CHAPTER 1 - DREAMS - Part 4 (final part)

The Orphanage had changed over the last three years. When Cullen had first seen it, it was dirty and dingy, run by an old woman named Madame Sturgeon, who barely cared for the children at all. She forced them into labor that made her money and didn’t prepare them for a life of their own.
Sonia had changed all that. Now the children were fed and healthy. They worked, at jobs they liked, doing things that they could do as adults when they grew up. The High King set aside a certain amount of money for each orphan, that they could use when they were ready to go out on their own.
Sonia helped them decide what kind of life they wanted to lead. They could be soldiers, like many of their fathers, or they could be farmers, with enough land to start given to them when they graduated. Or they could become craftsmen, or work in the castle for the King, he always needed more help and it was good to work for him.
Sonia had cleaned the building up as well. She had flowers growing all around it and the walls were washed and repaired regularly. The boys that wanted to be soldiers practiced guarding the place and marched along the walls of the building.
The building itself was built like a small castle, with four stone walls and one tower. It held a barracks for the children, boys on one side, girls on the other. It had a large kitchen where the children learned to cook their own meals on a rotating schedule. It had a common room with a large fireplace where the kids could gather at night and Sonia would read stories to them.
And there was a large classroom as well, since the King had decided that all children should receive a rudimentary education. There were schools now in every village, but the orphans had their own school inside their walls. The Dreamweaver often made appearances to teach, at Sonia’s request.
Cullen walked down the King’s Road through the city until he came to the large green that was in the center of the city. When he first came to Holdfast, looking for Tik, he had joined a circus that was set up in the green. The memories came flooding back as he walked across the grass.
He arrived at the gates of the Orphanage and found two young men in Kingsguard tabards standing in front of the door. They both carried spears and had very serious looks on their faces. But both of them showed excitement when they realized who was coming towards them.
“Master Cullen!” one called out. “Have you come to see Lady Sonia?”
“Yes I have young man,” Cullen said back, giving the boys a small bow. “Is she available?”
“I’ll go see sir, of you’ll wait right here?”
“If those are the rules, then its best I follow them!” Cullen agreed and positioned himself outside the reach of the doors. The young man opened them and ran inside to go find Sonia.
“Is it true that your sword is magical?” the other boy asked hesitantly.
Cullen looked over at him and smiled. “That is true,” he said honestly.
“What can it do?” the boy asked.
“It does many things, but I try not to use the magic unless I have to. I prefer to be a good enough swordsman without the extra tricks.” Cullen pulled the Sword free and let the child take a look at the gleaming blade.
“Its beautiful sir!” he exclaimed. “It’s made out of steel, right?”
“That’s right,” Cullen said. “Have you learned about the differences between iron than man uses and steel that the Faeries introduced us to?”
“I haven’t learned blacksmithing yet, but I will sir! I will!” Cullen sheathed his Sword and smiled again. He liked this boy, he was respectful and curious.
The door opened again and the second boy came back out. “She says you can come in. You know the way right sir?” he asked.
“Yes, I know the way. Thank you boys. Thanks for keeping watch over my Lady.” Both boys straightened up and puffed out their chests. They saluted Cullen as he stepped into the doorway.
Cullen walked down the first hallway, passing the different rooms that were on the side. He noticed that the inside of the small castle was spotless too, in better shape than the King’s castle.
Cullen thought about what he had to do while he was here. Sonia was not going to be happy with his news, but he hoped that she would come with him. She was best with the Bow, Seeker, and he wanted to have her close, rather than leave her behind here at home. But he also worried for her safety, which was one of the reasons he wanted to invite Tik along. Tik always kept a close eye on Sonia.
Cullen turned down the second hallway and walked until he reached the corner where the tower went up beside the wall. He stepped onto the stairway and walked in circles up to the tower. Sonia had claimed the tower as her seat, because it had a nice view of the city and its windows allowed a nice breeze to flow through.
