The fall of Paradic is defined by the last ruler of the nation, Aldric Tharen-Mar. He married into the royal family of Paradic as the previous king, Edward Werven, had only one daughter to inherit the throne, Eleanor Werven. Aldric himself was from Sigkilde, a strong economic power and sea-faring nation in the North. Edward believed this marriage would secure his nation's future. Considering Sigklide’s position as the lead exporter of precious metals, many scholars believe Edward was wise to make this decision. Yet he did not foresee the tragedy that would befall Aldric.

After the marriage, Edward ruled for six more years until his death in 1348 AAT. In his first few years as king, Aldric ruled much the same as Edward. With Eleanor by his side, he brought skillful shipbuilders from his home nation to teach those in Paradic. Under the direction from advisors, that had been gathered by Edward, he improved Paradic’s infrastructure and enriched the common folk.

This period of prosperity did not last long. In 1352 AAT, Eleanor passed away during a trip to Sigkilde. Aldric grieved deeply at her passing. The passion he had for life died with her, and his purpose for ruling faded with her memory. In many ways, Eleanor was his purpose for ruling.

After the Queen’s death, Aldric delegated the task of running Paradic to his five primary advisors. To fully understand the following events, we must first understand the current situation in Sigkilde. During this period, Sigklide found itself at war with its neighboring nation Skanad. This war was an effort by Sigkilde to end its practice of paying tribute to its parent nation. Having built up a strong navy, due to their relations with Paradic pyrotechnicians, Sigklide believed it had the firepower to confront Skanad.

With a foreign ruler, no heirs to the throne, and a migrant crisis from Sigklide, the advisors under Aldric began to grow resentful of their current ruler. One such advisor, Nante Merchlin, was particularly displeased with their situation. Nante was the advisor of commerce and had grown very wealthy in his position under Edward. With a despondent ruler, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Nante established several laws to gradually turn the people of Paradic against their foreign King. First, he made a move to remove protections of Paradic’s metal working industry. These protections limited imports of farm equipment, utensils, and various other high-quality items. This allowed a flood of imports from Sigklide under the guise that Aldric favored his home country.

As Paradic’s economy spiraled down, Nante laid his final trap. He had noticed that Sigklide had a long tradition of sumptuary laws that had established their nobles as a higher class. Aldric had spoken against these laws in his home country. Yet, as dissatisfaction grew among Paradins and the king remained silent, Nante knew that fact would fade in the public's minds.

As he predicted, massive outrage erupted with the announcement of these new sumptuary laws. Nante took advantage of this and made his final move to claim the throne. He told the people of the King’s influence and favoritism of his home during this time of war. His reasons made sense to the public. After all, the king did not deny these claims. With the public behind him, Nante took the capital of Paradic for himself and disposed of Aldric. The true story of the fall of Paradic has eluded historians for a long time, but conflicting records among the other advisors in Aldric's court reveal the full story. The story of a King who had lost his vision for the future and failed his people.

Hirow folded the corner of the page and shut The History of Gladia. A warm light flickered throughout their campsite. Asahi sat near the edge of the light, and Talia sat on the opposite side. Her outstretched hands extended from her curled body to catch the heat from the fire. The sound of Asahi sharpening his sword intruded on the quiet night.

It had been a week since they left Lumbuster. They rarely spoke on the road and only communicated what was needed when setting up camp. Things have been uneventful so far. Which was exactly what Hirow had hoped for. Any sign of danger and Asahi would pull them into it. He had thought about how to get rid of the warrior, numerous times, but a solution that satisfied him never presented itself.

Talia shivered and scooted herself closer to the fire. Then there was the matter of Talia. Her demeanor had changed since Lumbuster. She had crawled back into her shell. The girl who had spoken of kindness was silent. At least she’s not dragging us into danger anymore, Hirow thought. He glanced over to Asahi. We have someone else to do that now.

Hirow yawned and stretched his arms over his head. “I’m going to sleep. You two can decide who takes the first watch.”

Talia muttered a barely audible okay, and Asahi remained silent. Returning to his straw mat, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Something poked his shoulder as he began to wake. Asahi looked down at him with an expressionless face. He directed the wooden sheath of his sword at Hirow and poked him again.

Hirow swatted the scabbard, “I’m up. I’m up.”

Satisfied with the response, Asahi turned away, slumped down against a tree, and appeared to go to sleep. Hirow pushed himself up and blinked several times, trying to wipe the grogginess from his eyes. It was still dark, but the moon was low on the horizon. The sun would be up soon. Talia must have taken the first watch, he deduced.

