branch shifted under them as Iskra pulled. Tihomir grunted and there was a wet noise and the sound of Iskra's feet moving. Naesala touched the now open and bleeding wound with his left thumb and then reached over with his right hand, applying the human medicine to it.
Tihomir exhaled through his nose as Naesala sat back.
"How's it feel?" Naesala asked.
"Better. Thank you, your highness."
"Don't worry about it."
"What even happened, anyway?" Iskra asked. "Senator Tanas asked us to raid his own village because they had been disobedient and not paying him the taxes that were due, and yet they were fully prepared for us, with more forces than they should have had on a regular day."
Naesala groaned and moved to another branch so he could lean against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. "I don't know. We survived. I'll worry about why tomorrow after we've recovered. You still have the stuff we took, right?"
"Yes," Iskra said. "I have it."
"Good. Get some rest, we'll head back at first light."
There was the sound of movement amongst the branches as the others got ready to sleep as well. Naesala drifted off quickly, despite the aching of his body and the pulsating, throbbing pain around his injuries.
---
Begnion Era, 569
Naesala awoke to the sound of a bell chiming. He slowly opened his eyes, his mood immediately soured by how much pain he was still in and he pushed himself up slowly. It was hours before sunrise, the sky was still dark, but there was at least a little light. Naesala looked over towards Iskra and Tihomir. They were sound asleep, breathing deeply.
Naesala looked around and saw nothing near them. He leapt from the branch into the cool morning air. There was only forest around them. "Must have gone further into the woods than I realized," Naesala muttered as he looked around.
His eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.
He turned around to look towards where the ocean should have been. This close to it, it should have been visible in the horizon. There were only trees, lush and vibrant, maybe something like mountains in the uneven edges of the horizon. Naesala tilted his head to the side. He was surrounded by trees, with only plains in the distance behind him from the direction they had come from.
This definitely wasn't the coastal area of the Tanas region of Begnion near Sienne. Naesala dragged his hand over his face. Where had they gone off to in their flight last night? He was almost certain he had picked the southern route in his rush to escape, based on what little he could see of the landmarks in the gathering darkness. He dropped back down towards where Tihomir and Iskra were resting, silently cursing the night-blindness of the bird tribes.
"Hey," Naesala called out roughly as he landed on the branch where he had tied his pack to and pulled it free.
Their eyes snapped open and they looked towards him.
"Morning. How are you two doing?" Naesala grimaced at the sharp pain in his right arm as he put the pack into position on his back and pulled the straps taught.
Iskra stretched her limbs and wings. "I'll be fine to fly home."
"I should be able to cross the ocean," Tihomir said, holding his side where the deep arrow had pierced him for a moment.
"Yeah, about that, we're a little lost." Naesala looked to the side. "I think we got a little mixed up escaping, we're not where I thought we were."
"Where are we?" Iskra asked. "I thought we were skirting along the mountains of the Grann Desert, so this should be the forest by the coast.”
"I did too, but there's no forest this large in that area of Begnion."
"How big is the forest?" Tihomir asked.
"Pretty big. I don't think there's any forest that large anywhere near Begnion aside from-" Naesala trailed off as his eyes widened. "From-" he muttered and trailed off again as his mind spun, trying to recall the maps and looking for another answer. He cursed under his breath.
Iskra closed her eyes. Her face and voice were strained. "Your highness, please tell me we haven't been bleeding over the sacred trees of Serenes all night."
"Yeah, not sure I can say that." Naesala looked towards the ground at the arrows they had discarded. He leapt down to the ground and started picking them up, looking through the undergrowth to make sure he got them all, wincing at the dried blood stains on the leaves and dirt. At least he could clean up the human refuse. "Hey, how many arrows were you guys hit by?" He called up to the others as he counted the ones in his hands.
"Eight," Tihomir said.
"Seven," Iskra said.
Combined with his five- Naesala groaned, he was two short. He started looking around again. He found one arrow hidden in the branches of a bush and looked low at the ground, searching for the last one. There was movement around a nearby tree trunk. Naesala froze as he saw radiant white wings that shimmered with a golden hue in the growing light of the rising sun.
His heart stopped. He even forgot how to breathe.
A man who looked more like a work of art than a living person stood upright. He had pale skin and long, wavy golden hair that trailed down to his feet. He wore white robes with a dark teal sash. His right arm was raised, pinched between his fingers was the nock of the last arrow, his arm stretched out to hold the bloodied instrument of human warfare as far from his body as possible. He looked over towards Naesala with light green eyes that seemed more curious than offended.
