sighed and shook Lumbre’s hand.
The rain finally clears and Lumbre puts his hood back on, “so long and goodbye Elis, we will definitely meet again soon” said Lumbre with a small grin. Elis doubted his mentor, Wilmot, at that instance he was sure that he wanted to be trained under the influence of Lumbre, a man who fully understood Elis. It was also a good opportunity to enhance his skills in warfare. The dreams he had the previous night further enforced his belief, he felt it was destiny.
At the time King Henriet, Allan and a small entourage of soldiers were riding to Diamonheim’s capital, Heimton, situated in the far north-eastern province of the Kingdom Of Diamonheim. Allan compared to the others was quite the horse rider, from the age of ten he could already ride a horse with impressive skill, his brother too could ride but only after practising till he had reached the age of thirteen. It was a long and treacherous journey, the terrain was quite unpredictable, at one moment it would be a flat, grassy terrain perfect for galloping horses but not before the next moment where a dense tropical jungle had to be crossed, highly unsuitable for horse-riding. Allan did not lag behind, in fact he rode in the forefront right next to his father. He rode atop of his beloved horse, Copper, a horse that has been with him since the first time he rode. It was a young horse, still with many years to go with Allan, his young owner. He loved Copper like he was a part of the family.
It was well past midday when the party reached the gates Heimton. At the gates Henriet gave the order to his son and soldiers to dismount from their horses. At the gate, a clutch of Diamonheimian soldiers greeted Henriet. “Master Henriet, king of kings, noble ally and welcome to Heimton capital of Diamonheim, the king was expecting you to arrive sooner” said one of the guards. “We were held up by your ridiculous landscape, there’s so much of it and it’s very unpredictable, your people need not build your capital so far to the north, it gets hard after a while” said the smiling Henriet. The guard smiled back and gave the signal to open the large gates into the capital. The dismounted band from Hetheil guided their horse forward by leash as they entered the city. As soon as they entered the crowds of the city began to gather around them. They gave warm greetings to Henriet, his sons and the few soldiers that had accompanied them. The people even gave gifts to Henriet in admiration for his saving of Diamonheim and Humanity. Hats, flowers, and cloaks showered them. The people seemed to be very happy upon their arrival. With help from the people of Heimton, the party reached the famous Heima palace of the Diamonheimian capital. Heima palace was far larger than the imperial palaces of the Kingdoms of Koros, Hetheil and Unodos combined. It demonstrated how much resources this kingdom could muster. This kingdom has grown rich from trading with the other kingdoms, their resources for gold. For its high population, somehow this kingdom manages to have the lowest number of its people in poverty.
They stood at the gates of the palace, where they noticed a few Korosian soldiers leaning on a small fence near the gate. And earlier as they made their way through the bustling city streets they had noticed some Korosian merchants wandering about. “Father, King Charles of Diamonheim must have invited the Korosian king, Gaiseric for this meeting as well” said the observant Allan. “You might be right, I had hoped he didn’t invite him, after the tragic death of the old king Vallus who had succumbed to his wounds from the Great Tri War, leaving his son, Gaiseric, king of Koros.” said Henriet. “But father, why? You and he are allies” asked Allan. “He is just that, an ally, he is a brash decision maker, very unpopular amongst his people, he may be in his late twenties but he still an unwise ruler and today’s meeting might get a bit hectic as he can also get mischievous at some points” said Henriet, disappointingly.
At last the king of Diamonheim, Charles, comes down to the gate to greet them. “Soldiers, let them in! I am terribly sorry Henriet, son and company, I was expecting you sooner” said Charles. “Like I told your soldiers at the gate, we were detained by your terrain and your landscape, you didn’t have to build your capital so far north” said Henriet. “Well, at least you’ve finally arrived and you brought one of your sons, I’ve heard a great deal about Allan and his father. Come in, come in!” said the friendly king Charles. The gates opened, Henriet and Allan walked onto the palace grounds and followed the king of Diamonheim into the palace that dwarfed their own back home. The soldiers that followed Henriet and Allan could not enter the palace. It was an old law that didn’t allow soldiers of a foreign kingdom in another kingdom’s palace. A law that has been active for centuries as the Human kingdoms were once in conflict with each other.
