The Fanged Throne

Chapter 7

Elora hesitated, watching him carefully. Her stomach growled at the thought of eating, yet she did not trust this strange boy, not one bit. He sensed her hesitance, his broad shoulders lifted into a shrug, "Your loss" he smirked and then disappeared into the woods. She sat against the barn wall, unsure of whether to follow him. Elora had learnt about bandits and strange con men looking to make coin off easy targets. She refused to be a victim; she couldn't afford to lose the little that she had. However, her hunger won her over and she was a little curious too.

"Hey, wait up!" she ran after him, spotting his tall frame in the distance. He slowed down a bit, waiting for her to catch up. He gave her a knowing smile before leading the way through the woods. They walked for quite a while in silence before they came upon a small clearing. A pile of wood had been placed in the centre, blackened and ashy from the previous night's fire. Cautiously she stepped into the clearing, waiting for the bandits to jump out from behind the trees. The boy dropped his satchel on the ground with a loud thud, rolling his eyes at her tense position. "Wait here." He walked back into the trees, leaving her alone.

She lowered herself onto the hard ground, her eyes watched all around her, waiting for him to get back. As she sat there, she wished she knew how to start a fire, the cold had started to creep into her body and her side hurt badly. It was a short wait before the boy came back with two small furry creatures hanging from his hands. With a triumphant smile, he lifted the creatures high in the air and proclaimed. "dinner!" Elora's stomach grumbled loudly at his words. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat. "Are you going to light the fire anytime soon? I'm freezing." He just chuckled at her before reaching for the wood. Elora watched as he snapped his fingers and a small flame floated above his hand. Ignoring her gasp, he placed the flame onto the wood, smiling as it spread quickly, growing into a large fire. He then sat back and looked at her shocked face, her eyes locked on his hands.

"How did you..." she trailed off, considering her next words. The boy looks over at her casually. "Oh that? Magic." Elora sat up straighter, ignoring her side. "Magic! You know how to do magic?" She couldn't hide the wonder in her voice. After all this time, here was someone who could practice magic. The boy looked at her. "Yes, I can do a few things. This is by far the most useful thing I have learnt", he gestured toward the fire. "Who taught you?" she leant forward to watch him closely. He turned away from her to grab the furry creatures. "A friend." Elora studied him as he started skinning the small creatures. His long black hair was pulled back into a braid, the sides of his head were shaved short, revealing the dark skin covering his skull. His eyebrows were as dark as his hair and thick, with high cheekbones Elora thought he looked quite handsome. He was different from the men she had seen in the Northern realm. The most obvious difference was his skin, where the people of the Northern realm were renowned for their creamy skin and pale complexion, his was dark, a warm brown.

When he spoke, his words had an accent, something she hadn't heard before. It was different from the traders of Nazabay, she couldn't quite describe it. She watched as his skilled hands skinned the creatures and placed them on a stick above the flames. They sat in silence while the food cooked, him staring into the flames and her at him.

"Banu."

"What?" she said, confused. He looked up at her and smiled.

"My name.".

"Oh" she gave him a small smile in return, "Elora."

Banu nodded at her and handed her one of the small creatures to eat, she had to restrain herself from snatching it wildly out of his hand. The meat, although tough, was divine, anything after a couple of days without food could be appreciated. She could feel Banu watching her as she ate, and she didn't care. After finishing her meal, she wiped her hands on her pants, with her stomach full her eyes had begun feeling heavy. Banu stood. "You can sleep, I'll keep watch." Too tired to argue Elora lay on her back and closed her eyes. "Okay, wake me when it's my turn".

Banu sat on his haunches and watched the sleeping girl, she was really pale, her skin was the colour of fresh snow. He stared at her unusual hair, almost as pale as her skin and he wondered what she could be doing so far out of Wirenth.

The next morning when Elora woke up, the pain in her side grew steadily. Groaning, she sat up slowly, clutched her hand to her side and looked down, the blood had soaked through the shirt. She needed to get more Bolean Pokroot, soon. Banu was at her side instantly and ignored the way she leant back from him. "It's getting worse..." He stood up and started shoving things into his satchel. "I have a friend who can help with that. She lives just outside of Istath." Elora looked at him blankly. "Istath...?" Banu rolled his eyes at her ignorance. "It's a small village, right at the edge of the Northern realm, most of it was destroyed in the war." He explained.

Elora nodded, understanding. She had read about the Nmerion war in her books. There wasn't a lot of information, all she knew was that a long time ago, almost a hundred years ago there was a war between the realms of Kophian. There used to be three realms in total, the North, South and East. The Eastern realm was defeated early in the war, remaining un-habited with their cities destroyed. With the East destroyed, the battle between the Northern and Southern realm raged on for ten years, with no one actually winning the war. It was said that one day the Southerners stopped fighting and the war was over. Nowadays it was almost impossible to enter or exit the Northern realm's mountain range, which formed a protective ring from invaders. There weren't any books on the Southern realm, only hushed whispers, the Nmerion war was something that wasn't spoken of in Wirenth. The only people who came in and out of the Realm were the traders from Nazabay who used the port to the north of Wirenth. Elora had often wondered what the world would have looked like if the ring around the Northern realm no longer existed.

"Alright, we better get moving then." she stood up and gestured for him to lead the way. The road that led them out of Sampson Hollow narrowed into a small path, wide enough for one person only, so they walked in single file, Banu leads them. Elora kept her eyes trained on his back. "So where exactly are you from? You don't sound like you're from here." Without turning he answered her. "I'm from Alzoh, from the South".

Ha, so I was right, she thought, he's from the Southern realm. "How did you get here then?" Banu looked at her over his shoulder once, grinned and pointed towards the mountains ahead, "There!" Elora looked up at the mountain range, trying to imagine how he could have climbed over the sharp peaks. "I thought the pass was blocked. Southerners aren't supposed to get in..." she glared at his back; nothing was making sense. Without giving him a chance, she addressed him again. "What are you doing here?" Banu shrugged his shoulders, something Elora noticed that he did a lot. "I thought I would pop in for a visit, see the mighty King Ylyndar's kingdom for myself." She snorted, "You travelled all the way from the Southern realm just to take a peek at Wirenth?" He grinned at her. "Yup" he drawled popping the p. She narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't believe you". Banu smiled and turned back to face the front, signalling the end of the conversation.

They stopped briefly during midday to rest, Banu was leaning against a rock, twirling a silver blade in his hand. The blade ran the length of his arm, the silver was dark in colour, glinting in the light. Banu caught her watching his blade. "This is my most prized possession, it's a Dabrus blade.", he flipped the blade into the air, "I've got two of them." He leant in closer and whispered as if to share a secret. "There are stories that they were once forged deep in the caves of the North... by trolls". As he spoke his hand caressed the hilt that was swathed in gold and ivory. Elora was fascinated. Trolls! Never had she heard such stories, she sat rapt, listening as he pulled a long staff off his back. He showed off his Calamis staff, deep gold with elaborate swirls that blended and shaped into a sharp blade.

They sat there for hours as the skies darkened, Banu sharing his brilliant tales and Elora eagerly listening. As they laughed and swapped stories, Elora felt a lightness she hadn't before.

She finally had a friend.