Naesala's face burned red and he walked over, grabbing the shaft of the arrow with his right hand and added it to the bundle in his left as the heron released it.
"My apologies," Naesala muttered, pulling the pack from his back, wincing as he stretched his right arm, and stuffed the arrows inside. "We didn't mean to defile your home."
The man said something, Naesala didn't quite catch it. “(Are you all right?)”
"Sorry?" Naesala said, looking back up at the man. He tied the pack onto his back, grimacing at the pain shooting down his arm and rubbed his right bicep as soon as the straps of the pack were in place.
"(Are you alright?)" The man said again, gesturing to Naesala's arm.
Naesala's mind worked quickly. "My arm?" He looked down at his arm, at the dark red scabs and the torn fabric. Some of the scabs were wet with fresh blood, pulled open by his motion. "It's okay." He looked back up.
The man smiled gently at Naesala.
"We were escaping from some hu- beorc that were chasing us, and we wound up here by mistake. We'll leave soon."
The man spoke again. “(It’s no problem.)”
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Naesala asked after a moment.
The man nodded slightly and then shrugged. He held up his hands and measured a small gap between them. "(A little.)"
"Well, as long as one of us does," Naesala said with a nervous laugh. "Oh, I am King Naesala of Kilvas."
The man pursed his lips for a moment. "Kilvas?" He asked hesitantly, pointing at Naesala.
"Naesala." Naesala said.
The man nodded and placed a hand on his chest. "(Rafiel)."
Naesala gestured at the forest. "Serenes."
The man nodded eagerly.
"So, you are (Rafiel) of Serenes," Naesala said pointing at the man, and then pointed to himself. "And I am Naesala of Kilvas."
Rafiel's eyes brightened and he smiled. "(Prince Rafiel of Serenes. King Naesala of Kilvas.)" Rafiel looked up towards Iskra and Tihomir and then looked down to Naesala and gestured towards them. "(Who are the other people of Kilvas with you?)"
Naesala looked at Rafiel and then towards the other ravens. "I guess it would be rude to not introduce them. Iskra, Tihomir, come on down."
The two ravens landed on the ground. Tihomir stumbled, and Iskra caught him.
"Tihomir?" Naesala called out.
"Apologies, your highness. That wound does not appear to have healed well." Tihomir said while wincing, and taking shallow breaths. He coughed suddenly and violently, covering his mouth with his hand. Blood fell down his mouth and through his fingers, landing in large drops on the forest floor.
"Tihomir!" Naesala called out.
"He needs to rest," Iskra said.
Naesala nodded and Iskra dragged Tihomir over to the base of a tree and helped him sit down. Naesala looked up towards Rafiel, who was pale and shaking, eyes locked on Tihomir. Naesala stepped to the side, stretching out a black wing to block Tihomir from view. Rafiel looked down at Naesala, and Naesala hung his head.
"Would it be okay if we stayed, just until Tihomir is able to fly back with us?"
A trembling hand was placed firmly on Naesala's shoulder. Naesala looked up at Rafiel.
"If it's asking too much, we can go. I know we're intruding. It's just better if he doesn't move around too much."
Rafiel shook his head and pressed firmly down on Naesala's shoulder. Rafiel whispered something in a shaky voice. "(You may stay.)”
"S-sorry?" Naesala asked.
Rafiel gestured at Naesala's wing, which was still blocking Tihomir and then at the ground. "(You may stay,)" he said again in a slightly stronger voice.
"You're saying we can stay and let Tihomir rest?" Naesala asked.
Rafiel nodded and offered Naesala a weak smile.
"Thank you," Naesala said.
Rafiel turned and flew off into the trees towards the west.
Naesala moved to Tihomir's side and crouched down. "How is he?"
Tihomir winced, his face covered in sweat.
"He should live," Iskra said, "But we must have damaged something when we pulled the arrow out that his moving around tore open."
Naesala took a deep breath. "Do you have any of that liquid medicine the humans use? The one that can heal anything?"
Iskra shook her head. "No, your highness. We don't have that on us."
"I will be fi-" Tihomir began but his sentence was prematurely punctuated by a fit of coughing.
"Don't talk," Naesala said, putting a hand on Tihomir's shoulder. Naesala looked up at Iskra, "Iskra, can you please go get some? The big city of Tanas should have some. Just be careful."
