The Lavender Eyed Prince

The village was surprisingly empty for this time of day, but if the rumors about this place were to be believed the sight before him became understandable. Urhu sighed as he hefted his saddle bag back up onto his shoulder and slowly led his borrowed mare down the deserted main street. It was an eerie thing to behold and even though it grew routinely hot around the noon hour in these desert towns there should still have been some sign of life to greet him.

A nearby sound of applied pressure on a wooden shutter caused him to pause and in that instant he happened to see the fleeting image of a child’s face before it disappeared back behind its barricade. These people were terrified and for a moment an unsettling feeling washed over him. Perhaps it would be best if he left. His horse snorted and shook her head as if reading his mind and he sighed once more before gently patting the side of Astar’s neck. No, they had traveled too far to risk venturing to the next village; they both needed to rest at least for the night.

Urhu brought them to a stop in front of a decent, if not moderately neglected, tavern and quickly tied Astar to one of the conspicuously empty hitching posts. Clearly visitors were a rarity in these parts. He made his way inside the establishment, his long legs aiding him in no small way, and stood in the doorway while waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. If not for the slight movements he happened to notice he would have sworn he had entered a deserted building, but at seeing a figure behind the bar he made his way forward, his boots thumping loudly in the virtually silent room.

“What’s your business, Stranger,” the tavern master asked friendly enough, but Urhu heard the edge in his voice and gave him a kind smile.

“Just in need of a place to stay for the night and some good food to eat for me and my mare.”

“The food I can provide, though I can’t guarantee its quality.” Urhu chuckled at the joke, but frowned when the proprietor continued on to say, “I don’t suggest that you stay here, however. Not safe.”

“What do you mean?” The man shook his head, not willing to divulge anything more, and Urhu gave him two gold pieces he had dug out of his bag. “I’ll take my chances. Are the rooms at the top of the stairs?”

“Uh, yes, Sir,” the bartender stammered out as he ogled the coins and Urhu chuckled once more as he headed up to a room. He tossed his saddle bag and bedroll onto the neatly made bed and watched a small dust cloud erupt at the disturbance with an amused look on his face. Perhaps this was the reason it wasn’t safe to stay here. Movement from the street below caught his attention and he walked to the unbarred window located beside the room’s washstand. Astar was visibly agitated as she drank from the trough the tavern keeper was filling and his uneasy feeling returned stronger than ever. Something was lurking out in the wilderness surrounding this place and based on her stirring Astar sensed the danger to be a dragon.

Teith wasn’t wrong in his assertion about the quality of his food, but it sufficed in giving him needed energy and while he took a drag from his pipe Urhu began to study the building’s interior. It was laid out much the same as architecture common in Pesorian villages: the dragon form was intricately etched on the crown molding throughout and a large crest chiseled from stone and embossed with a poor substitute for the silver that was more readily available in the district cities hung just above the door’s mantle. The large number of tables and chairs implied that this was once a popular venue and the decent sized stage area must have made for elaborate performances. What has happened here, he wondered in awe and voiced his concern to Teith when he came to retrieve his empty dishes.

“It’s not safe anymore,” he replied softly and Urhu furrowed his brow.

“In what way?” A blood-curdling scream suddenly erupted from outside and Urhu bolted to his feet at the sound. He instinctively reached behind him as if to retrieve a weapon, but suddenly stopped. Old habits, he chided himself and looked to the now stricken tavern keeper. “What’s going on?”

Teith just shook his head before racing back to the bar and Urhu turned his attention once more to the entrance as the wailing continued. Would a murderer commit such a brazen act in the late afternoon hours of the day without worry of consequences? He had to intercede, if not for the victim then for the sake of his honor. “Don’t do it,” Teith suddenly cried as he raced to the door and Urhu looked to him. “It’s a trick. I implore you, don’t go.”