He stopped outside the doorway, which he found close and he knocked lightly. He heard her call from the other side and he opened the thick wooden door and let himself in.
The office was in immaculate condition, totally organized and clean. She had the stone painted white to make it brighter and it contrasted well with the wooden desk that occupied the center of the room. A series of windows were open behind her and sun was shining in to light up the room.
There were two wooden ladder-back chairs in front of the desk, and a rug on the wooden floor with a complicated design woven in. Sonia was seated at her desk, looking over paperwork and drinking a cup of tea.
Cullen walked around the desk and kissed her cheek before choosing one of the two chairs and sitting. She looked tired already, but she was beautiful with the sunlight highlighting her hair and her eyes were clear.
“It’s nice to see you love, but why did you come?” she asked, getting right to the point.
“Because we need to talk Sonia, and it was important, so I came to find you,” he answered, keeping his voice low and calm.
“Well now I’m worried, so out with it,” she said, her smile fading.
“I had a dream, a dream that told me something would happen to my father’s Kingdom if I didn’t cross the mountains and face whatever I find over there. In my dream, I saw cities enslaved by the Host, in the lands on the other side.”
“If there’s more, then say it now,” she added flatly.
“The Dreamweaver looked at the dream and agrees with me that it’s real, but he said someone sent it to me deliberately.” Cullen sat forward in his chair, wishing he could hold her while they spoke.
“And despite the danger of that, you want to cross the Everwinter Mountains and go see for yourself, is that right?” she asked, her tone clearly stating that she was getting upset.
“Yes,” he said, having decided a long time ago to always be honest with her. “If there are people that need help, it’s my responsibility to go help them.”
“Why exactly is it your responsibility?” she asked.
“Because I was given this power and these tools and I should help people with them.” He said it so calmly and clearly that she knew she had no argument. This was one of the things she loved about him, his desire to help other people, his need to save them if he could. But it also put him in danger.
“I had hoped that all the adventure was over with Cullen.”
“I know you don’t like it, but I have to go. I’m asking people to go with me, and I’d like you to come. You’re the best with Seeker and I don’t want to be away from you all that time.”
“I run an Orphanage for children! I can’t just take off and go on some adventure with you!” she raised her voice a little and Cullen cringed.
“The King says the assistants you’ve trained should be able to handle it while you’re gone,” Cullen said, worried she would start yelling.
“Oh he did, did he?” she snapped. “I bet you two have figured it all out for me already then, is that right?”
“Sonia, I don’t want to fight. I have to do this and I’d like you to come.” Cullen spread his hands out and looked at her seriously.
“Damn it!” she said. “I don’t like this, not one bit! But I’m not letting you go alone Cullen! Who else is coming?”
Cullen lowered his hands and smiled. “There’s an elf named Aki and he has another Faerie with him, a Spriggan named Fox. Anton the High Priest has agreed to go and I’ve summoned my brothers and Tik.”
“Well at least you’re bringing people that care about you!” she said, her anger cooling a bit. “And I’ll be glad to see Tik again; it’s been about a year since he last came around.”
“Yes, and we’ll have to stop and see Garm and the Dwarves, and maybe I can convince some of them to come too. A small party will be better than an army though, since we want to sneak in and take a look around. I’m hoping we can help without getting into too much trouble.”
“Yes well, best laid plans,” Sonia said sarcastically.

***

Cullen accompanied his father the following day while he exercised his hawks. Cullen was dressed again in his fighting leathers, black colored leather that had steel plate sewed onto the chest, arms and legs. He wore his Sword but left his Shield inside.
His father was dressed in a silk shirt, with bees embroidered down the sleeves in gold stitch. He wore leather breeches and tall black boots that were polished to shine. His hair was greased back and his beard was lightly oiled. He was the picture of a gentleman King.
He wore a glove over his right hand that was also embroidered with gold stitching and adorned with pearls. His hawks all wore matching hoods, with gold and pearls and brightly dyed feathers.