"I will be back before too long, your highness." Iskra said and then flew off towards the east.
Naesala sat down on the ground by Tihomir. "Don't worry. You didn't survive the blight just to die on me now," Naesala said, not knowing which of the two of them he was trying to reassure.
---
Hours later, Naesala was leaping into the air every few minutes, looking for Iskra. Tihomir was getting worse, covered in sweat, skin pale, coughing up blood every few minutes. By mid afternoon, Naesala was beginning to become very concerned about Iskra's safety as well.
He couldn't sit still, couldn't stand still. He was checking on Tihomir, looking in the skies for Iskra's return, trying in vain to wipe the dried blood from trees, leaves, and dirt. Every time Tihomir coughed, Naesala was by Tihomir's side, offering reassurances like a prayer. Not that the goddess had ever answered the prayers of Kilvas before.
At some point there was motion from deeper within the forest. Naesala turned to look at the woods. Rafiel alighted on the ground by Naesala, with another heron. This one also had white wings, but she wore a long white dress with lavender detailing, the train of which dragged behind her. Her long blonde hair was mostly straight, parts of it braided and tucked behind her ears. She had the same pale skin and green eyes as Rafiel.
“I’m sorry, it’s taking longer than I thought,” Naesala said in a rush as he landed in front of Rafiel and the other heron.
Rafiel looked down at Naesala. Rafiel shook his head, with brows furrowed. “(It’s all right. Is he getting better?)”
Naesala couldn’t focus. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say. It sounded like a question. I-”
Tihomir started coughing violently. Naesala was by Tihomir's side in an instant.
Rafiel and the other heron woman began to sing in unison. A gentle blue glow enveloped Tihomir's body. The song was sweet, soft, and warm. It reminded Naesala of when his mother would hold him close as a small child and comfort him when he was injured playing with the other children in the village. Tihomir became still, all the wounds on his body healing, the cuts, gashes, and scabs fading until not even a scar remained.
Naesala was frozen still for a few long moments after the song ended. Tihomir's chest began to rise and fall evenly and he slowly opened his eyes. Naesala let go of the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding.
"Tihomir?"
"Yes, your highness?"
"Are you- how do you feel?"
Tihomir sat upright and looked down at his body for a moment. "I feel well."
Naesala bowed his head. "Thank the goddess."
A strong hand landed on Naesala’s shoulder. Naesala looked up at Tihomir. “I apologize for worrying you, your highness.”
Naesala shook his head. “No it’s-” he took a deep breath. “We should have expected defenses eventually. I’ll ask Senator Richard Tanas the next time we see him to see if that was a setup or not.” Naesala looked at Tihomir for a moment and then stood up, looking over at the herons in awe. "I don't know- I- What even- Thank you."
The heron woman smiled widely. "(You're welcome. I'm glad we could help.)"
There was the sound of wings flapping overhead, towards the east. Naesala turned around as Iskra fell into the clearing, landing heavily on the ground.
She looked at Tihomir, then at the herons, and then at Naesala.
"They sang a song and healed Tihomir?" Naesala informed her.
Iskra nodded. "The seid magic of the herons is said to be capable of many things." Iskra bowed her head to the herons briefly. "Thank you for helping Tihomir." She leapt up into the trees above, where their packs were.
Naesala turned back to Rafiel and offered him a salute. Rafiel looked at Naesala curiously and pantomimed it poorly, the girl smiled serenely at Naesala.
“Thank you again for letting us stay and for helping us. I don’t know that he would have survived if you hadn't been so gracious. I’m sorry about all the blood. I tried to clean it up as best-”
Rafiel knelt down and pulled Naesala into a hug, to which Naesala froze, not even daring to breathe. “(It is all right, Naesala. I can tell you meant no harm and that he means much to you.)”
Rafie let go of Naesala and Naesala stepped back, rubbing his right arm and looking to the side. “Thank you. I need to get back to Kilvas now.” Rafiel stayed crouched on the ground, appraising Naesala with warm eyes.
Iskra landed on the ground, carrying two packs, one strapped to her back and one to her front. Tihomir stood up next to her.
Naesala looked at them and then at Rafiel. “Oh, I don’t think I introduced them before. This is Tihomir, and Iskra,” Naesala said, gesturing at them both. “Tihomir, and Iskra, this is Rafiel of Serenes.”
