The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Eight





It was early morning and Julian Hobbes had a lot of work to do. By day's end he would be in the northern region of Marenon, a place called Farlaweer. It was the capital of Marenon and it housed the king and a large part of the king's army. Julian was not sure if he would ever be granted an audience with the king again, but he had to try. His Majesty was the only person with access to the medallion in that part of Marenon. One may have wondered why the council would have decided to send Julian to confront the king and somehow get close enough to the medallion to steal it. He was the least experienced when it came to council dealings and the youngest person of any of them. But the answer was simple. The king was Julian's older brother. King Morgan Hobbes.

Julian stepped out onto the balcony of his room letting the brisk morning wind wake him. The mountains in the distance were covered with green forests and a blanket of white haze covered the valley. The sun had barely peeked over the horizon, but it called out for all people and beasts of the light to begin their day and start their work. He was still not sure of his plan. He knew he had to request the king's presence and then he would wait. It all depended on how Morgan felt. Morgan disliked Julian greatly, especially since Julian was on the council of a group that had been technically outlawed. But there would be no punishment. Only Dunarians that hindered Marenon’s plans would be punished. It was an unwritten rule of Morgan's. He had detested his father and opposed him on just about every issue. Their father supported the Dunarians for everything they were. He had even given them money to help continue their cause. King Ruben Hobbes had been the best king for the Dunarians, but his sudden and mysterious death meant the rise of Morgan’s power. Julian, having been a close follower of Ruben's politics, had joined the Dunarian Order almost two years before Morgan sat on the throne. Julian was selected to be on the council about the same time their father died, and Morgan took the throne. It was a slap in the face and Julian was happy to provide it. He suspected his brother of being glad that their father was dead. He never thought that Morgan was directly involved in Ruben’s demise, but he wouldn't have put it past him. He never asked because it would have done no good.

Ruben had been out with some of his top generals on some sort of fortification evaluation when they were attacked by a group of rogue Stühocs. At least, that was how it was explained to Julian. No one remained alive to recount the attack, but everything pointed to an ambush. Before their father was even buried, Morgan took the throne. This made Julian hate Morgan all the more. Within a week, the Dunarians were named outlaws. Morgan had declared war.

The war was futile, however. Morgan's close advisors informed him that to fight the Dunarian people would be bad politics, especially since the Stühocs were so vicious and ready to strike at any given moment. They needed allies, not more enemies. The law stood, but nothing was ever done about it. The Dunarians were a free people, but they were played off as outcasts by the king. More and more people came to join them in their struggle, however, and they gained power each day as citizens began to see Morgan’s callousness.

When Julian joined the Dunarians, he had been noticed and selected by Kaden Osric. After rising in the ranks and becoming one of the best fighters and leaders in the Dunarian Order, he was asked to train for a possible membership on the Dunarian Council. After that, he underwent close, personal instruction from Kaden. They worked together for two years and finally, Julian was voted to become part of the Dunarian Council at the young age of twenty-one. This had been three years before. Many others that were vying for the council position felt he was unworthy of it, and thought that the only reason he was chosen was because he was brother to the king and could therefore be used. This may have been the motivation for some of the council to vote him in, but it was not that of Kaden. Kaden believed in him, he saw true potential. Julian had heard the words come from Kaden many times.

Julian was still angry with Kaden, however. It had only been two weeks since they had a fight. The two of them were laying out the plans to carry out Operation Reckoning and discussing what their next steps should be in obtaining the medallions from the Anwyns in Timugo. Kaden thought the idea to use mercenaries was irresponsible and would only cause them trouble. His reaction had been similar to Teague’s at the council meeting when he found out that they finally did hire the mercenaries. Kaden called Julian lazy for even considering the approach and said that he did not teach him to think in such ways. Julian wouldn’t hear it. He knew his stubbornness would drive a wedge between them, but he also believed that there was no negotiating with the Anwyns of Timugo. The Dunarians had nothing to offer for the Anwyns to hand over such a powerful, priceless object. They shouted at each other for a while, but Julian won. He later left to recruit Alric and his company for the job. Once Julian returned the second time from Canor, the day before, he found Kaden had been sent away by Garland Ainsley to protect Silas. Garland’s presence had caught them all by surprise. Now he was ready to go to Farlaweer. Julian was unrelenting in his method, but he wished he had the chance to make things right with Kaden. He was sure there would be a chance whenever Kaden came back with Silas.

Julian was pulled from his thoughts by a light tapping on his chamber door. He wrapped his bed robe around him, moved toward the door and unlocked it. The door gently swung on its hinges and there stood Nalani holding two cups of a hot steaming liquid. Her green eyes bore into him and her smile was bright enough to make the most depressed person happy, if even for just a moment. Her red hair fell past her shoulders and down her back. She was already wearing her clothes for the day and the elegance she displayed in her lavender dress was unlike any woman he had ever seen.