The screams were closer now, just outside of the front doors by their sound, and Urhu clutched the handle in his hands. Unfettered fear laced those cries and at hearing them he had to intervene. “I’m sorry,” he replied and rushed from the building. The bright sunlight blinded him momentarily but his instincts caused him to look to his right when he sensed movement and once his eyes adjusted to his surroundings he couldn’t stop them from widening in shock.

The smell of putrefaction very nearly overwhelmed him while he looked to the desiccating corpse as she screamed and he roughly shook his head to clear his vision. What he was seeing made absolutely no sense; not unless magic was being used. So there is a dragon nearby, he thought anxiously and glanced towards Astar. Somehow she managed to escape from the area and he sighed. He would have to find her later once the danger had passed. But in the meantime… Urhu quickly jumped backwards when the corpse lunged for him and in an instant her screams turned to cackles of laughter. That was not encouraging. She reached for him a second time and he managed to keep out of her grasp.A re-animated body could drain the life force from a living being if one fell into its grasp and he wasn’t going to let that happen; his days weren’t over just yet.

The woman, or what remained of one, screamed once more and this time it was filled with rage. I suppose she thought her prey would be of the easy variety, he mused as he again stayed just out of swiping distance of her decaying arm and her one remaining eye turned murderous at his last rebuff. He had best end their dance lesson soon; he knew the destructive power the undead could wreak and this town had suffered enough. Urhu dodged the woman once again and reached into his pocket, pulling out a smooth, red stone two inches in diameter with a black symbol etched on its face. At seeing it his attacker hesitated and he smiled. Her puppet master was probably debating what to do about him, but he wasn’t going to let them have a chance to decide his fate.

“Brrzkdi,” he whispered to the stone and it slowly started to glow. He hoped to enact the spell before the dragon could summon some reinforcements but grew unnerved when the woman peered at him as if in recognition with her one violet eye.

“Ur…hu…” she gurgled and bits of her pulpy flesh fell from her mouth as the controlled bursts of air from her lungs helped to form his name.

“Who are you,” he asked in curiosity; it was doubtful that anyone would know of him this far out in the territories and it was rare that he ever crossed paths with a dragon. Who was tormenting this small village and for what purpose? A sudden whooshing sound distracted him for a moment and he watched his attacker burst into flames.

“Urhu,” she screamed as she disintegrated in the conflagration and just as quickly as it appeared the fire extinguished itself.

“Amnno,” he said softly to the bright stone in his hand and then cautiously made his way to the pile of ashes before him. Talismans were renown for the effective means by which they destroyed a magical conjuring but the violent way this creature had been dispatched was not of his own doing. The dragon knows I’m here and can wield a small bit of its magic. The situation was a bit problematic in that regards, and he couldn’t help that now, but what was a dragon doing so far away from its kind, especially at such a tenuous time for the Houses? He had to find out with what he was dealing and the best person from whom to mine this information just happened to be his innkeeper.

“After the unprovoked attack on the House of Docaar, many of us freeman in the districts governed by them fled for our lives,” Teith explained as he sat down with Urhu at one of the tavern tables and took a long drink from the beer he had brought with him. “It was chaos as the mercenaries moved in and began burning and killing. I saw many of my friends slaughtered right before my eyes and there was nothing I could do.”

Urhu nodded and reclined back in his chair while smoking his pipe once again. The virtual decimation of the strongest Dragon House ten years prior had brought utter turmoil to all who lived in the land of Shoathe and it was becoming more and more commonplace to fall victim to bandits and thugs looking to make a name for themselves. Opportunistic parasites, he grimaced in disgust.

“A good portion of my village managed to make it here into Pesor’s territory and the dragon lords graciously let us stay. We just founded this village not even a year ago and we thought we had our lords’ blessings, but…”

“What exactly has been happening here?” Hopefully now that the screaming banshee was gone Teith would be easier to press for answers and Urhu smiled in satisfaction at seeing the older man’s shoulders relax.

“It all started about three months ago,” he started softly and Urhu leaned forward in order to better hear him. “A strange storm blew in from the west and it caused all of our animals to go crazy.”

