Chapter One

The ring of clashing swords cut through the air like an axe would a twig. Soldiers ran blindly through the fog so heavy that it seemed like a new layer of soil. But even the fog could not hide what lay under it; blood-drenched earth and the bodies of brave warriors who had fallen in battle. Armor shined and swords glistened in the moonlight as skilled, powerful Andalusians led their fearless riders into the heart of the battle. Sparks flew as an axe hit a fallen soldier's sword, barely missing. Clangs rang out into the darkness and confusion of the battlefield as some soldiers fought even if armed with only their bent shields or even their bare hands. Yet others were in combat on horseback, fighting as skillfully as if a moving stallion were firm land. Suddenly, a pale young woman with white hair and icy eyes came through the fog. Pure, blinding white light seemed to radiate from the strange woman. She silently rode her albino horse up to the knight leading one group of soldiers, a tall man with black hair and auburn eyes. By this point, each and every one of the soldiers had ceased battling each other and had stopped to watch the breathtaking spectacle. The immaculate woman looked absentmindedly towards them, and then turned back to the knight and unsheathed her sword. As she swung it back, ready to strike, the details of the spectacular weapon were visible for a split-second. The hilt seemed to be made of ivory with brilliant diamonds embedded in it, and the blade was of shining white gold. The Black Knight, Jenai, was not fast enough to stop the beautiful, fatal blade. As the shining lady brought down the shining sword to strike, the knight uttered one last word.
“Mariel.”

Mariel suddenly woke up in her bed with a start, breathing hard and feeling lost for a few seconds until she realized where she was. Home. Not some battlefield far away. And definitely not watching my father be killed by a mysterious glowing woman, she thought as she brushed away her raven-black hair from her face. After all, he is only missing. She impatiently sat up, wishing she could believe herself; it had been nearly four years since her father, Jenai, had disappeared, and all hope of ever finding him had faded from the townspeople’s’ hearts. Today, in fact, was his funeral. The soldiers had not found a body, but they hadn’t found him alive either. He had simply vanished without a trace during a battle, discovered missing by Jenai’s soldiers after they had beaten the enemy. They had been fighting the army of the far off, land-thirsty country of Zahelmor, which was constantly trying to invade Ardosel, but to no avail.

Mariel sat up and seated herself on the edge of her bed tiredly and inspected the room. It seemed to be morning, since the curtains on her window were glowing with eerie gray light and waving slightly in an unfelt soft breeze, but she still slipped off the bed and walked across the room silently so that she would not wake her mother downstairs. As Mariel drew back the curtains, gray light, cool air, and a light drizzle drifted in through the open window, making her shiver. It seemed as if though the world were mourning this day, just as she was. Mariel gingerly put her hands on the window sill and leaned towards the world outside the window, thinking about how this day was going to change her life forever as she stared aloofly at the crooked road below her.

Even though it was drizzling, down below peddlers were already selling on the streets. The thick crowd of pedestrians that usually formed every day was taking shape, though they all seemed peculiarly quiet in the gray morning gloom that acted like a blanket, covering the whole city in a strange eerie, empty silence. The merchants on the streets trying to sell their goods to early commuters seemed strangely subdued, not declaring their prices loudly and ebulliently with their usual energy. Mariel had no doubt why. Her father had been loved dearly not just in this neighborhood, but throughout the whole city. He had never acted in a condescending way towards anybody, and was always true to his word.

For as long as Mariel could remember, Jenai, Mariel’s mother Nora, and Mariel had lived here, in the capital city of Ardosel, which was named Navirem and was where the king’s palace stood. However, Jenai and his family had never lived near the palace, in the luxurious homes of most noblemen. The two-story houses of their middle-class neighborhood were cramped tightly together, and the cobblestone road below that was constantly being traversed by people, horses, and carts, was badly in need of repair. Still, Mariel loved her home, and every thing and every individual in the vicinity was a crucial part of her existence, as it had been to her father. Even though Mariel couldn’t even begin to count the number of times that King Shameus had offered Jenai a nicer, more lavish home near the center of the castle, her father had never once even fatheomed accepting, even though Mariel’s mother had been pushing for him to take it all along.

That was another fear Mariel now had. With her father being officially declared dead, if the king offered her mother one of those homes… A single, silent tear slid down Mariel’s pale cheek at the horrible thought. No, she said to herself. I’ll never leave my home. It is one of the only things that I care about that I still have left. She pushed away from the window and strolled gracefully over to the table against the wall to her left. As she slipped out of her sleeping gown, she reached out for a long, velvet dress that was neatly folded on the table. It had beautiful golden trimming on the hems of the sleeves, neck, and around her waist. This is a beautiful dress, thought Mariel as she fitted it on and surveyed herself in the mirror above the table. Pity it has to be for today She looked at her reflection, her solemn, golden eyes stared back at her. Her eyes had always been the thing Mariel liked most about herself.

