(Axis Road, North)
Was he finally there?
Nathan Tallows glanced behind him at the sparse
gathering of dead or dying trees, and then looked in front of him.
The scenery was no more cheerful - packed earth, giving way to sand some
distance ahead, dominated his view. And directly in front of him,
just as he had been told, was the road.
The Axis Road, the scholars had named it.
It seemed to stretch forward through the wasteland in front of him and
off into infinity. He knew differently, however. If he followed
this road long enough, it would lead him to the center of his world, and
to the one thing that could offer him aid. The Spire.
If the legends were true, the Spire could reverse
the blight that had been ravaging his homeland, now thousands of miles
behind him. His family had sent him, his people had sent him, and
most importantly, his love had sent him.
But never had he asked to go.
Memories of home threatened to wash over him momentarily,
and he made a concentrated act of will not to black out. When he
was a child, he used to have fits - seizures, the doctors had called them.
After the age of seven, however, they had stopped suddenly. He was
too thankful to ask why. He hadn't had a fit since then... until
just recently. It had occurred two days ago, as Nathan was entering
the rim of the Habitable Zone. The situation had been much as it
was now - except that instead of looking out into the distance of a wasteland,
he was looking over the tops of the trees that he had today passed.
Nathan shook his head to clear it and unshouldered
his pack, looking through it for supplies. He had no idea how long
he might have to travel in order to reach the spire. Even the scholars
didn't know that. Some said that the spire was within sighting distance
of where Nathan now stood. That, he reflected ruefully, was obviously
not true. Others said that one could not reach the spire - the wastelands
continued on infinitely, a trick by the Creators to keep outsiders away.
The majority, however, had agreed on a compromise: The Spire was
6,000 miles from the edge of the Habitable Zone, and the path to it was
beset by beasts horrid, deformed, and wicked. Nathan didn't like
this idea, but it was much more comforting than the idea that he could
walk forever and not reach his goal. In addition to all this wonderfully
heartening advice, the scholars had also shared the legend of the Spire
with Nathan, all the way back to before its existance. The war between
the Creators and the Furies, the Ancients' construction of the Spire, and
the pilgrimiges that people made. Of all this legend, there was one
part that Nathan felt disquieting: None who had undertaken the journey
to the spire had ever returned.
This, therefore, would be the line, Nathan thought
to himself, looking at the spot where the road suddenly began. If
I cross that line, I can never go back....
Nathan stepped across the line, planting his feet
onto the road. There was no noticeable change in anything.
He took a step backwards and was again on the dusty ground that he had
occupied in the first place. So much for legends....
Sighing, Nathan reshouldered his pack and stepped
onto the road once more, this time continuing his walk forward. Though
he kept his eyes open for anything, he didn't spot any monsters, horrid,
deformed, or otherwise. The only noise he heard was that of his own
footsteps, mingled with his breathing. If this was going to be his
journey, he was going to get very bored very quickly. But somehow,
he knew that wouldn't be the case.
The sun dimmed as it neared the horizon, lighting
up the cloud-filled sky with various shades of color. Nathan found
himself growing weary, but was determined to walk a few more miles before
he set up camp. To occupy his time, he argued mentally over whether
he should set a campfire or not. It wasn't overly cold this time
of year, and as he continued southward, the climate would only improve.
Still, it would be nice to have a hot meal. If there were animals
in this part of the world, the fire would keep them at a distance.
Hopefully.
As the sun slowly gave up its lease on the day,
Nathan walked a few paces off of the path and set up camp. He decided
for the campfire, as he had plenty of wood from the trees he had passed
earlier that day and he didn't really think that there would be anyone
else out here to see it. He cooked the last of the meat from his
latest kill - a rather large rabbit - and then settled in to go to sleep.
(Tallows Castle)
"Nathan, it's good to see you!" Whitney smiled
as she entered the room. Nathan looked up from his book - a nearly
ancient tome about blights, curses, and general Bad Things - and glanced
up at Whitney, looking surprised.
"Whitney? I... I didn't expect you to be here
so soon!" he stammered uneloquently.
Whitney didn't notice. "You know my father,
he always likes to show up early and unnerve everyone, so here I am!"
"Yes, here you are...." Nathan said, sounding stupid
as he did so. There was an akward silence while he tried to think
of something to say. "So, how long is your stay?"
Whitney seemed to think about it. "A week,
I think. Even father himself is never sure of those things.
He likes to surprise people, including himself."
"A week?" Not nearly enough time, Nathan reflected.
The last time he had seen Whitney, it had been a year and a half ago, and
she had stayed for a month. Those were good times, before the blight.
Well, before the blight had been obvious. If one had studied their
history, it had been there for countless years.
Whitney nodded. "I know, it's a short visit,
but father can't be out of his realm for very long anymore. The people
are angry enough at him as it is." She didn't need to say why.
People everywhere were angry, mostly because they were starving.
The blight had slowly caused food production to lower until suddenly there
wasn't enough to eat. When the people no longer had food, they went
to their rulers and demanded it. Nathan knew that his father had
a rather large store, in case of just such an event. Whitney's father
had not been so fortunate.
"So, what do you suppose your father is here to
discuss?" Nathan asked, knowing.
Whitney sighed. "He's going to ask for your
stores of grain, what else?" Looking away from Nathan, she continued
in a more subdued voice. "I think... I think that he's going to try
to unite our kingdoms. It's a good idea, and the people will be thrilled,
but for me this means...." she trailed off sadly.
Nathan didn't know what to say. That the Kingdom
of Tyrwood was going to unite with the Kingdom of Tallows was not a surprising
event. He had heard as much from his own father. But, more
than likely, it meant a marriage, and King Tyrwood had only one daughter
- Whitney. And Nathan knew who she would be marrying - his brother
Donovan.
"Madam Tyrwood?" a meek voice sounded from
the open door. Whitney turned to see one of the castle servants looking
nervously in her direction. "Your father requests your presence."
Whitney's dour expression didn't change. "Very
well." turning to Nathan, she managed a slight smile. "It's
good to see you again Nathan. Very good. I- " she paused, seemingly
unsure of what to say next. "I hope to arrange some time together,
so that we can catch up... it has been too long." with that, she
exited the room, the servant following at a respectful distance.
Nathan watched her go, unable to act. Did
she even know? She didn't act as though she did. She obviously
wasn't happy to be marrying Donovan. Nathan didn't really think that
many people would be - Donovan was well known as a drunkard, a lecher,
and an overall oaf. That he would one day inherit the throne was
a frightening thought indeed to the unfortunate people who bothered to
think about it. Sure, Nathan could tell her how he felt, but at this
point that would really not change anything. Still, he wished she
knew, just so he could know if maybe, somehow, she felt the same way.
From the first moment that Nathan had spoke with
Whitney, he had been in love with her.