Rafiel smiled and stood up. He gestured to the woman. "(This is Princess Laila of Serenes, my younger sister.)"
“It has been an honor to make your acquaintance, your highness,” Tihomir said.
“Yes, I wish it had been under more pleasant circumstances,” Iskra said.
“(I have enjoyed meeting you as well. May the goddess see fit for us to meet again someday when you are well.)” Rafiel nodded at them.
---
Begnion Era, 569
Naesala stood at the edge of a cliff near the castle of Kilvas. Nealuchi stood near him.
“Nestling, you-”
“I’m the King of Kilvas now. Don’t call me that,” Naesala said.
“Nestling, you know, I remember when your mother-”
“Don’t.” Naesala trembled, feeling like an arrow had struck his chest, his wings trembling. “Don’t talk about her. I can’t.” He closed his eyes and tears fell down his face, as the image of her bloodstained face rose to the surface of his mind as he shoveled dirt onto her lifeless body. “I can’t be strong like I need to be when I think about her.”
Nealuchi nodded his head. “I understand, Nestling. I remember when you first learned how to fly. You were always such a fast learner, the first to do anything out of any of your age group.”
Naesala laughed bitterly. “Yeah. Vera and Andreja were always jealous of me. Andreja especially, since he was two months older.” He didn’t fight the tears that poured down his face. “Remember that time he tried to chase me and got stuck in the tree by the breeze?”
“I do, Nestling. He was very cross with me when I tried to get him down. Why, he even called me an egg-stealing crow,” Nealuchi laughed, “He was such a spirited nestling.”
Naesala watched the waves crash at the bottom of the cliff, hundreds of feet below him. “How long do you think it will be before there’s life like that again?” Naesala asked quietly. “No one in Kilvas is spirited anymore.”
Nealuchi looked at Naesala sadly. "Until there are more children to play without any care of what happened before."
Naesala shrugged. “Hey, so, what do you know about herons?”
“Herons, Nestling?”
Naesala turned to look at Nealuchi. “Yeah. We sort of barged in on Serenes by accident recently. I wanted to thank them properly for helping us.”
Nealuchi chuckled. “You’re in luck, Nestling. When I was a young raven, I dealt with the herons of Serenes a great deal for the senator Telgam. I happen to know a great deal about them.”
Naesala winced. Nealuchi had been born before the hawks and ravens had escaped their chains and formed Phoenicis. He was one of the only ravens that was still living that remembered what it was like before the laguz had their own nations. "Sorry, Nealuchi, I didn’t mean to ask about-"
"It's all right, Nestling. I am happy to tell you everything I know. I can even try teaching you their language."
Naesala smiled at the older raven. “Thanks, Nealuchi.”
---
Begnion Era, 569
Naesala, Nealuchi, Tihomir, and Iskra landed on the outskirts of Serenes Forest. They carried with them a few bags filled with fruits and nuts from around Tellius.
There was a sound, like a chime, that came from the forest’s edge.
Naesala looked over at Nealuchi. “What do we do? How do we get their attention?”
“The songs say that they hear the voice of the forest,” Nealuchi said, “They’ll know we’re here.”
“I think so,” Iskra said, “Look.” She pointed to a space between the trees.
Naesala looked over and saw a young woman standing there. She was radiant, like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds coalesced into form. She had wings as white as Rafiel’s with long straight blonde hair that fell to her knees, and bright green eyes. She looked at them curiously, with a soft smile on her face.
Naesala stepped forward and waved a hand to her. “(Hello,)” he said.
She smiled wider and stepped away from the tree, her long white dress with light blue embroidery trailing behind her. She stayed within the trees, but waved to him. “(Hello.)” she said brightly.
“I’m here to thank uhm.” He cast his mind back to what Rafiel had said. “(Pronce Rafiel.)”
The heron woman smiled a little. “(Prince Rafiel.)”
Naesala’s ears burned red. “(Prince Rafiel,)” he said firmly and then opened the bag he was holding to show her the food he was carrying. “And his sister, (Laila). We wanted to thank them for their hospitality the other day.”
The heron nodded. She waved at Naesala and stepped back further into the woods. “(Come with me.)” Nealuchi translated her words softly behind Naesala.
Naesala looked back to the others and then stepped forwards, toward the forest. The others followed him. The woman nodded at them and then flapped up on her wings and flew deeper into Serenes. The ravens followed her. They heard the sounds of voices singing all throughout the woods around them as they traveled further in, sometimes catching sight of a heron with dark blue watching them from the trees.