This brought her to think about the legend. She remembered, from long ago, when some merchant travelers had come through town, about an Elven story. She had heard it while sitting next to a warm fire on a cool, breezy summer’s night, gazing intently at the elderly man along with the other listeners around her.

“There were once two Elven brothers, Qwabraami and Tsairo,” the old storyteller had said. “When they both were being trained and were learning skills needed, Tsairo decided to attain knowledge quickly. When he had learned what knowledge he needed to be considered well-educated, he left the Elven cities in search of glory.

“Qwabraami, on the other hand, decided to wait and learn what time would teach him, and remained behind, gaining knowledge for many, many years. After one hundred long years, Tsairo finally came back to the Elven city, Dozarah, where Qwabraami was still studying. By now, the two elves were old, about to die, both unable to put their knowledge to any productive use. However, Tsairo, even if he had not known as many things as his brother had accumulated over the century, had been successful in life, winning many battles and gaining fame among both humans and elves.

“Three days after meeting once more, they both perished, Tsairo dying with glory, honor, and being satisfied with his life, and Qwabraami dying with nothing but his knowledge, which he had never taken advantage of in his life.”

The old man then had gone on, “The moral of this legend is that time is a great teacher, but it kills all its pupils eventually. Now listen well: Do not waste too much of your time here on this earth preparing to spend said time. Life is too short for that, which is something that Qwabraami had to learn the hard way. He made the mistake of learning from time for far too long, and therefore suffered for it. Tsairo, on the other hand, was successful, and flooded in praise. So much so, in fact, that, in admiration, a certain human sorcerer named Valeer gave him the gift of golden eyes, which were praise for the wisdom he had showed..”

Mariel smiled to herself. After the populace had heard that incredible tale, rumors had spread through town like wildfire, most of which included her being an elf or half elf, her being wisest human in the land, and her being a witch of some sort. All of these were absurd. The elves, even thought they could easily overpower humans but were outnumbered, had long disappeared, and were hiding from humans in fear of being attacked, having their culture polluted, or getting caught up in the war between Zahelmor and Ardosel; Mariel knew as much magic as a rock; and also, Mariel didn’t feel particularly wise. Eventually, the rumors died out, but sometimes people did repeat them just for fun. It didn’t bother her, though. She laughed at people who looked at her fearfully or reverently and often amused herself by imagining being an elf, or using magic.

A grim, saddened voice snapped Mariel out of her reverie. “Mariel!” said Nora, her mother, impatiently. “Hurry or we’ll be late.”

“Coming, mother,” Mariel called back tiredly. Quickly she turned back to the mirror, picked up the silver hairbrush she had placed on the table, and put it through her pitch black hair, making it glisten brilliantly in the gray light.

A great many people had told her she was remarkably similar to Jenai. He had also had the same midnight-shaded hair. However, his eyes were not gold, but the warmest shade of brown, and they sparkled when he laughed and narrowed menacingly when he was angry. What her father looked like when he was scared, Mariel never knew. She could not think of a time when her father may have been frightened by anything; he had always seemed so invincible to her. And he still did.

After all, she thought determinedly once again to herself as she walked briskly across the room towards the door, he is only missing…

♣   ♣   ♣

As Nora and Mariel walked along the streets in the heart of the city, towards the king’s palace, the only sounds they could hear were those of their own footsteps and the ones of other people flocking towards a shared destination. None of the usual animated talking or laughing could be heard from anyone. The city was silent like a tomb.

As Mariel and her mother approached the castle, they saw that the main courtyard of the palace was filled with many rows of benches, almost looking like pews in a church. The medium-sized, outdoors space was tightly packed with grim, sad people, all there to witness the official announcement. Mariel tried hard to ignore the stares directed at her. She didn’t want the pity people showed her, nor the smug looks of those who had always hated Jenai for his powerful position. Her mother fidgeted nervously with her golden blond hair put up in a low bun with ringlets, her blue eyes eyeing the black-clad crowd that stared them as they made their way towards the king. Finally they reached him.

King Shameus was an old man, in about his late sixties, and had been a good childhood friend of Jenai, even if he had been older. The wise leader had dark brown hair and short beard. Even though to the untrained eye he most likely seemed a bit chubby and short, Mariel, who had seen him in many swordfights, knew much better than to say he was out of physical shape. Nearly anyone who challenged the aged man was often left defeated and with many scrapes and bruises.

