The King Trials.

~The Orombuc Tribe~

My boots hit the sloshy brown ground. I nearly sink. Devoured by the clumps of the soggy mire, my legs like liquid, incapable of sturdiness. We cut through the Ane of the Fallen to avoid passing through Bronwadia. A settlement perforated with delinquency, a cesspool of corruption. And a hotbed of anti-monarchist movements.

Now we have finally reached the grassland region of Shamburn. Ahead, there is a large tribal erection protected by a fence of wooden stakes fixed into the ground. Fortifications that consists of earth banks and a palisade with a primitive watchtower that bedecks the tall fencing. A few gatekeepers patrol the paling. A few of the pacing figures vanish. Probably to report our advent.

The erection stands on an expanse of a flourishing prairie. The waning orange of the westering sun beams down on the land. Molten light winnows through every blade of grass. Far up north, the treeline of the woods borders the prairie with dense, dark, luxuriant foliage. A chain of silver-plated mountains; a milieu silhouetted by encroaching shadows. The summons of nightfall.

The tenacious odour of nature loiters unabatingly. The smell of manure and cattle dung invades my nostrils, smells that are all too familiar. The Valwa holdings owns many prized vineyards in Armathis, and we have a manor house in Akotia. Just outside the Prime. Which our family visits religiously in the bloom season. Seliah and I would spend ninety percent of our time amidst the wineries.

The Herems and I are lined up in front of the carousine. I push down a laugh once my gaze skims down the sequence of Herems. Most of them pinching their wrinkled noses shut, repulsed grimaces rotting their faces. From the front and rear of the carousine, the soldiers dismount from their horses. They crowd around us as Primus Kelan marches to stand before us all. His fingerless gloved hand rests on the pommel of his sheathed sword.

"I am Primus Kelan, the Commander of the squadron that will be escorting you throughout the Trials. As you may or may have not noticed Duce Merian's absence. He is delayed by a day's ride from here, per the High King's demand. We received word that the wolvers were sited near our previous route. We had to change it at a moment's notice. That happened often during the planning of the Trials."

His gaze sharp, scouring above us aloofly, rejecting direct eye contact.

"The wolvers are one of the many threats to the realm's already frail stability. Bandits have become bolder, nomads; more aggressive, and other terror factions; more daring. Your lives will be at risk every moment on this journey, so with every location. Do not stray far from the encampment. The times that you must, ensure that I or one of my soldiers accompany you."

My eyes zoom out from him and I look to the tribal compound. Its doors heave upwards like a ligneous portcullis, and once it reaches the peak. Two rows of ethnic soldiers troop out, making their way to us with tall wooden spears, the necks decorated with bound red feathers.

"All in the realm know of the King Trials, but not the mandate. Once we advance in our travels it will become known. If you all perished, now, once you are all at your most vulnerable. It would only fan the flames of discord. That is why many of these rebels will seek your deaths."

The corner of his lips twitches upwards in the emptiest of smiles. "Welcome to day one in the King Trials. To the Orombuc tribe, my Herems, and a Hera," he says with a distinct note of derision in his tenor. "May only the worthy rule."

Of course. The Orombuc tribe of Shamburn. I read extensively about them back at my Regnum. It was documented that they are a docile people. The Orombuc practice an insular and deeply spiritual culture with an emphasis on animalism. Caves in the mountains are believed to harbour spirits and are respected and even feared. Once every New Moon, they will go to the caves to perform rituals of sacrifice in order to make sure the spirits would not interfere with the community's general well-being. Their beliefs also centred on the general veneration of the moon, the stars, the seasons, and their god, Warongwe.