The father and son followed Charles into the dining hall of the palace. As they walked into the dining hall, they noticed the young king of Koros seated at the table drinking a cup of wine with one of his feet on the waxed wooden table. Halfway through a sip he noticed Henriet and his son being led into the room by Charles. “Hello, Henriet, you kept us waiting and you brought a boy with you” said the upset and slightly drunk, Gaiseric the young king of Koros. “It’s good to see you too Gaiseric” said Henriet, sarcastically. The king of Diamonheim had called for this meeting to put a stop to the beast incursions and prevent any future conflicts between the beasts and Humans. It was an urgent issue as the aftermath of the Great Tri War has ended in complete turmoil for the beasts. The beasts were even less unified now compared to before Aldor’s unification of the south. There were rogue beast armies, civil wars, rebellions, coups, and it very chaotic in the beast lands. No control and no proper leadership, the beasts were in various factions under the rule of warlords. The Human leaders feared that with instability the beasts would once again cross into the north and invade the land of the Humans.
Henriet and Charles sat across from each other, Henriet’s son, Allan sat next to him. While Gaiseric of Koros sat a chair apart from both, facing Allan and was in between the two kings. “Before we discuss on this beast of an issue, after such a long journey you and your son must be famished, come we shall dine” said Charles. “No thank you King Charles, the reception your people had thrown at the gate was good enough, we have enough food and even new clothing and we cannot take anymore from you and your people” said the grateful Henriet. “No but you must, it was a long journey and you need to eat well before your ride back to Ohith, besides there is nothing that is too much for Diamonheim, we can provide” said Charles. Servants suddenly appear carrying trays full of food and they placed them onto the table. After their meal, they began their discussion.
“We have been fighting the beasts of the south since the dawn of the first century, it has been constant fighting and after the Great Tri War we have experienced over fifteen years of peace and tranquillity. But the situation for the beasts is getting worse and I fear if we do not act in prevention more bloody conflict will arise and we will once again be at war with the beasts and if that happens we will not be prepared; all this peace has welled us into a state of complacency” wisely said by Charles. “King Charles is right, we must prevent all future incursions, war and bloodshed are completely unnecessary, we need to end it, I suggest peace with the beasts, it may be risky but I am willing to take it” said Henriet. “Make peace, bah! There are so many beasts and so many factions, they are sure to kill messengers on entry, they hate Humans now more than ever, it’s just those fools hate each other more, I say we march our armies into their lands and kill them all or at least quell their rebellions and rule them” said the now slightly sober Gaiseric, king of Koros. “No I will not have any Human lives wasted for such an agenda, you said it yourself there are many beasts and factions, they are not easy to fight, they are masters at warfare in their own lands, never underestimate them. And even if we win, we will lose many lives and rule over a bunch of rebellious beasts, it is just not worth it, I say we shall not lose a single life” said Henriet.
“May I suggest something?” said Allan. “Keep quiet, boy, we don’t need any suggestions from you” said Gaiseric with arrogance before taking another sip of wine. “Gaiseric, let my s
on speak, go ahead Allan” said Henriet before putting his arm on Allan’s shoulder. “Thanks father, we should construct a barrier that would keep out the beasts, a mighty barrier that dissects the north and the south, no lives will be lost” said Allan. “What kind of barrier did you have in mind?” asked Henriet, seeming to be interested and impressed with the idea. “A long wall, in front of a moat or trench that spans the length of the north-south border”. “Do you have any idea how much such an endeavour would cost? A wall spanning the entirety of the north-south border? I say we go in and kill them all!” said Gaiseric as he slammed his fist on the table. “No, we cannot afford to have any losses, after all this is a preventive tactic and not a cause for war. I for one agree with my son’s idea, I’d rather throw riches away than to throw the lives of our men to prevent any more deaths. Let him finish Gaiseric” said Henriet in a harsher tone. Allan nodded in acknowledgement of his father’s backing and wittingly said “the wall doesn’t have to be costly, we don’t need