They arrived at a clearing in the forest, with a large stone building built on the other side. Sitting in the clearing was Rafiel, and a small heron, no bigger than a hatchling, with small white wings and soft downy feathers on her wings running around Rafiel. Rafiel looked up to Naesala and smiled. The hatchling looked over and ran towards the other heron woman. On her way over, the young girl tripped on a root. Naesala darted over and caught the child with his arm. The girl looked up at Naesala for a moment, with wide curious eyes and then ducked around Naesala’s arm.
“(Lillia!)” The child called out, grabbing onto the woman's skirts.
Lillia smiled and picked up the girl. “(Leanne, you should be more careful,)” she chided gently as she lightly touched the end of Leanne's nose with a slender finger.
The girl shook her head, shifting around long, shoulder length strands of hair that were as sparkling and golden as the other two herons’ and rested her head on the older heron girl’s shoulder.
Rafiel moved to stand next to Naesala. “(Hello again, I see that you are all well. That’s good,)” Rafiel greeted.
Naesala looked up at Rafiel. “Oh, hello again. I hope we’re not intruding, but I wanted to thank you for your hospitality the other day. I know we were a little rude, but, uh, here.” Naesala lifted up the bag he was holding to Rafiel.
Rafiel looked down at the bag with furrowed brows and then up at Naesala with a small smile. “(Thank you, but you didn’t have to go to all this effort.)”
“(Brother, I think it would be rude if we didn’t accept,)” Lillia said as she walked over towards Rafiel, Leanne still in her arms.
Rafiel looked down at Lillia and nodded. “(I suppose that you’re right, Lillia.)” Rafiel said and reached out to lift up the bag. It didn’t budge from Naesala’s hands. “(This is quite full,)” he remarked, letting go of the bag and looking at the bag, which was about half as tall as Naesala was.
“Oh, is it too heavy?” Naesala asked, looking from Rafiel’s slender hands to his narrow arms and shoulders. “Sorry, I didn’t consider that. I guess we could put them down wherever you would like.”
Rafiel nodded and waved for the ravens to follow him as he turned to walk towards the stone building. Naesala closed the bag and followed Rafiel alongside Lillia. The others followed Naesala.
The building was the strangest Naesala had ever seen. It was built with a white golden hued stone, with pillars all around the outer hallways, but there was no roof. The hallways were completely open, and the rooms had eaves that extended out a few feet, but the centers of the rooms were exposed directly to the outdoors. All the rooms had wide doorways, such that Naesala could always feel a breeze, no matter how far into the building he went. There were trees growing in odd corners, so the sky was always blocked a little by the leaves of the forest canopy.
Rafiel led them to a room with a large wooden table in the center of it and walked over to the table, which was about as high as his waist. Naesala set the bag down on the table, Iskra and Tihomir set their bags down as well. Naesala looked up at Rafiel.
“Would you like us to empty the bags, so it’s easier on you?”
Rafiel smiled and nodded. “(That would be fine.)”
After Nealuchi translated, the ravens set quickly to work, pulling out all of the fruits and nuts that they had brought and arranging them on the table.
Lillia looked at them. “(I’ve never seen so many different kinds before,)” she marveled, looking with wide eyes at the table.
Naesala nodded at Nealuchi after he explained what she had said. “Oh, these ones over here,” Naesala gestured towards a few piles in the center of the table, “Have hard stones in the center. I don’t know what really grows in Serenes, so just be careful of that.”
Rafiel tilted his head to the side with furrowed brows. “(They’re dangerous to eat?)”
“Here, like this,” Naesala picked up a fuzzy apricot and pulled a knife out from under his shirt behind his back and cut the fruit open. He wiped the knife clean on his pant leh, sheathed it, and then pried the bright yellow-orange flesh from the hard pit in the center of the fruit with his fingers. He set the flesh down on the table and held up the stone. “You don’t want to swallow the stones.”
Rafiel nodded. He gestured towards the apricot halves Naesala had freed. “(May I?)”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Naesala set the pit on the table and stepped back towards the ravens.
Rafiel pulled up a half and handed it to Lillia. Lillia smiled as she took it. “(Thank you.)”
“(Want it!)” Leanne called out, reaching towards Lillia’s hand with the apricot.
