From Where

Kalen is uncertain. The Boadhagh army commander has no idea where the Ansgarians will attempt to invade next. He has all the places where another intrusion from Rivalin being watched. He is still uneasy.

Windfire snorts flame still. So battle somewhere awaits us. But from where will it come?

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Sleep Well

The Ansgarian army was driven back into Rivalin today. Kalen used his archers to shoot an arrow storm of flaming shafts into the enemy columns. The invaders died in droves as they panicked and ran from those who set them afire. The use of fire finally balanced the immense numbers sent against us.

Windfire and I launched ourselves at those retreating. The Long Riders waded in among those fleeing as well. Thousands of the tree-like soldiers perished this day.

Tonight I shall sleep well.

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Suspicions

I hope you can forgive me for not writing. I have no excuse--things have been terribly quiet. It would seem the Ansgar Empire is either amassing more soldiers or reconsidering its strategy to conquer Boadhagh. I suspect it is both.

I have journeyed back to the king's castle. King Airell agrees with my suspicions. He too believes the Ansgarians are considering another way to invade his kingdom. They slew my parents, the king and queen of Rivalin, just before their seizing what should now be my kingdom.

But all we can do now is await their next attempt. I fear we shall not have to wait long.

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Not So Sure

Sometimes there are no answers--only questions. Could I be king of Rivalin? And if so, would I make a good one?

I know not. Windfire believes I would be a good monarch as does King Airell. But I am not at all so sure.

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A Soldier's Way

I am a soldier, a warrior. I trained to fight all my life--my father trained me well to use Deathsong. War is all I know and fighting is what I do best.

My lust for vengeance against the Ansgar Empire makes my thrusts with my long sword against their soldiers harder and quicker. I sometimes think that anger against them helps keep me alive when I should perish in battle.

As a warrior, I have simple values; duty and honor I value above all else. And so I continue to fight to keep Boadhagh free and someday liberate Rivalin from the yoke of Ansgarian occupation. I have a duty to my father to take the throne, even though I think myself unworthy of that task.

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Pondering

There are times, even with my lust for vengeance against the Ansgar Empire, when I wonder if I shall ever succeed. Seeing hoards of Ansgarian soldiers charge towards me without fear time and again makes me question if it is even possible. Remembering my fight against their encroachment across the Boadhagh border last week had me pondering this morn if what I seek is futile.

Windfire nudged me several times while I rubbed him down today, encouraging me that all is not lost. I know he is right. Yet, I cannot help but wonder about that as well as my fitness to be king of Rivalin.

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Windfire's Counsel

Windfire is my best friend. I talk with him about what bothers me. And what bothered me today was knowing, if I could become king of Rivalin, I should not.

All I want is to live without being a legend or a hero to anyone. The people of Boadhagh see me as those things. All I want is to love someone and have her love me back. Is that so much to ask?

I would gladly be a commoner if I could have that girl's love who spurned me because I am of royal blood.

I spoke to Windfire about it as I rubbed him down today. His counsel was to wait and see what happened. All could well change. He said I would make a good king, regardless of how I felt about it. I have never known him to be wrong.

Yet, I still doubt my ability.

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Sitting Before My Mead

I sit in the great dining hall of King Airell's castle. A large hot meal is before me. The several fireplaces in the chamber all have fires burning. Yet I still feel chill.

Windfire and I spotted a Ansgarian army moving towards the Pass--the opening in the mountains between Boadhagh and Rivalin. We dodged their cavalry before returning to the king's castle.

For a reason I know not, I just thought again of the girl who rejects me because I'm royalty. And my hunger has abruptly disappeared.

I cannot be a king. For all I want to be is a commoner.

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Sometimes

Sometimes having a sword which seems to have a mind of its own is terrifying. Deathsong lashes out to kill many times for no reason I can understand. So I have started pointing its tip at an enemy yards away. The long sword seems to understand what I want and a crackling blue-white light emerges to set an Ansgarian soldier aflame.

Still, the blade's power and lust for death took time to grow used to. I am so thankful my father constantly reminded me as a boy of what Deathsong would do when unsheathed. His warnings prepared me for the night I first used it to seek revenge for the murder of my parents and the entire court of Rivalin.

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Deirdre

Deirdre, King Airell's daughter, was a childhood friend. She was so intelligent and sometimes mischievous. I have never understood why she so suddenly deserted her father and vanished.

But, alas, I have not seen her since before the fall of Rivalin. I have no idea what she is like now.

I only hope, for her father's sake, she returns. It would be a great boon to his heart to see her again.

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My Secret

I met an incredibly beautiful woman months ago in a Boadhagh village and my heart was stolen. I went back many times to see her again. She seemed to enjoy my visits.

Then, not long ago, I made the mistake of telling her I was the prince of Rivalin. She turned me away and wanted never to see me again. My heart was terribly broken by her doing that.

It is because I am royalty she shuns me, for she is a commoner.

I want to fulfill my duty to my father and take the throne of Rivalin. Yet in my heart of hearts, I want to be a commoner and marry that lass. That is my secret.

What kind of king would I be, desiring to be a commoner?

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Duty and Honor

I am a simple man. I see myself as a soldier and as such, I have a few simple values. I believe in duty and honor above all else.

I have a duty to one day sit upon my father's throne. But how I can fulfill that duty, I have no idea. Rivalin, my ancestral kingdom, is now part of the Ansgar Empire.

Honor, I have heard it said, is doing the right thing when no one else is looking. I agree with that wholeheartedly. I only hope I live my life by that precept.

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King Airell

Those who murdered my parents told me the Ansgarian army would invade the kingdom the next day. The threat of using Deathsong on them was their motivation.

I am not my ancestor, King Ahearn. I felt it best to flee Rivalin. King Airell, the monarch of Boadhagh on Rivalin's southern border, took me in. The last three years I have used Deathsong to stop the Ansgarians from sweeping through his kingdom as they did my father's.

King Airell is a good king and was a great warrior in days past. I have heard many stories of his exploits when he wore armor. His friendship has meant much to me.

But I worry about him. His daughter, Deirdre, left Boadhagh it seems without explanation several years ago. That broke his heart. He speaks of her sometimes with great longing. I hope someday, for his sake, she will return.

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