Jemriah
Jemriah and Sonavr skid down the steep hill top as they made their way towards "sover".
He is walking towards something ambiguous. I cannot stop him. I don't intend to but what would happen if he reaches capital, that would do him no good.
Jemriah was conflicted as to what he should do about this....
I have to talk to iken and Irene....
"Sonavr why don't you go and practice some more sword play with your companions".
"Companion. I have only one".
Jemriah knew how difficult it was to make companions here in Aravan village, especially if one had as ambitious dreams as Sonavr.
"Well he could use some practice too". Jemriah said.
"Of course, I will keep in mind, I will meet you back at sover".
"Be safe and do not go to that forest".
"Of course, father".
Jemriah watched his son go towards east, where his only companion who respected him and his dream lived.
This is not good....
...
An hour of weary steps carried him at last to the village that lay beyond the fields.
The village welcomed him like a quiet sunrise. Axles creaked on slow-moving carts, their wooden spokes turning with a rhythm as old as the soil beneath them. People gathered in small knots along the roadside, voices weaving into a soft tapestry of gossip, laughter, and the everyday murmurs of life. A pair of bards sat upon an upturned barrel near the square, fingers dancing over strings as they sang tales of forgotten kings and wandering stars, their music drifting like warm smoke into the evening air.
The houses were modest,small yet beautiful, built of pale timber and thatch, each one adorned with carved lintels and flowering vines that clung to their walls as if guarding secrets. Smoke rose gently from chimneys, carrying the scent of fresh bread and burning cedar. At the heart of the village ran a narrow stream, its water so clear it caught the sunlight like polished glass, flashing silver as it hurried beneath tiny stone bridges.
In that place, humble though it stood, there was a quiet magic, the kind born not of spells, but of life lived simply and well.
Several birds and canopy met each other like moth to a flame.
It was a simple village but home to jemriah, he only lived here for some four summers but it was more than enough for him, simple life but a difficult one. A life filled with regret and struggle.
It is good for Sonavr..... He told himself again and again as a reminder.
I have to keep him away from all these things.....it was my mistake that I let him accompany me towards the capital one time but it won't happen again....
As he made his way through the streets of village towards his hold Sover, he was greeted by several other herdsman and merchants, who had huge stalls of fish and bread.
He opened the wooden door with utmost silence as he glanced at his lady making broth for feast. It was a special day. Jemriah's brother was making his way from Red frost kingdom to here, his small hold.
"How much more time?", Irene asked with her gentle voice.
She was a lady not more than thirty, she was elegant and simple. She was also a princess that was supposed to make laws but she was here in this small hold called sover, preparing broth for her family.
Her beautiful green eyes and her long Auburn hair was still her most distinctive feature as jemriah remembered when he first saw her in the capital.
"Sonavr is out in East with brumen, practicing sword", jemriah replied with a smile. "He should be arriving any time now".
Irene gave him a flat stare.
"I am asking about Jorath", Irene said. "He was supposed to arrive an hour earlier".
"He is a king", jemriah said. "It is no wonder he arrives beyond the appointed moment. He is crowned not only in gold but in privilege, and the hands of time bend for no one but him.
"Your sense of mockery never changes for anyone even if one is your brother".
A soft knock sounded at the wooden door.
Jemriah nodded and strode towards the door.
There he is... My brother....
Sitting atop his mount, which was as white as snow mountains of Aragar kingdom, he was still the same as last summer.
Tall. Fierce. Lean.
"What-", jemriah gasped in shock. "How did he-".
Jorath carefully slid down from the saddle.
He stood clad in armor thick as the walls of an old fortress, plates layered like the scales of some ancient dragon. The metal was dark, burnished to a dull sheen where wars had kissed it, yet traced with veins of blue that shimmered like moonlit rivers across a nightbound land. Each pauldrons curved with brutal grace, heavy enough to break a lesser man's spine, and the greaves rang with a deep, solemn weight when he moved, iron meeting earth like a heartbeat of war.
Across his back he bore a sword, long and regal, its blade a deep, burning red, as though forged in the heart of a dying star. Light rippled along its edge like living fire, crimson and hungry, yet beautiful beyond reckoning. It was a weapon made for legends, a relic that could command both dread and reverence in equal measure. When he drew it, the world seemed to still, the air thickening with awe, for in that moment blade and bearer were one majestic, unyielding, and terrible to behold.
"Finally, after begging from father like hundreds of time", Jorath said in amusement.
Several other knights behind him had red banners with dragon frozen In Sliver.
Jemriah sighed and greeted his brother in a warm embrace.
"Why did you come here wearing that"?
Jorath looked at his massive blue and black armour and his sword that was behemoth both in length and width.
"I thought Sonavr could use some motivation", Jorath said in his deep solemn voice.
"I do not want him getting any wrong motivations in his head", jemriah said. "It is only enough he is in awe of you but if you show him this, then he will not stop at any cost".
Jorath smiled. "Tell me does he know about tombs and power?"
Jemriah widened his eyes in shock and glanced back at Irene.
He turned back to face his big brother who was still smiling.
"I am begging you, please", jemriah said. "Do not tell him anything about that or this armour".
"Sooner or later, that will happen eventually. You have no control of that. We are all slaves to that power. It attracts us. It makes us go insane and makes us feel whole like it is everything and at the same time it is nothing", Jorath said. "Has he gone towards the heart of forest? Aravan forest?"
"As your younger one, i plead once again. Do not tell him anything".
Jorath sighed and waved his knights away.
"Sure. I will respect your secrecy. Although it would do you no good or to Sonavr".
"He is my child, I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe".
...
World of sumaka through eyes of merchants-
I once travelled all the way to red frost kingdom, it was cold and dark. I saw a huge dragon frosted up the battlements of kingdom, maybe that's why it is called that. Rumours has it that this kingdom was also banished for thousands of years but became active part of sumaka once again as soon as a dragon attacked it. Another rumour has it that Jorath defeated that dragon and froze him there as a sign of his victory and might.
A lots of rumours and very little proof. But Jorath does rule there and the dragon shields the whole kingdom while being frozen up there. Maybe it is true or maybe it is not.