Digging around in his backpack, he pulled out a jar and a hard lump wrapped in cloth. He unwrapped the lump, revealing half a loaf of hard bread. He ripped a portion of the bread off while trying to catch the crumbs that had been dislodged. He folded the sides of the cloth up and put the loaf back into his backpack. Twisting the lid off of the jar, he pulled out a slice of pickled radish and set it on his piece of bread. He rested his breakfast on his knee as he slid the jar back beside the loaf. He picked up the bread and watched as the liquid from the radish slowly soaked in until it was soft enough to bite.

His stomach churned, signaling he had waited long enough. Hirow shoved the whole thing in his mouth and grimaced at the taste. It was a harsh reminder of their situation. They had only finished the food Lucy had given them yesterday, yet he already missed it.

Clasping his cloak close to his chest, and grabbing a book from his pack, he shuffled over to the other side of the campsite to watch the sunrise through the trees. He sighed as he sat down. How long will this continue, he wondered. The way we’re going now, we’ll burn out eventually. Hirow shuffled through the pages of the book until he reached the appendix of maps. Thumbing through a few more pages, he reached the map of Caulthwin. Supposedly, his home country, but he had no allegiance to them. In his time at Celestate, he had never seen a noble or even a tax collector. The country extended along the Kings’ mountains and wrapped around to touch Lilian’s sea. Hirow traced their journey along the map and used the scale at the bottom to estimate when they would make it to the King’s mountains.

“About two months,” he told himself.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Two months. A lot can happen in two months. He shivered at the thought. And once we get there. Then what.

“You made a promise. She is your purpose.” The words he spoke seemed to haunt him. The wind swirled around him and blew the pages of the book. He wished it swept away his promise.

“You don’t know how to help her or protect her. You can’t do a single thing.” Hirow snapped the book shut.

He gazed at the sky. The last stars before the dawn twinkled with faded luster. What was beyond them, he wondered. Some creator who had placed them in perfect union, or nothingness who had tossed the cosmic dice.

“I followed you.” It felt like a plea, or perhaps it was yet another question. “So why won’t you show me the way.”

The silence was expected but felt deafening like he was screaming into a storm that drowned out his cries. He dropped his head and hung his arms over his knees. The Gods of Celestate never answered his questions, so why would the stars? My future. I can’t see it. It's blank. Hirow’s throat tightened as he searched for direction. Nothing came, and he emptied his head of thoughts and let the stillness of the night wash over him.

It wasn’t long before rays of sun peeked over the horizon. Asahi and Talia stirred soon after. They packed up camp and went on their way.

The sun’s rays were scattered by a blanket of clouds. Each shaft of light marched over the rolling hills and illuminated the gray landscape. A cold wind lept through each dip and rise as Hirow felt the hairs on his skin stand up. He pulled his hood up. Asahi let the wind comb through his exposed hair and seemed unaffected. At the top of the hill, Asahi stopped. He stood there, his gaze transfixed on something in the distance.

“What is it now,” Hirow grumbled.

As he approached the summit, he looked down into the small valley below. Several sturdy wooden carts were arranged along both sides of the road. Five of the six had a wired frame covered with white cloth. The sixth was a fully wooden structure. A slopped and paneled roof arched up steeply to a point. It was about twice the size of the other carts and looked like a house on wheels. Several men in embroidered coats of various colors and dark blue breeches were conversing between the lines of carts.

Talia caught up to them and observed the situation below. Seeing the people, she pulled her hood up and began to tuck her hair behind her ears.

“We should go around,” Hirow said.

“No.”

Hirow glanced at Asahi, wanting to slug him across the face. “Why,” he uttered in frustration.

Asahi set his hand on the hilt of his sword and straightened his back. “They’re only merchants. They will have information about the movements of those foreign soldiers.”

Hirow sighed and shrugged to reposition the pack on his shoulders. Asahi was already halfway down the hill by the time he decided to move. Hirow was in no rush. Leisurely, he strolled down the bumpy pathway.

Several of the men glanced up from their conversation at the approaching stranger. They carefully observed him with weary looks. A man with a graying and pointed bread parted the shoulders of the two men in front of him and put on a cordial smile.

