Sott889's Work

[Sott889]

Okay, here's the first story, It's something that I had an idea for for a long time, but I never really had a good premise of the story, Just the title character and his nemesis. This is a work in progress, and It's as the title says, just the prologue to a full novel I'm writing.

Talien:
Dawning

Prologue


Talien slowly woke up and got out of bed, quickly getting dressed into some light travel clothes, barely feeling the cotton and leather as it passed over his skin, so worried he was on recent events. He walked down the hall and to the right, his eyes just barely open, his best efforts being put into keeping them open. He kept on walking until he took a sharp left and walked down two floors until he was in the kitchens.
The aroma of cooking meat was in the air, mixing in with the powerful aroma of various herbs and fobs that one would expect in a kitchen. The Kitchen Master looked up from his oven face and smiled brightly, exclaiming quizzically “Talien, what are you doing down here at this time of day, even my senior cooks don’t come in this early.”
Talien showed a weak smile and explained, “I couldn’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about Father. He’s getting worse by the day, and nothings helping him, He’s started to take to muttering in his sleep.”
“Ah well, perhaps he’s gaining strength, last week it was hard for him to even say simple instructions.” The Kitchen Master replied.
“I fear not, you should go and see him sometime, you two used to be good friends.” Talien said, hoping the jolly cooks presence might help his father.
“I’m afraid I can’t, I have to much work to do, Were it any other year I would be with your father readily, but at the moment I’ve only got Apprentices, and bad ones at that, Don’t worry though, by the end of the year they’ll be as good as the rest.”
“Enough of this grim talk Talien my boy, what can I do for you at this hour of the morning?” The Kitchen Master enquired.
“Can you let me into the Pantry, I need some food for the day, I know it might be a little bit too much to ask this early, But I’m going off to the woods today, The whole day, I’m hoping it may help me clear my mind, and besides, It’s been far too long since I visited Aralen’s Grave.”
“Of Course my boy, go in and get what you need,” The Kitchen Master said.
Talien walked into the pantry and grabbed some bread and a large water pouch, as well as some small apples. He grabbed a pack hanging off the walls used to carry food and dropped the various items into it. He slung it over his shoulder with one arm and walked out again to find the kitchen master already gone.



Talien slowly walked down a dirt road in one of the deeper parts of the forest
Outside the Castle he lived in. Shadows played along his cloak as he cautiously looked to both sides, a now unconscious reflex since his father’s illness put him in charge of the kingdom.
As he was walking along, he took a right along a barely noticeable track, the ground only just slightly trodden. He continued on walking as he ate one of the apples he brought with him, his mind trailing off back to his father, but he stopped himself from thinking about that, The whole purpose of this trip was to take his mind off his father.
However he stopped as he saw what he was looking for, a Tall tree in the middle of an empty glade, swaying slowly in the breeze, with a single “F” engraved in it’s trunk, the last resting place of Aralen, Taliens’ mentor, who had one day simply disappeared, Leaving behind only a Note for Talien, To be read by him when he inherited the kingdom in full.
He walked up to it and knelt in front of the tree, not knowing what to say, for once in his life, he was at a loss to do.
Finally after minutes of silence, he said, “It’s me, Talien. Listen, I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit you for a while, But I’ve just been so swamped by everything that’s been happening lately, Father’s getting worse, and more and more pressure is being put on me to Take full control of the kingdom, But even I know that’s a bad Idea, I’m too young to handle the Kingdom on my own, The opposing nobles would start a rebellion, and I’d be out of the thrown within the month.”
Talien continued on for quite some time, until the sun had passed over him and the sky was a bright shade of orange. He was brought sharply to alert however, when he heard a snap in the trees nearby. He immediately stood up, and drew a knife he kept in his boots, holding it warily in his hand, as he scanned the area from where the noise had come from.
Talien knew better than to simply shout, “Who’s there?” and so instead turned to his left and jumped up, catching a branch high up an the Tree that was Aralen’s grave, pulling himself up, until he was completed covered by the branches in the tree, and once he was certain he was hidden, he sat and waited, barely moving at all, glad his cloak had been designed to hide him within a forest environment, It’s varying hues of green and grey helped make him almost invisible when still.
He waited for what seemed like an hour, though judging by the suns position, it had only been about half.
Cautiously, he made few small movements, watching the trees to see if there was any movement, and after he was certain there wasn’t any, he made larger movements, again checking for movement, before repeating the process as he moved down the tree. By the time he finally got out of the tree, the sky was a deep shade of red, and by the time he was outside the castle, the sky had turned black, and the stars were bright in the darkness of night.



