Chronicles of Efia: Dawn of the Desert King

Chapter Six

The walls around Fulbright shifted in every direction, as he unconsciously pushed his way through a current of castle activity like a bewildered salmon. Every turn he made to avoid traffic only guided him into another deluge of sounds, smells and sights that overwhelmed him. Another turn brought him back to the kitchen, where little had changed since he left. His mother still stood in the same spot looking over a list of kitchen inventory.

"Master Fulbright, finally!" Ura exclaimed, wiping her hands clean after stuffing three pheasants. "Have you decided what you want on your menu? I only have about three hours left."

The queen looked up as well, and waited for a response. Fulbright hesitated. All he could think about was being alone to think about anything other than the banquet. He forced a smile.

"Ura, I trust your culinary judgment."


"Oh," Ura blushed as she waved him off. "You can stop flirting, Master Fulbright."

Fulbright let his breath settle into a sincere chuckle. He looked down at the spread of appetizers and realized he was famished. He grabbed a platter and placed half a loaf, a wedge of cheese, and a few fruits onto it. His mother protested.

"Fulbright, you will spoil your appetite!"

"Trust me, I will be good and hungry before dinner."


Queen Leif grabbed Fulbright's chin, and looked him in the eyes, searching for a secret. "Very well, but be at the banquet hall by dusk. Your guests will be arriving by then and you know how your father is about punctuality."


Fulbright kissed his mother on the cheek. "I promise I won't be late," he replied as he exited the back kitchen door.

A long hallway connected the kitchen to the east wing. At the end of it, a stairwell led to the royal chambers of Fulbright and his siblings. He was the lone occupier of the wing as all of his siblings had moved out long before he was born. In the past, Fulbright had found sleeping next to their empty rooms rather lonely, but on a day like today, the solitude was especially welcomed.

Once in his room, Fulbright shut the door and locked it. He placed the plate of food on a nearby table, and slipped his rucksack from his shoulders, letting it hit the floor as he exhaled deeply. For a moment he forgot about his failed class, Keir's blunder, the banquet, and especially the prophecy. For a moment he let himself dream of the day going differently and tomorrow beginning the adventure he had always wanted: to travel beyond Ackerley.

Suddenly, it occurred to Fulbright that he had paid little attention in his geography class and knew so little of the world of Efia. He walked over to his small bookshelf, letting his fingers skim over the golden spines until they landed on a thin spine entitled The Cartography of Efia. Fulbright pulled it out and opened it, flipping through parchment pages of intricately designed maps of Alodie, the Zaltana Mountains, and the isles of the Oberon Sea, until he was staring at a map of Ackerley and its ending territories to the west.

Riverwood spread westward into Lorfeign Hills, the boundary line that separated Ackerley from the desert. Fulbright flipped the page to see what was beyond Lorfeign Hills. Four hundred miles of sand stood between the base of Lorfeign and The Great Tree, which was anchored in the middle of Peor.

The Peorian desert was made up of four provinces. Jarra was the closest to Ackerely. A small crescent shaped mountain range called Kurahg-hetyth separated Jarra from the other provinces. On the other side of the mountain, Orambo and Xia were nestled to the north and south. Finally, at the far west of the desert lay Parsha, skimming the unknown parts of the western frontier of Efia.

Fulbright wondered if he could trek that long across the desert or if it would be better for him to run to the Oberon Sea and stow away on the ship. However, he quickly dismissed the idea of traveling by sea. Fulbright had only ever talked about going to sea. Once the king knew he was missing, they would first look at the seaport. Before his own anxious thoughts could talk him out of running away, Fulbright jumped at the sound of a knock at the door.