“In what way?”

“Attacking people, becoming incredibly territorial and aggressive,” he replied passionately. “The horses bolted as soon as they could and when our dogs weren’t biting and scratching at us and each other they were pissing themselves every chance they could. I even had to put my own mutt down and I raised him from a pup nearly a decade before. I just couldn’t stand to see him suffering.” Teith took another long swallow from his brew and became quiet for a little while. It was easy to see the raw emotion swirling through his eyes and Urhu knew it would be prudent to wait until he had gathered himself before continuing with his interrogation.

“This went on for about two days,” Teith continued, his voice thick and tired. “The animals succeeding in tearing each other apart and while we mourned the loss it came.”

It? “What came?”

Teith visibly shuddered and clutched his stein. “The unending nightmare,” he said simply and Urhu sighed in mild frustration. This was taking longer than he had hoped, but it did make sense that it would take some time to get to the bottom of this. “First, it was the laughing child. None of us knew where the boy had come from, but his laughter was a refreshing sound after the death of so many beloved pets and he liked to make us laugh.”

A mere boy? Urhu took another drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled. It was hard to imagine a child being the cause of such distress but from Teith’s demeanor it seemed as though this youngster had done far worse than even he could begin to fathom.

“Some of our old folks let the boy stay with them out of compassion, but then…they started dying.”

“How?”

“Some people said they heard them laughing at all hours of the day and Doc says the strain could have just made their hearts give out. None of the others blamed him as they were old and near the grave anyway, but there was something about him that was…odd.”

“How so?” Urhu blew a smoke ring with his mouth and smiled in satisfaction as the perfect circle drifted away into the tavern. His tutor would be proud.

“He only seemed to gravitate towards the old folks,” Teith said with a confused tone in his voice. “Lady Hester, we call her that on account of her upbringing in the Districts, was even wanting to adopt him and give him a good home, but he refused. Was adamant about it, in fact, saying she was too young to be his mother.”

That is odd, Urhu mulled and watched Teith drain the last of his drink.

“He then continued to move on to the next old folks willing to take him in and sure enough, they all kept dying.”

“Sounds like he found his favorite form of prey,” Urhu stated and Teith nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

“That’s what I told our law officer, but I had no proof. Causing a person to laugh themselves to death is hardly a reason to throw someone in shackles. And then one day, he disappeared.”

Probably caught on that the deaths would soon be linked to him. But, the fact that he was only a child worried him and on that Urhu pondered as Teith went to refill his tankard; an adult had to be controlling the boy but to what end? “So, what happened after his disappearance,” he asked when Teith retook his seat and smiled as the man took another drink. Alcohol made for a loose tongue and that’s exactly what he needed, now that the danger was gone for the moment.

“His witch of a sister came,” he spat out vehemently and Urhu raised an eyebrow in interest. “That scarlet-haired whore caused more problems than all the wars on this continent combined, making men who were dedicated fully to their families run after her like gibbering idiots.”

“A true beauty indeed.”

Urhu lightly chuckled when Teith spat onto the ground and slurred out, “She was only a slip of a thing with no hips or breasts to speak of, but had a smile that could rile the blood of even the most devout monk.”

“So, when you called her a witch you weren’t being poetic.”

“Not in the least. Harpy broke up many good families with her divination and then…” The sudden pause in conversation gave Urhu an unsettling jolt and he looked to Teith in concern when he saw tears begin to fill his big, brown eyes. “And then the killings began.”

“Over some saucy tart?” Urhu was incredulous at hearing that and Teith slowly nodded.

“It was what she started that caused the unhinged behavior of everyone in town. Remember Lady Hester? A kindly, more genuinely good woman there has never been found on this green earth and the orphans and widows she’s helped over the years will attest to that. After letting the beastly wretch spend one night in her home that righteous woman singlehandedly slaughtered her entire family. Her husband, five sons and three daughters: all dead by her hand. We had to execute her when she pleaded guilty to the charges and the damndest thing was she showed no remorse for what she had done.”