“I thought you could use a warm drink to start your day,” she said handing him a mug.

He accepted it graciously and motioned her to the balcony where he had been standing. He sipped the hot liquid and let it melt his insides. It calmed his nerves, something he needed when Nalani was in the room. It was difficult for him to talk to her as any other. She wasn't normal. She was the love of his life.

“Today's the big day,” she said. Julian couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement.

“Yes,” he answered. “Today is the big day.”

She leaned her back against the ledge to meet his face as he stepped to it to look out over the horizon. He tried not to look at her for too long in case she started to sense his feelings of anxiety.

“Do you think Morgan will even see you?”

“Doubtful,” Julian said. “He'll probably send one of his advisors or someone useless to dismiss me.”

“What will you do then?”

Julian shrugged. “I haven't really thought that far.”

“Still thinking about yesterday?”

He sighed. “There is too much going on right now. The Stühocs are getting stronger. My brother is making the Humans weaker and the Erellens have not spoken to either group for seventeen years. Holden is under my skin and Barton Teague shouldn't even be here, not yet, at least. We’re not ready.”

“You took it kind of rough yesterday,” she said thoughtfully.

He looked down to her. It was difficult to be angry when she stood next to him so stunning. “Why didn't you contact me, Nalani?”

“We were called to a meeting of the council and I assumed you knew about it,” she answered simply. “When the meeting started, I figured you told Dublin you couldn’t make it because you were still out on the mission.”

Julian believed her. There was no reason not to. The two of them had formed a special bond over the past several years. She had been under training to be on the council about the same time he was. Her abilities matched no other. She could fight her way out of a den of Stühocs with her agility and swordplay. She was no one to pick a fight with. She was a year older than he, still making him the youngest of the council members. They had much in common. Both of them had died on Earth when they were only children. Nalani had no recollection of her death. Unfortunately Julian remembered his death in vivid detail.

He could remember only bits and pieces of his father's story and his rise to kingship. It had been a time of war and great turmoil when the Stühocs were terrorizing the whole land and the armies of Farlaweer and the Dunarians were still trying to grow after their own war some years before. Ruben had died a normal man on Earth and became a king within a few years in Marenon. It was difficult to believe, but true.

Nalani never knew her story. Her parents apparently never came to Marenon. She was raised in Marenon by a couple that had died in a plane crash many years before. They were now a part of the Dunarian people and lived in the city of Jekyll Rock. As her talents emerged while in the Order, Councilwoman Katherine Fallera recognized her abilities. Julian and Nalani were accepted to the council on the same day, two years before.

“What do you think of Teague?” Julian asked her, making sure not to stare too long.

She didn't speak for a long moment, gathering her thoughts, probably hoping she would say the right thing without making Julian angry.

“I think you should give him chance,” she said. “He is the founding member and I think his opinion is valuable.”

“He's trying to interfere with our mission, with The Reckoning.”

“Operation Reckoning was his idea, Julian,” she said setting her cup on the ledge. “If it were not for him you wouldn't be trying to get the medallions in the first place.”

“He didn't stay to finish!” Julian retorted.

“You know what situation he was in, Julian. Don't be naïve.”

He sighed then nodded. She was right, but it didn't change the fact that he didn't like this Barton Teague or Garland Ainsley, whatever he was now called. Even if he did set the plan in motion it was out of his hands now.

Nalani had always been fascinated by the story of Ainsley. The mystery of his sudden disappearance, then reappearance at the coming of the Meshulan, had always seemed too good to be true. Then when he showed up only days before, she became enthralled all the more. She wasn't going to change Julian's mind and he wouldn't change hers. He was done trying.

“Either way, he's not on the council anymore, so he had better not be giving orders,” Julian said. “He may have started the Dunarians, but he is not the leader.”

“I think you should give him a chance,” she repeated, taking another sip of tea.

“If he proves that he can stay out of my way and let the council do its work without hanging on every word of his, then I will be fine.”

Nalani seemed to accept this, but he knew she was not satisfied. Before she could think of anything else to say about the matter he changed the topic.

“Have you thought about it?”

Her smile turned to a stern seriousness that made Julian know what she was about to say.

“I have,” she said.

Julian looked at her intently. Why was she torturing him by making him wait for an answer?

“I'm not sure how the council will feel about it,” she said.

“Plenty of the council members have been married,” Julian said.

