The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 29.1

'A ceremony? We don't have the time for that, we have to get back out there!' Raf insisted. His future bride looked at him with big eyes.

'From deserter to war-obsessed king, you just keep stunning me... How come you suddenly want to go back?' Her sweet voice lulled.

'We have left men behind there, they are without command.'

'They aren't, they know what they're supposed to do. We need more chaos so we can go through as well, things are too calm at the moment.' The queen brushed his argument off without a second thought.

'But don't you see, the people who were there are up to something as well, they know our weak spot. We have to do something so they don't hinder everybody from attacking us or everything will have been in vain.' Secretly, Raf hoped she couldn't come up with any new strategy. His plan only involved them returning, not attacking.

'It can wait a day. Don't you think our wedding is worth celebrating?' She walked over to a closet and opened it with a spell.

'You said it yourself, they have to cause more chaos for us to get back, but how are they supposed to do that without a new plan?'

'I trust Elgron, he'll come up with something. Now be quiet and have a look at this.' The queen turned around holding up a dress in front of her. It was of the darkest black Raf had ever seen and despite the age he could sense radiating from it, it looked perfectly new.

'Is that...'

'My wedding dress, indeed. I used to create new ones for every husband but once I'd found this, I couldn't abandon it for anything in the world.' The way she looked at the dress reminded him of a mother gazing down on her child's face.

'So you've been married before then?' Raf tried to sound more caring than he actually was. This wedding meant nothing to him and he didn't really want to hear about the queen's past, though it might give him something he could work with.

'Oh, yes, quite a few times actually. Unfortunately, all my previous husbands didn't survive their honeymoon battles...' She gave him a beaming smile. 'But I'm sure this is about to change, don't you think?'

Raf swallowed and nodded. He didn't exactly know what she was referring to with honeymoon battles but he didn't think of it as anything nice.

'You see, all kings have to proof worthy for their queens before they can actually ascend the throne. Thus after our wedding, we shall return to the other world. If you manage to conquer K'haren so I can enlarge my kingdom, we shall rule together. If not, well, then I'm afraid you will have lost your life.'

'By conquer you mean killing every living thing in sight?' Raf guessed grimly.

'No, of course not! Only the intelligent ones... The ones who cause trouble, you know. I have failed too many times and yet they have profited from my attacks, they just don't see it. I think before you came here, you've been fighting for the same cause, more or less at least. You know that not all things are going well in K'haren. These new creatures, I think they're called phraio, they pose a great danger to the land. Unfortunately, they arrived soon after my last lost battle so I couldn't return in time to prevent the havoc they were about to cause. See, I am indeed the queen of both this world of night and K'haren. I'm supposed to protect it, but I have been banished to this world. Now I have to watch my kingdom fall apart from a distance while vermin spreads on it. All I want is to bring it back to the glory it once held.' Raf listened closely as the queen continued her speech while changing into her wedding dress in front of his eyes. 'Had my brothers and sisters not banished me, it would never have come this far. But well, let the past be forgotten. Today, we shall celebrate a wedding and I'm sure tomorrow, we'll celebrate a coronation. With your help, I shall finally overcome the curse that binds me here and return to K'haren to take my throne once again. Together, we can put things back to order, let those who obey our rules live while we defeat those who are a danger to the balance of K'haren!'

Her voice had reached a new high and her smile convinced Raf that she did indeed think of herself as a heroine who was about to save the world instead of taking it apart. He admittedly agreed with her cause, though her methods were against what he believed in. Even though he had fought and killed before, Nume and Kran had showed him another way and he now truly believed in it.

'Listen, that's all very well and I'll be with you through it all, the only thing I ask is for you to give me a free hand in this once we return to K'haren. Let me command the army, I shall bring you the success you have always wanted without the cost of so many lives.' Raf tried to sound as convincing as possible but even he didn't believe she'd grant him this wish.

'I really don't think that's a good idea...'

'Do you trust me?'

'It's not about that...'

'Yes it is.' He insisted. 'If you trust me then you'll let me do this. Even if I should fail, you could still go through with your plan, just let me try mine first.'

The queen looked into his eyes and stepped closer, putting a hand on his neck. He was convinced she was going to turn his offer down again. But when she kissed him instead, he was honestly surprised.

'Very well then, my dear. You shall get this one wish. But don't take it too far, I'm not a very patient person.' The queen said once she let go of him again. 'Let us forget this for now, we have more important business at hand. Look at you, we have to find something proper to dress you, I can't marry a man as raggedy as you!'

Raf nodded, still trying to process the sensation her lips had left on him. Or rather the lack of it. Previously, he'd always enjoyed the time he'd spent with her. But now, it felt empty and wrong. Was it because he was no longer under her spell, no longer Corvaer? Maybe giving up being Corvaer had also meant giving up being the queen's lover. What a great start for a marriage, he thought.

Mersha was nervous when he woke up. He sensed that something was wrong but he couldn't quite grasp what it was. Darkness surrounded him and had he not heard Tarlequin breathing next to him, he might have panicked. When the memories returned to his clouded mind, he got up and looked around. A few fires were still burning like scattered stars in the sky.

Now Mersha wished he'd taken the book with him, but the risk of it getting lost or damaged had just been too big. He didn't feel like sleeping anymore for the nightmares haunting him had felt too real, too close to visions. It was then that it hit him – he didn't see anymore. All he could see was one version of the world and even that one version was restricted to the present. Not even Tarlequin's breathing could stop him from panicking now. Something big was about to happen and he didn't have a clue what it was.

The boy's eyes were opened wide in the dark as he marched up and down, thinking about what to do. He'd never been blinded before, the sensation nearly drove him insane. How could people live like that? It was intimidating! But should he tell anybody? Was it maybe his fault? No, it couldn't be. If he told them, they wouldn't listen to him anymore. He was very well aware that they only granted him so much power because he was a seer. Admitting that he was blinded might cause him to be sent back. What would he say if they asked what was going to happen or what they should do? Well, he'd have to come up with something. Surely he could say he wasn't supposed to tell them...

There it was, his mother had been right all along. He had already told them too much, now fate had taken his ability so he wouldn't intervene anymore. At that point, Mersha knelt down and decided to pray to the gods. If they denied his wish to have his powers back, maybe they'd at least grant the others some luck, even if they weren't believers. For years, it had been a mystery to him how people couldn't believe. That was before his mother had told him that he was actually the only one who could see the gods in their mortal forms as what they really were.

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