“That’s one powerful enchantment,” Urhu stated softly in awe and gently rubbed his stubbly chin. Only dragons had the ability to bewitch someone so completely, but if that were so, what would be the purpose? The hamlet had no resources of value that he could see and with that evidence staring all in the face the driving off of its denizens would be pointless –dragons were very particular in where they established their domains. What was happening in this town? He lightly chuckled and took a sip of his beer. This problem was puzzling indeed, but he liked a challenge.

“Other mothers and fathers soon followed Hester’s lead and nearly a third of our village died at each other’s hand,” Teith rambled on and then heavily sighed. “And of course, once the whore had wrought her fill of carnage she disappeared.”

“Without a trace?”

“Just like her demon brother. And then…”

“The banshee came,” Urhu finished and Teith looked to him in drunken surprise.

“Yeah. Been harassing us for nearly two weeks now. But thanks to you…” Teith lifted his mug in a mock toast and swallowed the rest of his drink in nearly one gulp. Urhu smiled at the acknowledgment and turned to one of the nearby windows. In the end, it was best to let the people think he had done them a favor; he didn’t have the heart to tell them that the dragon who happened to be plaguing them was the one who disrupted their curse. And it wasn’t just any dragon at that. This one knows me by name.

Astar was easier to find than anticipated –she had holed herself up in the stable belonging to Teith’s establishment until the maelstrom had passed- but coaxing her out was the true ordeal. If not for the few apples and carrots Teith had on hand that cantankerous hag would never have moved from her hiding place, but her appetite won out in the end. “More troublesome than a wife,” he muttered as he patted her neck and she shook off his hand. “Eat up. We have a bit of traveling to do tonight.” Following the incantation trail of a dragon wasn’t a terribly difficult task; measuring the intelligence of such a chore, however, would put a fool on the pedestal of Magi. Mankind’s lizard overlords were notorious for their ill tempers and from what this particular dragon had been exhibiting towards its citizens a touch of insanity was more than likely present as well.

“You know that you don’t have to play the hero.” Urhu sighed at hearing his mother’s words in his mind and led Astar back to the front of the building. It would almost be preferable that he was indeed pretending, but no matter his situation he always felt a sort of duty to see to the needs of those who were clearly in trouble; it was a type of penance in a way.

As he feared Astar fought him the entire time he was re-saddling her, nearly crushing a foot in the process, but his determination won out over her obstinance and as the last rays of the sun illuminated the Great Blood Moon they were headed to the distant mountain range just beyond the vast wasteland. The trek was bound to be fairly treacherous in the dark even with the bright moonlight but if he didn’t reach his enemy quickly that tormented town was going to burn. He felt Astar nervously slow her gait as they crested a small knoll and brought them to a standstill. They were being watched.

“What now, Genius,” Astar seemed to snort and Urhu smiled as he scanned the terrain. A small cluster of trees caught his attention and he turned them towards it. The night insects chirped loudly as they moved through the dead long grass but even as Astar clomped along the distant sound of muted footsteps was just within earshot. Chances were he was going to meet the villagers’ tormentor sooner rather than later.

“Let’s take a break,” he said softly and dismounted once they reached the pseudo-oasis. Starting a fire would be a sure way to get confronted by the encroaching danger, but delaying the encounter could be more detrimental in the end. He quickly tied Astar to the nearest tree and gathered what kindling he could find, which wasn’t an enormous amount. He had just struck against his flint when he sensed movement behind him and turned to confront his would-be attacker. It can’t be, he thought in shock and took a step backwards. The wretched hag sneered as she limped towards him and before she could charge Urhu struck his flint in her direction, sending a large fireball her way.