“Nora, how are you dear?” the king called warmly when he saw them.

“Fine as can be under these circumstances, Shameus,” said Mariel’s mother, smiling weakly, while the king put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

“Yes, I can imagine so. Everybody misses Jenai dreadfully. Anyway, the ceremony is about to start. I would appreciate it if you could have a seat right here, up front.” He motioned towards the chairs in the front.

Nora said nothing, but nodded silently and started walking towards the seats. Shameus followed but went to the podium in front of the pews instead. As Mariel began to go after Nora, she suddenly felt somebody grab her elbow from behind.

“What-?” she started, but what cut off in mid-sentence by a hand clamped tightly over her mouth.

“Shut it, Mariel!” hissed her friend, Varissa, in Mariel’s ear. “Not so loud, or we’ll get in a fix.” She released Mariel and Mariel turned.

“Sorry,” said Mariel softly. “You just scared me, that’s all.”   

“What? Did you think I was Dolarol?” Varissa grinned.

“Is he even here?” said Mariel, looking around, ignoring the smile.

“Of course he is. All the members of the court were obliged to attend,” said Varissa, rolling her eyes as if it was painfully obvious.

“Great. Mother’ll be pleased,” muttered Mariel sarcastically.

Dolarol, also one of the king’s knights, had hated Jenai and his family with a strong passion. Mariel herself didn’t know anything specific, but she did know that Dolarol had envied her father’s position, rank, and the trust the king put in him. Every time he met Mariel, he always shot her a look that was reserved for her and her only. It was quite a murderous expression, and her father had always warned her to never come within short distance of Dolarol if she could help it.

”I’m sure she will,” said Varissa with a slight smile as she brushed her long copper hair, which was always loose, away from her eyes. “Well, come on, or we’ll be missed when the ceremony starts.”

♣   ♣   ♣

Like their walk to the palace, Mariel’s journey home with her mother that evening contained no conversation, but now apart from footsteps they could also hear the rain falling from the blackening sky onto the cobblestone road, the tin roofs, and the cloths covering the stands that lined the street during the day and were now being put down for the night. The ceremony had been filled with sadness, tears, and wonderful words about Mariel’s father. The king had spoken great praise, and then some of Jenai’s other friends, of which he had many, also came up and talked about his seemingly endless virtues. After some time of this, the king finally declared Jenai officially dead. Mariel and her mother had left the ceremony quickly after the end, stopping only to say a rushed goodbye to Varissa upon Mariel’s request.

So now they were walking down the dark street, the dark shapes of houses towering sinisterly over them. Then Nora said something unexpected. Something that would change Mariel life more than she had thought possible.

“He wanted you to replace him.”

“Beg your pardon?” said Mariel, caught off guard while wallowing in her own black thoughts.

“Your father. He wanted you to replace him,” repeated Nora calmly.

“What are you—? “ responded Mariel, having no idea what her mother was talking about.

“Your father, Jenai, wanted you to replace him if he was ever gone,” said Nora quietly, looking at her feet and continuing to walk, scarcely noticing that Mariel had come to a complete stop twenty meters behind her and was staring at her mother incredulously.

“Me? Become the Black Knight? You’re…,“ said Mariel shrilly. “You’re… you’re mad that’s what you are! How could I possibly take over father’s job? I have no training! Nothing! I’m no warrior, no warlord, I—”

“No, you may not have much training, but you’re better with battle techniques and weapons than most people your age, Mariel,” said Nora, turning slowly to face her daughter. “Also, your father had already arranged proper training for you in the case of this eventuality. Though we had hoped it would never have to come to that.” Her voice broke ever so slightly, but she regained her calm demeanor and continued. “Your father had an old friend, Zarin; he’s agreed to let you go to his home, out in the Sanjaloh Mountains, to obtain… certain knowledge. His son, Talim, will arrive tomorrow, so you’ll be leaving soon. That is, if you wish to fulfill your father’s wishes.”

With those final words, Nora turned and continued walking through the street, until Mariel was left standing alone, feeling small and insignificant among the enveloping fog.

/**/  I might move this line below up to chapter two… so don’t consider it part of chapter one yet  ^_^  /**/

“Wonderful,” muttered Mariel to herself, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “That’s just what I need. To go to the home of some old yahoo in the Sanjalohs. Sounds very fun.”

Chapter Two

/**/  Mariel blew up and died the end xD lol Nothing for chapter two yet folks, sorry… /**/