Chapter Seven in the RIse of the Shar

CHAPTER VII

In the morning Hugar awakened them after preparing the morning meal. After they had eaten, Malek went out back to fetch the horses. He returned as Derek was saying goodbye to his father.
“I’ll be seeing you in a couple months.” Hugar told Derek.
“I’ll see you later then.” Derek said.
“Are you sure you have everything packed?” Hugar asked as he hugged his son.
Derek turned to walk away before replying, “Yes, I am sure.”
Derek and Razalon fastened the gear onto the large packing horse.
“Are we going to stay in the city?” Vilix asked.
“We may as well return after dropping them off. No point in hanging around for two weeks like we planned.” Malek
“Yeah, you have a point, the children are going to be in Crescent for the first two and a half months. Then they have to go to the island anyway.” Vilix agreed.
“It only makes sense, I cannot stay away from the farm for very long. I really need to get back within the month.” Malek said as he helped Vilix onto her horse.
“Is everybody ready?” Vilix asked.
“Yes, we are fine back here, and Derek has offered to show us the shortest way out of town.” Ridiah said.
“That sounds like a good idea, Derek you take the lead.” Malek told him.
Derek was riding his own horse Bray. Bray had brown hair with a little bit of white around his feet.
Razalon and Ridiah came after him, followed by Vilix who was seated behind Malek. She held a rope tied to the packing horse. Derek led them down side streets with the least traffic until they left through the eastern gate. The road started to climb up a hill. At this point Malek rode ahead while Derek dropped back to the twins’ horse. The sea was just visible from the top of the hill the road climbed on its way to the capital.

“How long will it take us to reach Crescent?” Ridiah asked Derek.
“My father said that one could reach it in ten hours if he had a swift horse without belongings weighing him down, my guess is that we shall arrive by midday tomorrow. The exact distance is unknown to me.”
Malek sped the horses up to a quick trot while they descended the hill.
The road upon which they were following was paved with many flat stones. The stones were of different types, there were green, red, and white rocks in the path but the majority was comprised of flat lava rock.

The road had been built over two thousand years ago, when the elves still lived on the islands. However, the farther they got from Ranor, the less beautiful the road became. Clearly the people only took care of the road near the towns and cities. Malek could see why though, it would hurt horses feet if they had to travel a long way on such a hard surface. The springing turf that soon covered the path was a lot better for the animals.
“How long until we stop for lunch?” Ridiah asked as the sun reached the middle of the sky.
“In just a little while we will reach the ruins of Palin. We will stop to eat there.” Malek told her.


It was actually further than Malek made it sound. Ridiah thought she was going to starve to death as they rode for over an hour before coming upon a ring of large stones and boulders that stood a short distance from the path that they were taking.
The stones were old and cracked. Some were lying flat on the ground. Razalon wasn’t sure if they had fallen over or if they had been built that way.
Vilix spread a cloth upon one of the larger stones lying on the ground and started setting things out for lunch.

Meanwhile Razalon, Ridiah, and Derek went to get a closer look at the rocks lying on the hillside. They found a mound of boulders on the other side of the ring.
“Let’s see if we can climb them.” Ridiah suggested, wondering what could be seen from the top. Razalon and Derek agreed and headed toward the large mound of rock.
“We can’t get up.” Ridiah said after a couple minutes of useless scrambling over the slick surface.
“Here, I will give you a boost Razalon offered. He clasped his hands together and opened his palms for Ridiah to step into.
With a big shove he was able to lift Ridiah high enough for her to climb onto the top of the mound.
“What is it like up there?” Razalon asked after Ridiah had looked around.
“Just like the top of any pile of boulders I suppose.” Ridiah replied.
“I’ll help you up.” Derek offered.
Razalon reached the top and together he and Ridiah were able to pull Derek to the summit.
“Look at the view, you can see all the way down to the ocean from here.” Ridiah commented.
“Lunch is ready.” Malek called.
Disappointed, they climbed down.

For lunch they ate dried beef on bread with tomatoes. They each had some water from their water bag. Each person carried their own water bag to drink out of while they were riding. After lunch they stretched their legs for a few minutes before returning to the horses. The beasts had been tied to a tree in an area with lots of fresh grass for them to graze on while the company ate their lunch. Razalon untied the horses and led them to the rocks.
After they had mounted Malek again took the lead with Vilix. Razalon and Ridiah rode side by side with Derek.