“Clever.” He glanced to his right and saw a young woman leaning against a nearby tree, her red hair seeming to glow in the smoldering remains of the undead witch. “An enchanted flint stone. You’ve been near cursed creatures more often than not, it seems.” He didn’t respond as she started to move towards him and warily watched her; if she was here the boy wouldn’t be too far behind. “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile and stopped nearly half a meter from him. “Grandmother won’t come back again. You’ve made sure of that.” The screams of the undead woman were finally whimpering out but even in their midst the girl didn’t lose her amused look. She was hiding something, but it would be too dangerous to begin speculating as she had been trying to enchant him since her arrival. “You’re strong,” she said in admiration and crossed her arms over her chest. “But that won’t help you in the end.”

Why is she trying to goad me to speak, he thought in interest and looked towards Astar. She was anxiously pulling against her reins and it looked as though she would be able to free herself within the matter of a few more well executed tugs.

“Oh, the poor dear,” Scarlet stated with a hint of malevolence and Urhu turned back to face her. “Perhaps it’s time to end her suffering. What do you think?” He readied himself to expel another fireball and she laughed. “Relax. I’ll leave her be for now.” She then sighed and crouched down beside the embers of the makeshift funeral pyre, staring longingly into it. “It’ll all be over soon.” Her soft statement was mildly unsettling and for a moment Urhu was struck with déjà vu.

It was a crimson moon back then as well and the setting was a dense forest instead of this arid wasteland, he remembered vividly. Another campfire, another woman and their circumstance just as desperate; he had thought that the two of them would be able to escape their sadistic warlord master without being seen but his hope had been in vain. They were captured shortly after that night and because of his usefulness his life was spared, but she was not so fortunate in escaping the executioner’s axe. It was his fault that she was out with him that night and from that debacle he learned well to guard his heart and mind.

Not well enough, he suddenly caught himself and turned murderous eyes to Scarlet who was now looking at him with a devious smile on her face.

“I almost had you,” she lilted but before she could say another word he closed the gap between them and snapped her neck. Her body fell in a heap and he watched as it slowly began to disappear in a cloud of gray smoke. Unfortunately she did her duty to distract him to perfection; Urhu barely had time to defend himself before a whooshing sound caught in his ears and the next thing he saw was complete darkness.

_____________________________________________

Urhu shook his head in a daze and slowly opened his eyes. He wasn’t quite sure who or what had hit him from behind, but if not for his reflexes the blow would have decapitated him. Well, for the time being determining where he was and why the landscape was at a very peculiar angle was his first priority. It was apparent that Astar bolted the instant he was attacked and he smirked. That old girl always knew when to make an exit.

Even though his vision was swimming before his eyes he realized that he had been dragged into a cave and suspended from one of its walls, but there were no cords to bind him that he could see. That was not a good sign and his worst fears were realized when he heard movement not too far from him. Death by dragon; there weren’t many worse ways to be killed and all of them less painful. He braced himself for the coming torment as the footsteps of his captor grew closer, but became curious at what he was hearing –there wasn’t much weight behind the steps, almost as if it was a child who held him captive. Young dragons could be twice as dangerous as their adult counterparts but just as easy to trick, if not more so. Perhaps he could survive this encounter after all.

“Why are you here?” The question was harsh, but the voice behind it opposite in nature and Urhu raised an eyebrow in surprise when a boy no older than nine years of age stepped out of the shadows. His pale skin took on a pinkish hue in the Crimson moonlight –his dark hair giving him an unearthly glow against the lunar backdrop- but what gave him the most pause was the wild, feral look in his eyes; his deep lavender eyes. “Why are you here,” the boy barked out again, but this time he emphasized it by squeezing Urhu tightly around the ribcage.

“I was just journeying,” he grunted out but clenched his jaw when the grip around him tightened again.

“Liar!” The boy continued to increase his vice-like hold and if this kept up Urhu was sure a rib would crack under the strain. “He sent you to finish what he couldn’t, didn’t he?!” His hysteria was mirrored in the pressure now being applied to Urhu’s lungs and within short order he was coughing and gasping for air.