“Welcome, young man. I can’t say I was expecting business out here, but I welcome it. What can I interest you in? I have fine leather and linens, or perhaps something more exotic, sugar or tobacco.” He raised his hands briefly, signaling an idea had just come to him. “Or, I know what a young man like you needs. You're one of those fighting types. You must have had your share of injuries. I have a specialty item from the Forest of Ori.” In moments, he was over by one of the cloth-covered carts. Rummaging through crates and woven sacks, he procured a small box of polished dark wood. “Now this. The Lanlithan leaf numbs all pain. Even good for getting you asleep on a hard night.”

Several curved stems lined with teardrop-shaped leaves delicately rested on the inside of the box. The longer Asahi stared, the more the leaves seemed to have a faded turquoise glow. The merchant snapped the box shut. “So what do you say? I’ll give you a deal. Three gold per stem. I typically charge a whole Caul coin, but for you, I’ll make an exception.”

Asahi shook his head and regained his composure after being drawn in by the merchant's offer. “I don’t have that kind of money, and besides that, I’m not here to buy from you.”

The wrinkles on the merchant's face turned down as he pulled the box further away. “Then what are you here for.” The warmth in his voice was replaced by a stern tone.

“I want to know if you’ve seen the foreign soldiers that have invaded these lands.”

“The Darmarks,” the merchant scowled.

“Darmarks?”

“It’s what we call those Obsidius bastards.” The men behind him nodded in agreement.

“Those marked by the dark.” One of the other merchants called out.

Hirow and Talia made it to the bottom of the hill, and the oldest merchant glanced up at the new visitors. “Those your friends?”

“Travel companions,” Asahi replied curtly.

“I’m not one for selling information, especially if it's for the safety of others. Goes against my principles.” The old man motioned them towards the group of merchants. “So I’ll give you this for free.”

Hirow cautiously walked towards the group of men. None of them seemed dangerous. If anything most of them seemed friendly. Talia kept her eyes on the ground and stopped just before entering the circle of men.

Asahi folded his arms, ready to get to the point. “What have you seen?”

“A lot, almost too much,” the youngest sighed.

Several other merchants gave a hearty laugh as the largest of them slapped the young man on his back. “You’ve barely seen the world outside the capital. Where’s your spirit of adventure.”

“Magnus, give the boy a break. Not all of us are mad like you.” The old man ignored the other merchants’ jeers towards Magnus and focused on the group of newcomers. “I apologize, but I never inquired of your names.”

Asahi and Hirow briefly introduced themselves, and Talia quietly gave her name.

“You may call me Marcel.” He extended his hand, and Asahi hesitated. “Come on son, a handshake has never done anyone wrong.” Asahi firmly gripped his hand, and the old man jerked it up and down. “Now, about the Darmarks. They play their hand carefully.”

“How so,” Hirow perked up.

“They may be an intimidating force but there's not that many here.”

Mangus’ booming voice broke through their quiet conversation. “They’re cowards, I say. They won’t touch a lord's land, but they’ll go after the Southlands.”

Marcel resumed his explanation, “Northern Caulthwin is well protected. A lot of strong noble families up there, and it seems they know that too. If they were to strike up there, those noble families would take notice and quickly put them down. In fact, they’re barely aware up there.”

“I don’t need to know their reasons. I want to know where they're headed.” Asahi's frustration was beginning to boil over. The circle of merchants widened as he tightened his grip on his hilt.

Hirow wanted to tell them the warrior wouldn’t hurt them, but he still wasn’t sure himself. He found himself instinctually backing up like the rest of them.

“They’ve gone deep into the Southlands, but it seems they’re starting to make their way back out.” Marcel thoughtfully stroked his chin. “If I were to guess. I would say they would head for the Kings’ mountains and then follow them south until they reach the southernmost port. Probably Maridine.” His voice lowered to one of concern. “But I warn you. You will find no help in your battle against them. The people here have learned to fear them, and the north has abandoned us.”

“So what?” Asahi shot back, the venom in his voice thinly veiled. “That just means we kill the intruders ourselves. Their blood shall stain my blade.”

A deep frown stretched the old man’s face. His eyes gazed into the distance as if watching memories from long ago. Returning his rigid stare to Asahi, the disapproving expression left his face. “It’s not my place to convince you otherwise. I am but a simple merchant. For those who lust after battle, all I wish is that they may find peace one day.”

All around the circle, the other men seemed to understand some unspoken experience. Hirow wished Marcel had convinced him, even tried to take Asahi off of this path of destruction. Deep down, he knew whatever Marcel would try to say would not sway Asahi. He saw his future clearly and would pull those around him until that future was a reality. Whether that reality was a nightmare or a wonderful fantasy was for fate to decide.