The Stranger in the Winds Ch.1
The desert wasn't kind this day. The wind was kicking up the sand, creating a vicious sandstorm. Yet there was a traveler walking towards the Desert Nation's capital of Darune. He traveled alone with no packs. In truth the only thing he had with him were his clothes, a mask to cover his eyes and nose, and a sort of cloth wrapped around his right arm. On this cloth were chains and small rectangular papers. His pace never faltered as he neared the capital city. Soon he had arrived at the gates.
The city of Darune was a city that didn't welcome outsiders. They still let them in, but they put the travelers through an extensive search. Most of the time this entailed being patted down then going through a soul search. Soul searching is a simple task performed by mystics or priests, in which they read an individual's intentions. By this time the traveler was being patted down.
"You do realize that the wards are there for a reason." This was the first time that the traveler had spoken in awhile. His voice came out in a soft rasp. "I'm telling you to not take it off." The guards were cautious and obeyed every rule about the entry of an outsider. Two of them pointed back to the gate. "I am not going to leave. I need to see the lord of the commons district and until I do I will wait here."
"Like hell you will!" A guard yelled. "Under the jurisdiction of Lord Raine you will now be escorted out of the gates for failure to comply. Any further resistance will result in your death!" The traveler simply frowned as he turned towards the guard that had spoken.
"I am under no law of any lord. You can tell Lord Raine that he can come to this gate and meet me if you won't let me through." There was a glint in his eyes as he looked up at the guard. "And if you want to, consider this further resistance." The guards did just that and pulled their weapons out, two swordsmen, a spearman, and two riflemen all began to ready themselves. With a sigh the traveler slid his left foot back with his left arm positioned slightly at an angle to it. His cloth covered right arm went to cross his stomach.
"That is quite enough!" A loud voice rang out. The voice was carried authority with it, made completely obvious by the reaction the guards had. They all suddenly snapped to attention and saluted the source of the voice. "Well well, you've finally come back to us. It's only been ten years." Now that the owner of the voice wasn't yelling, you could hear the feminine touch to it. "Lord Pyre, we all welcome you here." The traveler hadn't moved one bit until his name was finally mentioned.
"Please, no titles. My name is Zahn, not Lord Pyre. You of all people should know that." He had returned to a full standing stance. There was a sour feeling in the air as the two looked at each other. Zahn's hair and clothes stained by the desert sands and long travels. The woman wore colorful light clothing on top of another light fabric along with some more cloth to cover the face, perfect for the heat that goes with deserts. "The noble look fits you Sasha. Or should I call you Lord Raine." Sasha smiled slightly before turning around and walking away. She motioned for him to follow and he did.
"So Zahn, still stirring up fights for no reason?"
"Actually no, they wanted to remove the wards. The rumors must be true about this place. I never thought that the security here would get so tight though."
"And what rumors would that be?" Sasha's voice had a slightly annoyed tone to it.
"He's obviously talking about the possibilities of us and the Mountain Nation having a war. I didn't know that word would have spread to the east by now. It's unbelievable that word travels so fast now." A mystery individual spoke up. Both Zahn and Sasha turned around quickly. Zahn had taken that same stance as earlier. Sasha looked at the individual before smiling. Standing in front of them was a female lizard. She stood as high as Sasha but she had a curvy build to her instead of the athletic build Sasha had.
"By Darius' bones. What possessed you to sneak up on us? You know that scares me every time Lisa." Sasha said with a laugh. As soon as Zahn had noticed who the speaker was he removed his mask. This action revealed the travel tired face of a bobcat. He smiled and nodded at the lizard.
"It's nice to see you again Lisa. You sure have grown up to be a lovely woman." Lisa just smiled and blushed at Zahn's comment. "But no. I am not here about the war, although it is the cause of what I am about to ask." He said as he turned to Sasha. "Sister, be honest with me. Are you truly considering engagement to a Northern Nation prince to stop this war? They have long been at our throats and here you ar-" Zahn had received a direct slap to the face as Sasha turned around and walked off in a hurry. He rubbed his cheek and turned to Lisa. "Touchy subject I guess. So Lisa, has anything happened in the court since I left." He knew many things had happened, he just wanted to know what those things were.