Talien took a small side door directly into the Kitchens, not wanting to let his presence be known, for fear of assassins, only to willing to make an end of him, the better for their masters.
Talien quietly crept up the stairs to his chambers, but stopped one flight short of them, listening intently to the footsteps approaching. Talien took a quick step backwards, melding himself into the shadows.
Talien crouched low, and watched as two cloaked figures walked past his hiding spot, their footsteps barely audible, and Talien thanked his good luck that one of them, had made a misstep and alerted himself to their presence.
He was about to slink away, doubting he could defeat these two figures on his own with but a knife, when he heard one of them speak, their voice cold, and calculating.
The voice was that of his brother, Delano, which surprised Talien. What need does brother have for this secrecy, it’s the dead of night and this section of the castle is cordoned off for my father and us only, nobody else could get in without alerting the guards.

“How long until my father dies?” His brother asked.
“The old man will die tomorrow, just as I predicted.” Said a second voice, and it took Talien a moment to realise that it was Marnid, the physician.
“Good, good, and what about the other preparations, have they been made?”
“Yes, our supporters have been surreptitiously coming in, and as we speak, are taking the place of the guards.”
“Good.”
“Ah, if I may be so bold, how do you plan on taking the crown from your brother, ah, what with him being the eldest and all, there is no doubt in my mind that he will not tolerate your taking the crown, and he will have enough support to regain the Crown, after all, the Nobles prefer money then sending their warriors off to fight a civil war between brothers.”
“My brother is no problem, when the grim news of our fathers death is announced, it will be shown that Talien has a similar illness, caused by the poison I put in his drink when we drink to the memory of my Father. Unfortunately it will be fast spreading and deadly, He won’t last a week. It’s so surprisingly simple it makes me want to laugh.”
At this point Delano began to laugh quietly to himself, Marnid eventually joining in, dark smiles on their faces of their soon to be victory, Not knowing that the very person they were plotting to murder was hiding behind them, listening to their every word, his face contorted with rage.
How dare he, first killing father, then plotting to kill me and take the crown, He will pay for what he has done, as well as every single person who has helped him, I’ll see to it that every single one of them is burnt at the stake, or rots in a prison for the rest of their lives, Nobody who helped him will be exempt from punishment, even if I have to track them to the ends of the earth, vengeance shall be mine!
Talien was about to continue when he realized something, Nobody would believe him, They would all think that he was placing the blame on his brother or had gone insane, The only evidence he could provide would be his own death.
Talien quickly crept along the halls, being extra careful not to make a sound, and checking every single corner and door for Guards or His treacherous Brother. His mind was racing, always running over the various places he knew he would be safe, the people he knew would help him, and those most likely in league with his brother.
When Talien managed to get into his chambers, he immediately went to his cupboard, rifling through his items until he found his sword and scabbard, attaching them to his belt, before grabbing a saddle pack and filling it with all the items he would be taking with him, such as clothes and some small rations always kept in his chambers, then grabbing a rope, he threw it over the window and tied it to a hook set in the stones across from the window.
He stepped out into the cold night air, then made his way slowly down the Tower, always careful not to put too much weight on the rope, using the catches in the wall as much as possible, reaching the ground with only a few cuts and bruises.
He ran quickly into the stables and went to his horse, Snowfall, attaching a small saddle, then the saddle bags, before mounting the horse and digging his heels into the horses side, urging it onwards and to it’s limit, wind rushing past his hair as he wondered where he was to go, the forest looming up as he rode to and through it, arriving at the other side at dawn.
Now What? Was all Talien could think, as he attempted to fully grasp just what had happened, and what was going to happen.



((P.S. Please tell me if this is too big, and I'll post in smaller bits next time.))