In The World Of Losinanda (Completed)

CHAPTER THREE - IRIEL

"Time does not wait, and neither does our mystery enemy, their arrival comes closer and Zethriel is not ready, kind chief." Iriel refused to look at the face that had been subjecting her to dreams of terror.

The advisor was the best story teller in Losinanda, or of which the queen had ever heard of; she wished to put his current warnings to exaggerated tales, but time had really passed and the tribes were not ready. The people of the Zethriel were not fighters, they were smart and cunning and could defeat their enemies from afar, but none had ever gone to the battle field and never had they had enemies at their door. Iriel's heart shuddered, the advisor had just informed her that it would take these creatures a moon to reach their shores.

"The council meeting is tonight, dear advisor, don't let your courage fail you, a solution will be reached, our allied tribes have never failed us, they will come to our rescue." Iriel was not sure the tribes will be of any help considering the mightiness of the advisor's description, but she had to find a way to ease the advisors worries. And her mind.

"We need an army more powerful, light chief, even if the tribes join you; am afraid you will only stall these beasts, they fight from the sky, my lady, can the tribes fight falling arrows and spears? We are people of the land, we can't fight in the clouds!", the advisor's bald spot was moist, his eyes full of worry. Iriel could feel the fear start creeping up her feet. I can't listen to him, he will talk me into a hole.

The wind was strong on the cliff's edge. Iriel moved closer to the brink, they were above the clouds and the only thing she could see was the thick fog, sparsely spaced, she could pick a speck of green here and there but the rest was a silvery mist. Here, I am above the clouds, yet the advisor says I can't fight them.

Iriel had made a tendency to come to the sky terrace every day since the advisor told her of their coming doom. She had convinced herself that it was for the fresh air, watching the people of Zethriel made her feel suffocated. All the souls I can't protect. But that day as she watched the endless depth, she knew she did it because she was a coward. Can't see the end if I am already gone.

"Is there anything else, dear advisor?" The man's shoulders fell, as he let out a long sigh, his face had no hope. The old counselor wore a bright white garb that reached at his ankles. It had long well fitted sleeves with a golden collar, the bright garment was covered by a longer robe the color of sand, open at the front. He was always clean and smart, with not a wrinkle to his clothes; but the white gowns he wore had no slits which Iriel imagined must make it hard to take longer steps.

"Nothing else Iriel, am going to rest." The advisor was of the early years yet his build had defied age but the last half year had made him frail and weak; this is what worried the kind chief. The counselor was always full of zest, giving council is one metaphorical adventure story after another, Iriel used to dread those stories, now that was the only thing her ears wished for.

He groaned, opened his mouth again as if to raise another argument, but the ends of his lips fell, he sighed and turned, his back to her, half walking half dragging he went back to the dark passage that had led to the edged terrace. The passage was a tiring climb for an old man, it had stairs carved in but the ascend was still sharp; dark and tedious for a senior. Yet, the old man had come just to remind her of the coming dread.

As he left, Iriel got lost in thought and failed to notice someone pass the old man at the dim passage until his steps came closer. The stranger was a child who had been found by her sister, Ethiel, a fortnight ago. Little boy had insisted that he only wanted to serve Zethriel. He claimed to have been orphaned at a young age and had nowhere else to go with no relatives to his knowledge and no wealth to his name.