“You need…to calm…yourself,” he struggled to get out but grunted when the child tortured him further. “I cannot…help you…if I…am dead.”

“Help me,” he asked mockingly and started to laugh. “The same way you helped Beyfon?!”

Old man Beyfon? Black spots were beginning to float in front of his eyes and he knew it would only be a matter of seconds before he blacked out. I have no choice, then, he thought in agony and gathered as much strength –and air- as he could and said as loud as possible, “Reszon sae.” Urhu suddenly found himself tumbling headlong to the ground and then eagerly began gulping down air. At least it worked, he coughed out and looked back to his captor. Suddenly, recognition sparked through his mind as he observed the momentarily paralyzed child and he slowly moved to his feet.

“I know you,” he rasped out and the boy’s eyes flashed in visceral anger. “I won’t hurt you,” he assured but even as he spoke he saw the boy struggle against his magical bond. “Have I ever lied to you, Sheeran?” At hearing his name, Sheeran began to relax but still watched Urhu cautiously. “The incantation will fade soon,” he went on to explain and Sheeran sighed heavily through his nose. “Try to relax. It wasn’t intended to cause harm.”

The exhaustion of the encounter caught up with Urhu and he dropped heavily to the ground. Who would have guessed being crushed could take an enormous amount of energy from its victim? Perhaps if he closed his eyes for just a little while he could regain his strength. “Why are you here?” Urhu jolted awake at the familiar query and saw Sheeran sitting at the mouth of the cave watching him.

“To be honest, I was trying to disappear.”

“Disappear? Why?”

Urhu stretched and moved to his feet. “You know what I am, Sheeran,” he started and moved to the cave entrance. “It will only be a matter of time before I’m commissioned by another warlord.” The terrain had lightened somewhat and judging by the moon’s position dawn would be in a few hours. I slept longer than I had intended, he marveled and looked down to Sheeran when the boy stood.

“Then, Kajgorn released you?”

Urhu chuckled and looked back to the landscape. “I was never his personal sell sword, much as he thought otherwise.” He furrowed his brow in curiosity and faced Sheeran once again. “Why are you out here alone? Where is Beyfon?”

Sheeran was quiet for a few minutes and then turned to walk further into the cave. “With me,” came his cryptic reply and though every cell in his brain warned him against doing so Urhu followed after him. The cave itself was spacious –possibly the haunt of a dragon that was abandoned long ago- and after walking a little ways inside it opened up into a grand chamber where a body lay perfectly still on a stone altar.

“This place,” he started and came to a stop before entering the inner sanctuary, easily noticing the runes carved all around the walls. “What are you trying to do,” he asked strongly but Sheeran paid him no heed as he walked to what was clearly a corpse. “You do know what this place is, don’t you? Beyfon would never bring you here.”

“Beyfon is dead!” Sheeran’s scream echoed throughout the chamber and at his sound the runes began to glow an eerie pale orange.

“When did he die,” Urhu asked softly; hopefully he could assuage the boy’s furor with his tone alone.

“One hundred and thirty days ago. He died to save me.”

That he could believe. Beyfon had a soft spot for this youngling even though he was merely his tutor and the few instances in which he saw the two interact were beyond endearing. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” he replied kindly and slowly maneuvered towards Sheeran. The runes were beginning to ebb in color and if he were given the chance he would incapacitate the boy again. “How did it happen?”

“He was murdered,” he hissed out and the runes’ brilliance returned in force, burning nearly to a deep red hue. Urhu couldn’t move as the dragon magic saturated the air and for the second time he was finding it hard to breathe.

“Sheeran,” he gagged and within an instant the pressure on his chest ceased. “How was he murdered?”

“It was supposed to be me.” The sorrow in his voice was heart wrenching and Urhu moved to his side.

“What happened?” Sheeran rough wiped away the tears streaming down his dirty cheeks and looked to him.

“If I tell you, will you help me?”

Urhu shook his head in confusion. “Help you?”

“Will you help me bring Beyfon back?”