Rafiel chuckled and picked up the other half and pulled off a small piece, handing it to Leanne, who quickly stuffed it into her mouth..
“(Delicious!)” Lillia exclaimed as she ate a bite.
“(More! More!)” Leanne exclaimed, reaching towards Rafiel.
Rafiel laughed and gave Leanne another small bite, before taking one himself. He looked off in the distance as he chewed and then swallowed the fruit. Rafiel looked down towards Naesala. “(Thank you very much for bringing this bounty to us.)”
There was motion at one of the doors to the room. An older heron, as radiant as the others, walked into the room. He looked from the ravens, to the table, to the other herons. He wore a delicate circlet made of silver with a green gemstone in it, in addition to white robes.
“(Rafiel, what is going on?)” The older heron asked.
“(Ah, Father, these are the ravens I spoke of before. Well, there’s one more amongst them than there was previously. They came here to thank us for healing the one named Tihomir. I think to apologize for the state they came to the forest in as well.)”
"(That is correct,)" Nealuchi chirped cheerfully behind Naesala. The herons looked curiously over at Nealuchi. The older heron's eyes seemed to stir in recollection.
"(It’s been a long time since you were among us, old friend.)"
Nealuchi nodded. "(It is good to see you well once again, King Lorazieh.)"
The older heron walked forwards, Rafiel and Lillia stepped behind him. The older heron looked at all of the ravens, and then down at Naesala. “You…are…Naesala?”
Naesala nodded eagerly. “Yes. I am Naesala, King of Kilvas.”
“I…am Lorazieh…King of Serenes.”
“It is an honor to meet you, your highness,” Naesala said.
“These…are my…children. My oldest son…Rafiel…and my third…daughter Lillia…and my youngest daughter…Leanne.”
“These are my advisors, Iskra and Tihomir, and my,” Naesala paused for a moment, “Chamberlain, Nealuchi. I don’t mean to intrude, but your son and daughter showed us a great kindness the other day, and I wanted to repay it. Nealuchi thought a gift of food might be appropriate. Was that all right?”
“You are…very young…for a king,” Lorazieh said, searching Naesala’s eyes.
Naesala shrugged. “It’s how it is.”
Lorazieh looked at the table and back at Naesala. “You are…very thoughtful. Thank you.”
“What language is it that you all speak, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“The ancient tongue…the language…spoken by…the goddess…before she…slept.”
Naesala’s eyes widened. “Oh, yeah, I guess that would make sense.”
“I speak…sometimes with…King Dheginsea…and…the kings of Phoenicis. I have…never met…a king of Kilvas…before.”
“Yeah, my predecessor,” Naesala paused, trying to find the right words. “He never got out much, I guess, and he was a bit thoughtless.”
“You don’t…think kindly…of him.”
Naesala’s eyes widened. “Well, no, I guess, not really. He caused a lot of trouble in Kilvas. I hope to cause less trouble than he did.” Naesala looked back towards the other ravens. “I don’t want to overstay our welcome, should we leave now?”
Lorazieh shook his head. “As long as…you don’t…fight…or hunt…in Serenes…you are welcome…to visit…as long as…you desire.”
“Really?” Naesala asked.
Lorazieh nodded. “However…herons can…read the hearts…and minds…of those we…speak with. Others may…find this…bothersome.”
Naesala chuckled nervously. “So that’s it huh? Can your children understand us because of that talent?”
Lorazieh nodded. “Yes.”
“Thanks for the warning. I need to get back to my people, but if it’s all right, I’d love to come see you and your family and your people again sometime.” Naesala looked through a doorway towards the forest, where he could hear the faint sound of singing in the distance. He recalled what it had been like to be in town before the blight, playing with his friends, and pushed the image away as quickly as the pain shot through his heart. “I’d like to learn more about Serenes and the herons.”
“That would be…agreeable. You are…very caring.”
Naesala laughed. “Don’t say that. The King of Kilvas has a reputation to maintain.”
“And that is?”
Naesala shrugged. “Someone who’s more cunning and calculated than caring.”
Lorazieh studied Naesala for a moment. “I don’t…see that.”
Naesala winked at Lorazieh. “Well, let’s call that a secret between kings, then. I can’t have the hawks finding that out, it would strain my relationship with them.”
"I don't…understand how…but…very well."
Naesala nodded his head and grinned, one corner of his mouth raised higher than the other. "I look forward to seeing you and your people again, King Lorazieh."