The Keeper of Animals was with them, standing at attention by a post that was shoved in the ground, making a small tree where the hawks could rest while they waited for handling. The three men stood in the back of the castle in the Outer Ward between the castle and the massive walls that surrounded the castle. There was a long strip of rocky grass where the King liked to fly his hawks.
The King had three hawks in total; a small Marsh hawk, a Red-tailed hawk and a Harris hawk. All of them were dark colored with some golden or white highlights along the bases of their feathers, and the Red-tailed hawk had deep red tail feathers that were clearly recognizable.
The King reached for the Marsh hawk and took him from the wooden branch to his glove. He removed the hood and the hawk swiveled his head to look at his surroundings. The hawks were familiar with the stretch of ground and they knew what was expected of them.
The Keeper reached into a sack and pulled out a small dove. He walked halfway down the length of land and released it into the air. It fluttered around him for a few seconds and then started climbing to search for the top of the stone walls, which stretched up over three hundred feet.
The King released his hawk which shot up into the air, climbing higher than the dove, which flew haphazardly in jerking circles towards the sky. The hawk picked a height and then dove straight down to pluck the dove out of the air in a burst of feathers.
“Wonderful!” the King exclaimed. “Isn’t he beautiful? What a strike!” The King glanced back to Cullen who looked on approvingly.
“Yes father, he’s very fast!” Cullen added, smiling at his father’s joy.
The King held up a small target or red fur and spun it at the length of chain, tempting the hawk back to his hand. The hawk saw the red flash and knew it would get food, and it leaped off the ground and flew directly back to land on the waiting glove. The hawk snatched up its treat of dried meat and gulped it down eagerly.
“Ah hoy! There you are!”
Cullen and the King looked back to the corner of the inside wall where the shout had come from. They saw Tik rounding the corner and striding towards them. Cullen left the King and moved to greet his friend.
When they reached each other they embraced, giving each other hard slaps in the back and laughing. Cullen held him back and looked his over. Tik wore the vest of his tribe and the earrings of his rank and he had grown into a man in size.
“Look at you!” Cullen said cheerfully. “You look like your father, just not as tall!”
“Look at me?” Tik asked. “Look at you, you’re covered in tattoos! You’re a real Asrai warrior now, aren’t you?” Cullen laughed.
“I’ll show you the rest later. Come say hello to my father.”
Tik walked with Cullen back to where the King traded the small hawk for the larger red-tailed bird. They exchanged warm greeting with each other and Tik stood back to watch the next run.
The keeper removed a rabbit from another bag and set it free on the rocky grass slope. The King removed the jeweled hood from the bird and released it when it spotted the rabbit.
It also climbed higher before diving down to scoop the rabbit up off the ground. It was over in a flash and the hawk landed on the other side of the length of land to bite into his catch. It took a few moments to get it to return, but it eventually flew back to the King’s fist.
“Father, I’m going to walk with Tik and fill him in,” Cullen said, turning away to walk back. The King nodded his assent and turned back to the Keeper to set up the next run.
“Did you stop to see Sonia first?” Cullen asked as the two young men walked towards the corner of the castle.
“No, I came straight to you. What’s happening, I haven’t heard from you in a year!” Tik asked, glancing at his friend in mock worry.
“That goes both ways my friend. I sent you messages, you could have come to visit anytime. You know you’re always welcome!”
Tik hung his head a little as they rounded the corner by the tower. “I know, I just got so busy building my own wagon.” He cheered up a little to tell Cullen about his work. “You should see it! It came out really nice, its big a roomy.”
“I’d like to see it, and soon. But let me tell you why I asked you to come.” Cullen’s smile vanished and he got serious as the walked down the next length of grass to get back to the front of the castle.
“I had a dream, that said my father’s Kingdom was in danger, and it may be because the Host is apparently alive and well on the other side of the Everwinter Mountains. I saw images of people enslaved there, and I want to go see for myself if there’s anything I can do.”
“How do you know the dream was real?” Tik asked, which Cullen expected.
