Gallowglass (Prequal to The Narnian Warriors Saga)

Chapter One

𝖀𝖓𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖁𝖎𝖘𝖎𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖘

This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was still a child. It is a very important story because it shows how all the comings and goings between our world and the land of Narnia first began. Surprisingly it didn't start in Narnia or our world. Not on Charn or even the wood between worlds. It all started in a small little world called Bellicose the land of warriors.

In your world the word Bellicose means to demonstrate aggression and show a willingness to fight. This was how everyone in the land was, hence, its name. Bellicose was a world full of soldiers made for the other worlds. The only purpose of this land was to breed defenders of the other worlds. The children of this world were given low stakes missions at only 5 and were completely removed from their parents' care and given bigger jobs at merely 10.

One such child was Aquila, a girl who when she just turned 10 and was given her first assignment; to watch over the dying land of Charn and the frozen queen Jadis until its end, which was quickly approaching. It was a high stakes job only given to the most honorable children and Aquila was nothing if not honorable. She came from a line of noble warriors all with noble quest and she was determined to prove herself.

The job was less than ideal though, most of it just consisted of Aquila sitting cross legged in front of the tall women's bell and making sure nobody touched it. She would do her rounds though the palace to make sure nobody was there (no one ever was) five times a day then sit herself back at the bell. She would leave twice a day to eat and would sleep on the floor at the foot of the bell stand, a hard task to do surrounded by the eyes of past Kings and Queens most of whom had cruel expressions resting upon their faces or an evil glint in their eyes.

Aquila would often wonder how her younger brother Atticus was doing. She had heard from the small breaks she would take to get food in between worlds that her brother had been given his first assignment. Something about watching over a void, a world yet to be. She had told the man who delivered her food, the old watcher of the bell, Silas, to wish him the best of luck from her. Watching over a void was an easy enough job for a 5-year-old.

This day was unlike the others. She rose from the ground beneath the bell and looked up at the damned thing that she wished she could just smash. Children had very impulsive thoughts, and even if she wasn't one by the laws of her land in every other one that's exactly what she was, a child. Her eyes wandered from the bell over to queen Jadis herself; the cruelty in her eyes sent a shiver down Aquila's spine every morning.

She stood from her post and did her daily duty; she made her way through the halls of the castle making sure there wasn't even a peep. Aquila didn't understand this job much. She didn't understand how it was a noble job or why it even needed to be done. Not many could get to the wood between worlds and even fewer could go through pools that weren't their own. It seemed like more of a danger to keep someone here than to not. The world was dead, baren, there was no need to be here.

She was not tempted to strike the bell; she was simply annoyed with it. She knew her solitude would drive her to madness long before the bell did.

When she was sure no one was there she went to one of the courtyards and looked out at the orange sky. This world was nearing its end, if she was lucky, Aquila wouldn't have to stay here much longer. She was nearing her eleventh birthday; it would be wonderful to return to Bellicose as the last protector of the bell at only eleven. The one to see Queen Jadis to her end. She pulled out a pouch of portal dust. She had enough for the next week, she needed to remind Silas to get her more, she closed her eyes and threw it up in the air over her.

She felt the dust rain down on her head then a rushing feeling then nothing, complete and utter calm. When she opened her eyes, she was back in the wood between worlds. This was the in-between place; it was the place housed all the world pools. It stretched on seemingly forever in every direction. As far as the people of Bellicose knew there was no beginning and no end. One of the training exercises children of Bellicose got was to navigate this place to know your way back to their pool. Aquila had this job for months and left Charn twice a day, by now she knew the way back with her eyes closed.