Chapter 5

"Was it hard to grow up with your parents gone?" asked Nate to Coria, as they were riding one morning.

"Yes and no. Yes I miss and loved my father, but at the same time he was always gone fighting in one battle or another against the Darkness. He was the King's best Commander and always went south with troops to help the Nations there. He would leave in the middle of spring and not come back for two years at a time. Then he would come back and see to the duchy for a year or so, waiting for new recruits to be found and trained. During that year, we would be like a family and every few days he would just stop with what ever he was doing and spend the day with me, just so that I knew that he loved me.

"I did not find out that he had died for three months. It took that long for word to reach me. At that time, Dentris was still teaching me. He came to me a few days later saying that he had a note from my father, he had given it to Dentris before he left, it was a tradition for the two of them, in case something happened. The letter said that he was sorry for leaving all the time, that he loved me very much. He said that he knew that he was going to lose his life in a battle, because that is a soldiers curse, but he did it because he wanted me safe and for his people to be safe. He said that the Darkness just wanted the land and was killing everyone they came across. After reading that letter, I was not much use for a few days. Then I woke up one morning and said that is enough, get on with your life, your people need you. Since I was not an adult yet, the King sent an administrator to run the duchy until I was of age. The rest you know."

"That story just shows how strong you are and how much compassion you have. I mean, I cannot imagine losing my parents, never mind having thousands of people rely on me. I think I would have gone insane if that happened."

"I had no choice. It was something that I was born into, and if I did have a choice I would not want to do anything else."

The two of them continued to talk. It was easy for those around them to see that they had a strong attraction to each other, that they themselves could not see. Tortha was the only other traveler who could not see what Coria looked like when Nate and she talked, that is because all she could see was Nate. In the two weeks and infrequent talks that they had, Tortha knew that she was falling in love; the question was how Nate felt.

The only other eventful time was when they stopped in Cancia, the only duchy that they were traveling through to get to the Pelis. Duke Boriclan learned that they had entered the city and of course had to have a ball in their honor. It would have been poor manners not to attend. Nate had of course already meet Boriclan when Coria took over her duchy.

One night, about a week before they arrived in Pelis, Coria sat down with Nate and explained more Pelis and its King.

"Vantris is a just, honorable king. He has tried to keep the coalition from falling apart but it is getting harder and harder since my father died. He was the one who was getting the victories, the one giving hope to everyone. Pelis came to be when families running from the fall of the Forgotten Kingdom, just like the rest of the other nations, came together for protection. There were six families; the six-pointed yellow star symbolizes this, when they got to where the city of Pelis now rests.

"My family was one of the six, as was Ventris's. In the beginning, the six families inter married, so Ventris and I are cousins. Boriclan is also one of our cousins. More and more families were coming to Pelis to escape the Darkness. Eventually, leadership was formed and it was decided that Ventris's family would rule. The rest of the families would help in anyway, they could.

"The families who came later were servants or the commoners of the Kingdom. Some of them brought with them some artifacts form the castle. These were put in a safe place, so that people could see what happened when the Darkness came."

"Ok, so how do you tell one of the six families from the rest of the Dukes and Duchesses? I mean there are more then five duchies in the Kingdom if I remember the maps that Dentris had me study," said Nate.

"Good question. Every Noble has a standard. If you look at mine, the top symbol is for Pelis and the bottom one, the white rose is my crest. The only difference between my standard and one from a regular Noble is that only the six families can use the purple field under the six-pointed star. If the entire field is one color, it is a regular Noble. Now for the Nobles that are under me, the bottom half would be divided again and that persons crest put in the new space, again the field all one color.

"Just remember your manners and everything will be fine."

Nate's first look at the city of Pelis put Estonia to shame. It appeared to hold as many as a million citizens, all mingling about on their business. Nate could see patrols of the city guard coming down the street, dressed like the light infantry only with a spear and no shield.

This city was meant to impress. From the main gate, the main road, aptly named Castle Street, ran all the way to the main entrance to the castle. If the city walls were ever breached the attackers would have a clear route to the castle.

He commented this to Eptomis, he being Coria's Capitan.

"You won't notice it but at certain intervals some of the stones in the road give way and iron gates pop out. The gates have spikes on the top making it tough to climb over. When the gates pop out, the streets turn in to a maze like at Estonia. It is hoped that when this happens, the army is small enough for the gates to be a problem," Eptomis replied.

"Ah, I see. Because all of the roads to and from Pelis go through the other duchies, except Newlan and Estonia, they army has to contend with defenses either the same or better then Estonia. And the only reason those two duchies don't have direct access to Pelis is because of terrain, mountains for Estonia and a huge lake for Newlan."

"Exactly right, we'll make a general out of you yet."

The party continued for a few more minutes. Nate noticed something odd and voiced his opinion.

"For a city this big, it looks like crime is not a big issue. In fact, I have not seen nor heard of any crime since I got here," said Nate to no one in particular.

"Oh, there is crime. It is just that they tend to be very sneaky and hid in the shadows a lot. In a city this size, a guild of sorts caters to the underground. Thievery, extortion, and smuggling are just some of the things that they are into," responded Dentris.

Coming up to the castle itself, it was easy to see the different extensions that were added on throughout its history. The oldest part appeared to be the central keep; it stones rougher with the countless rains and weather. The standard was just like Coria's except instead of a white rose with a blue field, it was a green stallion in a white field.

At the main gate stood a man who dressed like every other man-at-arms but had an air of authority.

When Coria spotted him, she leaned over to Nate and whispered, "The man standing there is the King himself. I forgot to tell you, he sometimes likes to dispense with court procedure. He likes to be informal as much as possible."

"Thanks for the heads up."

After everyone had dismounted and the grooms had taken the horses to the stable, Nate got his first good look at King Vantris. He was probably 5'10", just a couple of inches shorter then Nate. His brown hair hung loosely at his shoulders, and his green eyes dominated his face. He was dresses like his guards in mail armor with a padded tunic with his standard sown over his heart. The only way you could tell he was King was the gold circlet on his head.

"Coria, it has been ages since I last saw you. How has everything been?" said Vantris in a deeper voice then his bulk let on.

"Your Highness, you know very well how things have been going, as the man you sent to take care of my duchy has been getting me up to speed and I sure he has been sending back reports. So, do not even think you can try to fool me. I know when you are hiding something; you have never been able to fool me," replied Coria with a hint of playfulness.

Vantris smiled, "You always did have a way of keeping me honest when we were younger. Moreover, how many times must I tell you to call me Van when we are not in court or another official function? Now, aren't you going to introduce me to this mysterious man that seemed to come from thin air?"

"Sorry, Van. Sometimes it is hard to see you as anything but a King. I still have trouble thinking that the boy that I used to play with is now the King. As to this mysterious man, as you called him, he's Nathaniel Parson. He likes to go by Nate. Nate this is King Vantris."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Your Highness," intoned Nate.

"Please call me Van, at least when it is not an official function. I understand that you don't know how you got to out world, nor how to get back. To that end, my Magicians will be available to you. For tonight, however, you can relax."

"Thank you, Van," replied Nate.

Everyone was shown to their quarters, all except the guards who would be bunking in the Barracks. Nate's room was much like the one he had back in Estonia. They had an informal meal with the King; the official welcoming dinner would be tomorrow night. After dinner, the King invited everyone to see the collection of artifacts from the Forgotten Kingdom.