“The Dreamweaver told me it was real, but he also said someone deliberately sent those images to me, so it may be a trap.” The two men rounded the next corner and approached the gates of the castle.
“And you want to go anyway, is that it?” Tik laughed.
“Yes. I’ve got two of the Daoine Sidhe coming, myself, Sonia, and Anton the High Priest and I’m hoping my brothers will come and maybe some Dwarves. But I’d like you along.”
Tik was silent as they walked through the gates, waved on by the soldiers on duty, and into the Inner Ward. Tik thought about what this would mean to him. He would get to go adventuring, which was always exciting, and he would see things no one else had seen before.
He would also get to be near Sonia, and as much as he hated himself for thoughts like that, it was a feeling he couldn’t get rid of. Maybe if he was around the two of them, those feelings would go away and he could be done with it.
And then there was the other thing he always thought about. He could feel it calling to him now that he was close. The sword that he wanted to carry.
“I’ll go with you on one condition,” he finally said as they entered the castle.
“A condition?” Cullen asked, surprised. “What is it?”
“I want to carry the sword that I used in the War,” Tik stated quickly.
“Oh Tik, no, that’s a bad idea! That sword is cursed, used for evil!” Cullen stopped walking and turned to face his friend.
“It hasn’t done the Dreamweaver any harm at all, and it’s just a tool! A tool that could be used for good! I would use it to defend myself and everyone else, and that would take some of the burden off of you!”
“Tik, I’m not comfortable with this,” Cullen sighed. “It’s a bad idea. There’s something wrong with those swords and we would be walking back into enemy territory, who knows how the sword will react?”
“I used it in the War and nothing bad happened!” Tik complained. “Let me use it again and if something happens, then we’’ put it down. I’ll be careful, but I don’t want to go unless I know I can defend myself from the other weapons. And I can defend Sonia too!”
Tik said it because he knew Cullen would rely on him to help protect Sonia. He meant it because he felt so strongly about her, but Cullen didn’t need to know that part of it. Tik imagined that protecting Sonia would be as important to Cullen as it was to him.
“We’ll ask the Dreamweaver and then we’ll see Tik,” Cullen finally said. “I don’t like it, but having more power might be a good thing. But at the first sign of trouble, and don’t you hide anything from me, we drop it where it can’t be found! Is that clear?”
Tik nodded solemnly and swore to follow Cullen’s advice. The two of them went off in search of the Dreamweaver to see what he would say. Tik smiled inwardly, thinking he had succeeded in one of his desires. He would be as powerful as Cullen now, and that had to be a good thing.

***

Cullen felt them coming long before they arrived. Somewhere outside the city walls he could feel them, a loving joy at freedom and companionship, racing to meet him. It was the feeling of brotherhood and family in his brothers, and the scents and feelings that each of them gave off.
Tris’tan was the eldest, and he felt like a mountain cliff on a winter morning, sunlight reflecting off the stone with a light snow drifting down. The twins were also older than Cullen, by about a hundred years, and their feel was similar since they were twins.
Gwydion and Gwaelod felt like a forest of birch and pine in fall, with the scent of dead leaves and pine needles mixed together, the feeling of brisk cool air and moonlight. One was more birch and the other more pine, but close enough that you could tell they were related, if you could feel the pack sense that is.
Cullen got up out of the chair he was in, excused himself and went jogging out to the castle gate to welcome his brother’s arrival. Three massive wolves, twice the size of the King’s hunting hounds, came rolling up the earthen mound and through the front gates.
The guards knew to let giant wolves come through; they were considered guests of the crown. The wolves were bright white, almost silver in color, with deep red eyes and red inside their ears. They were Ghost Wolves to local villagers, but they were the Asrai to the Daoine Sidhe.
The Asrai were a clan of the Seelie Court that remained knowledgeable in the ways or warcraft, when the other clans of the Daoine Sidhe had become soft and non-violent. The Asrai had gone to the Dwarves to learn their warcraft and to learn transformation magic that let them become one with the wolves.
