The crowd was dispersing, so they made their way into the street and continued on, hurrying now as time was running short. They passed through the rest of the 1st annex uneventfully, though their pace slowed through the thickening crowds as they grew nearer to the main city gates. Finally they approached the famous double walls of the city of Servandor, where Eldan saw guards patrolling along the parapet facing the 1st annex, and the occasional archer stationed at a turret. Traffic crawled as each person passing through the gates stated their name and business in the city to the guards, and carts carrying mercantile goods or materials were inspected. As they joined the line thunder rumbled over the river and several people in line looked anxiously between the sky and the procession ahead at the gates, clearly worried they would get caught in a storm.
Eldan looked up at the sound of the ominous peal, too, and immediately the sick sense of unease that had dogged him all day settled back into the pit of his stomach. The sky remained a bilious yellow, if anything it had brightened, as though lit from within with a pale, watery light. A dark wall of soot black clouds rose from the river, and tendrils of darkness slithered and curled inward toward the city. He saw a flash of lightning fork down, briefly splitting the black wall, and unconsciously began to count, 1..2..3.. as he waited for the next grumble of thunder. At the count of six a thunderclap cracked like an explosion, causing horses to skitter sideways, rolling their eyes, and even the guards to jump slightly at the sudden concussive boom.
Cale started at the thunder but seemed only mildly concerned, glancing up briefly and then refocusing on the line, so Eldan forced himself to swallow his rising disquiet. He watched as a group of four nervous kids their age, each carrying a knapsack, were waved through quickly so the guards could move on to a small caravan of covered carts.
The actual gate of Servandor, a massive iron portcullis, stood fully raised, as it had for centuries, since the annexes were built. The city was roughly circular and sat at a sharp bend on the river, backed by water almost halfway around its circumference, with annexes radiating outward in concentric half circles around the remainder. Between the high, sheer harbor wall and the layered defenses provided by the annex militias the main city was nearly unassailable.
The city maintained barracks, forts and defenses outside the perimeter of the outer annexes, along with a naval fleet that patrolled the river, while the primary military base resided within the city walls. The military was proud and powerful in spite of the long period of peace, and Eldan found himself intimidated as they inched closer to the guard station. The weight of his sword hung heavily on his back as he watched the guards circling the carts in the caravan, lifting tarps and asking to see inside boxes and chests. “We just have to tell them we are expected at the Court today, right? We shouldn’t have to go through inspection?”
Cale smiled, though she looked tense. “No, they should have no cause for inspection. It’s not meant for individuals, usually. Anyway, yes, they are expecting this year’s class to pass through the gate today.”
Finally the guards stepped back from the caravan, shouting up the line for the drivers to close up their carts and pass through the gate, and the line began moving much faster again. Eldan looked up to the parapet to find one of the archers staring, fixated, at the sky. He followed the archer’s line of sight and saw that the black wall of storm-clouds was covering half the distance between themselves and the river now, with much of the annex they had just passed through completely obscured. He could see sheeting rain in the distance, as though the entire storm moving toward them was trapped, fighting to escape, behind a huge pane of glass.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Hey, boy! I asked you to state your name and business in the city” Eldan lurched back a step, swiveling his head back forward as he realized the line had carried him forward to the guards while he was entranced by the storm. He found himself facing a rough-looking, sneering man wearing an ill-fitting uniform. Cale was already standing at gate, waving her arm in a circling “get on with it” motion and giving him an encouraging smile.
He took a deep breath. “Sorry, Sir Guard. I am Eldan, son of the 32nd Ironsmith and Scholar of Music, and I am expected to report to the Court of Keepers. Sir.”
The guard spat on the ground and then turned to grin at the guard next to him. “You hear that? This shrimpy one calls me Sir. I guess that means you report to me now.”
The second guard, smartly dressed in a crisp, pressed uniform and sporting a neatly trimmed, blonde beard with waxed mustache tips, rolled his eyes. “Just let him through, he’s a Court kid. Don’t you see the storm coming? We gotta get these people moving before it hits and we are all stuck out here.”
The first guard turned back to Eldan, slouching as he looked him up and down lazily and spat a second time. Eldan wasn’t sure if he should try to look him in the eyes to project confidence or keep his eyes down to appear as unthreatening and acquiescent as possible, and he ended up flicking between staring too long at the guard’s hooded, half-closed eyes and examining the globs of spit at his feet.
“All right, whatever. Go on through, kid.” The guard finally dismissed him, his attention moving on to the next person in line. Relief washed over Eldan and he wasted no time before starting to sprint toward Cale.
“Hey, kid!” Eldan dragged his feet to a stop and reluctantly turned back. The second guard was looking at him now, his eyes narrowed. “What you got rolled up there with your stave?”
Icy fear bloomed in Eldan’s stomach, as though he had been pierced with a blade of pure cold. If this guard found his sword he and his mother could both be arrested. He might be let go because of his age but his mother would assuredly be charged with forging a blade to arm a commoner. He had seen her signature mark on the blade, and all swords sold and received were required to be strictly logged and reported. He finally managed to force a lie and a half-truth to his lips. “It’s more staves. I compete in the tournaments.”
“Hmm. Why don’t you come let me have a quick look at these staves, then.” The guard folded his arms across his chest and waited expectantly.
Eldan walked slowly back toward the guard, feeling oddly detached from his body. When he was only a few steps away from the waiting guard another deafening clap of thunder sounded, this time simultaneous with a screaming, crackling sound and brilliant flash of lightning that left spots dancing in front of his eyes and the smell of ozone permeating the air. Eldan glanced around wildly, the hairs on his arms standing straight up, the strike having sounded so close that it seemed impossible he hadn’t been hit. He looked over to see the guard also frantically looking to see where the lightning had struck just as the first sheet of rain sliced down, spattering onto the dusty ground.
“Just forget it, kid. Get through the gate.” Wind was whipping at the guard’s hair now, slashes of rain leaving stripes of fat drops across his uniform. Eldan didn’t wait for a second, spinning on his heel and rushing back toward Cale and the shelter of the gate. As soon as he got to her they grabbed each other’s hands, running, heads down, through the rapidly escalating storm.