Lisa shook her head no. "Nope, there still are the two ruling families, mine and yours. They're still completely fine with each other. And we've stepped up security for war purposes. And as you already have heard, your sister wants to avoid the war by marrying the eldest prince of the Mountain Nation." She said this with disgust in her voice. This disgust was not meant towards Zahn's sister and Zahn knew it. With a turn on her heels, Lisa began to walk away. "Come, follow me. There is much you have missed, and I will show you." Her voice was serious as she continued on. Zahn simply followed and listened.
He was quiet through every word she said as they walked through the open air hallways that made up most of the commons palace. While the stone itself was nothing special, each pillar had different markings and images on it. The same could be said about the statues and even the walls. The commons district palace, being one of the three palaces of Darune, was the most mysterious. Out of all of the rooms and hallways, each one contained a stone with odd markings upon it, in one way or another. They reached a door that had an image of a bobcat's face on it.
"Thank you for the tour Lisa." Zahn said jokingly. Despite his prolonged absence he still knew his way around the palace, or so he hoped. "I'll see you later tonight." A quick glance up and the setting sun could be seen floating lazily through the sky. Lisa just smiled and waved as she went across the courtyard and into a door with a lizard's face on it. Zahn went through his respective door and into what was called "The Court of Cats." This room was another open air room, but descended down into the depths of the ground. Not a single fur was allowed access into those caverns after dark, while only a handful had access to the caverns in general. The caverns stretched from this room to the lizard's court, and supposedly to the other palaces. Those routes long forgotten by any but the most ancient of beings. The hole was not the only features this room possessed. There was a marble bridge that extended to another closed in part of the room. Zahn walked across this bridge and to a golden gate. The guards on the other side looked at him oddly. One was about to speak only to be interrupted by an elderly bobcat pushing past him and opening the gate.
"Oh, Zahn. We've all missed you so much." She said sweeping Zahn up into a big hug and walking back through the gate. She carried him through a door and into a room with four thrones. "I'm so glad that you're finally back. Do you know how a mother worries when her son just goes up and missing for ten years."
"I was twenty-four at that time. I'm thirty-four now. You can stop worrying about me any time." Zahn said with a smile.
"Honey if I didn't worry about you I wouldn't be a mother." Zahn's mother looked him up and down then focused on his right arm. "Ever since that day you sent us the news I've been so worried. How many are there?" She said lifting up his arm. All Zahn did was look away with an emotionless face. "Five seals. Why did you ever go east?"
"I needed to find something."
"Did you ever find it?"
"Regrettably, no."
"Don't feel bad. Not everyone can find what they want." His mom looked at him sadly. "I just wish that you would have let one of us know. It was so tough when you just left. Not even a goodbye. Of course you were devastated by your father's death. It all was just happening too fast for you." She hugged him one last time then pointed at a door with symbols in a circle carved in the middle of it. "Go and bathe. There will be a feast celebrating your return and taking up of the crown." Zahn looked at his mother in a surprised look.
"I'm sorry but I'm not here for that title. I'm here to stop this marriage that is to happen."
"You must realize that only by becoming the king can you stop a new candidate from arising. And then the marriage can be called off." A voice came off from the shadows. Zahn simply turned and frowned.
"Khorus, nice to see you." Zahn said with poison in his voice. "If what you say is true then I will have to consider the option. For now, I bathe." Zahn turned and walked through the door that his mother had pointed at earlier.
"He is not ready for the role of king." The lizard Khorus spoke. Mi'lady, surely you would rather the Northern Dread over your own son." Khorus' dark scales made him nearly invisible since he was in the shadows.
"You're right. But I would rather see this kingdom destroyed than my daughter marry that bastard.
(Alright, so here's chapter one of my story. I know it's short but I hope you all enjoy. And as always constructive criticism is welcome.)