The three giant wolves carried large packs of clothes, supplies and weapons, and they wore a loincloth over their hips so that when they changed back into their elven bodies they wouldn’t offend casual onlookers.
Inside the shadows of the walls, the three elves transformed in a whirl of blurry air that sounded like liquid popping as they transformed back to elves. In just moments they were standing before Cullen, greeting him warmly with words and pack sense.
Cullen embraced each of them, truly glad to see his three brothers by blood. They had shared many trials with him during the War and they had been his teachers in the years since. He felt closer to them than any other person in the world, including Sonia. The pack sense brought something special into his life and made him feel welcome where he hadn’t ever before.
“So, you have called us and we have come,” Tris’tan said warmly. “What is this about?”
“Let me try to show you,” Cullen said and held out his hands. The Asrai each took hold of him and Cullen closed his eyes and sent them images of what he had seen in his dream.
He showed them the paths, and finding his father’s crown broken. He showed them how he returned and followed a second path over the mountains. He showed them the black cities and the people enslaved and finally he showed them the image of the Dark Master, of teeth and glowing eyes.
One of the twins gasped at that last image and Tris’tan shivered as he let go. They shared a moment of silence as they thought about what Cullen had shared with them.
“You want to go see the truth then?” Gwydion asked, his voice kind and clear.
“There’s one more thing,” Cullen admitted. “The Dreamweaver says that someone deliberately sent those images to me ad this could be a trap.”
“Cullen, you mean to go no matter the threat, don’t you?” Tris’tan asked, looking Cullen square in the eye.
“I do. Tik and Sonia are coming, as is Anton the High Priest. An elf named Aki is coming with his servant Fox, who’s a Spriggan.”
“I know them as well, they are both strong fighters,” Tris’tan agreed. “And we make nine.”
“Then you’ll come?” Cullen asked eagerly.
“Of course!” the twins said in unison. “We wouldn’t let you go alone, or with just a couple humans and an elf!”
“I am grateful to you, all three. Won’t you come in and eat with us?” The brothers shouldered their packs and walked inside with Cullen. They found their rooms quickly, dressed in suitable clothing for eating with the High King and they all joined the rest of the group at the Hall.
The High King greeted the brothers warmly, and he sincerely liked the Asrai boys. They didn’t act like the rest of the elves, they seemed a simpler lot.
“So while you’re away Cullen, we’re going to have this tourney,” the King informed. “I’m sending Grimm and the Dreamweaver out to invite each minor King to the event. I would have sent you, to finally see some of the Kingdom, but I assume you will be leaving soon?”
Cullen stopped eating for a moment to answer. “Yes father, I hope to leave tomorrow. We can be at the Dwarves fortress in three days if we leave in the morning.”
“Excellent, then I can send you off at the same time. Grimm and the old man will leave at dawn to get a good start. I assume you’ll want horses?”
“Yes father, we would. At least until we get to the Dwarves fortress. I don’t know if there’s a pass that goes over the mountains or if we have to do some climbing to cross. If we cannot take them, we’ll leave the horses with King Garm.”
“Very well. The Dwarves and the Daoine Sidhe have set up carrier birds so we can communicate across such distances. You can send word from there before you go down the other side. Perhaps you can take a few birds with you to give progress reports from the other side.”
“We’ll take an extra horse then, for baggage and birds.” Cullen went back to eating his meal and talking with Tik about what they would need for the journey. Tik was very excited to travel over the mountains and go where no one else had been.
Sonia looked concerned but she had been happy to see Tik and the Asrai, since she knew them all well and considered them friends. She had unwrapped the Bow earlier that day and readied it for travel, but it had brought a frown to her face.
The following day they would all ride out together and begin their journey. Within a week they would be where no man or woman had ever been before in known history. She prayed for the Gods to watch over them, even though she had met the God of her parent’s during the War. It was a habit hard to break.