“Have you ever stopped to think of how horses got on this island, while all the others don’t have any?” Ridiah asked thoughtfully.
“I do not believe I have really ever thought about it before.” Razalon replied.
“I heard that the elves brought them over on a great ship.” Derek said.
“But I’m not sure if I believe that it is true. I mean, why would they put horses on one island and not the others?”
“Perhaps the other islands were not big enough back then or maybe they were not inhabited.” Razalon suggested.
“I don’t think so, the volcano on Reanor has been extinct for several hundreds of years.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Crescent was once larger than the rest of the Elvensea Islands combined.” Ridiah said.
“Perhaps, but no one knows anymore.” Razalon said.

They continued talking about this mystery for some time before Razalon brought up the subject of where they were headed.
Even Derek, who had known much more about their destination then Razalon or Ridiah, didn’t know what their lessons would be like, only that some involved learning to defend oneself.
They rode on, sometimes at a walk over uneven ground but most of the time they traveled at a light trot over the smoother areas. Twice they had to dismount to lead their horses over small bridges.
By the time they stopped for the night, the sun had sunk deep into the west where it shone red as it sank over the deepening blue horizon. Malek had decided to leave the path for the shelter of the trees to protect them from the rain the island often received.

Derek strung a rope between two branches and set a blanket over his bed in case it rained. The blanket was wide enough for both Razalon and Ridiah to lay their bedrolls beneath it. Malek had a similar blanket that he hung over his and Vilix’s bed. Ridiah had troubled dreams of something that she could not quite remember when she awoke.
Razalon slept soundly and Derek’s soft snores were the only steady sound that could be heard. Out in the distance an owl hooted as it looked for its prey.
A wild boar was rummaging through the trees nearby. He stopped to smell the sleeping group, before rummaging around the camp looking for any leftover food that he might be able to salvage.

The morning was dim, as the sun rose veiled behind a sheet of misty clouds. Malek awakened the children and his wife, they had a long way to go before reaching Crescent, and he wanted an early start. The horses were well rested and eager to be on their way when Malek untied them.
The travelers ate a quick breakfast of bread and cheese, Razalon found a nearby stream from which they refilled their water bottles.
“Everyone ready?” Malek called, and the group rode in the same file as the day before.
“Derek, what weapons would you learn if we get to choose?” Ridiah started a conversation.
“Well, the bow and probably the sword, maybe another one but I’m not sure yet.” He answered.
“I think I’ll learn how to use the bow, staff and sword.” Ridiah said.
“Same here.” Razalon said, “Assuming, of course, that we will be training with weapons at all.”

The landscape leveled out and Malek guided his horse into a half gallop the children followed his lead. The morning went slowly by, Malek told them that they were almost to their destination.
The road was once again nicely paved with beautiful rocks of the same colors as it had been near Raúl. Vilix decided not to stop for lunch. Instead she suggested that they eat at the Inn when they arrived.
The sun was at its zenith when they came out of a wooded area and into the open.
The children stared in wonder at the city.
A thick wall of lava rock that stood thrice as tall as a half elf surrounded the outlying fields around the city. Before them, the ground sloped smoothly to the sea. Crashing waves could be heard from the nearby shore. To the companies left, the ground rose to the volcano’s base where it became considerably steeper. A wide stream flowed out of the trees and down to the sea. The volcano was strewn with great boulders and rocks, thrown from the mountain’s cone, several hundreds of years before.

The walls surrounding Crescent were said to resemble the walls that the elves built in Evalon. The wall that around the city was four times the height of an elf, with a gate that opened on the steepest part of the slope. It had been built like that to make it difficult for a group of people with a ram to break through the gates.
The city was built on the side of the extinct volcano, but it had been built with trenches around the city in case the volcano should one day awaken. Crescent was built on a hill that rose a short distance above volcano’s base. The design had been chosen for the likely event of an eruption. The lava would flow around the city rather than through it. There was a tower on the highest part of the city that looked toward the ocean a half a league to their right.