“But not to each other, Julian.” She again set her cup down and turned to Julian, staring deep into his blue eyes. “I want to marry you. I want to marry you more than anything in this world, but I am afraid.”

“There is no law saying we can't,” Julian said.

She nodded. “I know.”

He placed his hand near her chin and she rested her cheek against his palm. “So, what do you say?”

“Come back from your brother’s with the medallion and I will give you an answer,” she said.

His heart was so light he thought it might lift him off his feet. He bent down to kiss her gently. She kissed back, softly yet passionately.

The answer would be yes, he just knew. It had to be yes. No two creatures were more meant for each other.

After a long goodbye, Nalani left reluctantly and Julian changed and gathered his weapons and gear for his trip to Farlaweer. He made his way up to the east tower and opened the large door where Eden waited for him. With the early morning sunrise shining through one of the large openings along the wall, Julian saw the silhouette of Ward Holden, petting Eden on the neck. Eden nipped at Holden's arm tenderly.

“Haha, steady girl,” Holden said.

“Hello, sir,” Julian said, announcing his presence to the interim council leader.

“I'm glad to have caught you before you took off, Julian.” The man stood in front of the sarian as Julian moved in to fill the saddlebags with everything he would need. Eden squawked in excitement at the thought of the coming journey.

“I wanted to talk to you about yesterday,” Holden said.

“My position hasn't changed,” said Julian. “I think we gave Teague too much power by letting him sit in on meetings. He has all the power of a council member except the ability to vote.”

“I believe he prefers Garland Ainsley now,” Holden said.

Julian shrugged.

“It should be good enough for you,” Holden said. “I've been in this since the beginning. Believe me, you want Garland Ainsley to be at the council meetings.”

“Do I want him to lead it?” Julian said.

“Well, Julian I am the interim council leader until Kaden gets back and I've been on this council for a long time. I think I know what I'm doing.”

“Well, so does the rest of the council,” Julian said. “He may be the founder of the Dunarians, but every one of us feels like we've earned our spot. He's had his chance in the past. If you don't even think he should lead then you should understand why I don't think he should be part of the council.”

“You shouldn't be worrying about this now, Julian. His position with the council has nothing to do with your task today. You know how important these medallions are.”

Julian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I get it.”

“I don't think you do,” Holden said slowly.

Julian wanted to punch something. He did understand. It wasn't as big of a deal as most on the council seemed to think it was, but it was worth going after. The plans for stealing the medallions came to Julian only a year after he had been on the council. He remembered being told all about the secrets of the Jekyll Rock fortress. In a place that few had seen there was a large, flat, stone wall known simply as Marenon’s Map. It was ancient, and the Erellens laid claim to its handiwork, just as they did with the medallions. Much of the story of the medallions and their beginning was now lost in history, but their uses were well known. In front of Marenon’s Map stood a stone pedestal with six round slots in which the six medallions of each territory in Marenon could be placed. With each medallion the map revealed the activity of anything currently happening in that specific territory. It was like a live-action map. If one had the medallion of Mudavé, the territory of the Stühocs, one could see anything happening in Mudavé with a bird’s eye view.

Each territory had been given their own medallion to guard and keep safe those thousands of years before. Many thought of the medallions as a representation of who they were, a symbol of individuality. But with all of the medallions and Marenon’s Map, the Dunarians would be able to see anything that happened in the land. But the fact remained that few Humans had actually seen Marenon’s Map, and then only under the supervision of Garland Ainsley. How Garland knew so much about the medallions’ power remained a mystery. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the Ainsleys, Julian thought.

The Erellens had left Marenon’s Map with Garland and the Dunarians during the war. They presumed the Dunarians would only be concerned with keeping watch over their own territory. But now the Dunarians needed them all. It was the only way to complete The Reckoning. Julian felt sure the Erellens would not approve of the Dunarian’s plans.

He had also felt it was a little presumptuous to think that obtaining all of the medallions would really help them win the unavoidable campaign against the Stühocs. Anything for the cause, he would always tell himself.

“It’s not the end of the world if we do not get each medallion, you know.”

“There are a lot more to the medallions than I told you before,” Holden continued.

Julian stopped what he was doing and raised an eyebrow, waiting for more.

Holden sighed, wondering if he should go further. “It's more than a map of the happenings in Marenon. Although it may help a great deal, it wouldn't do much in winning a war. But the weapon it creates might.”

A weapon? What sort of magic had been put into the medallions? Julian waited.

“We aren't sure of the magnitude of the weapon’s power once the medallions are brought together, but we’re convinced that it will be enough to finally destroy the Stühocs for good. If we can get these medallions, it will truly be a reckoning, Julian. We will be an unstoppable force against evil. We will become the new law of the land! We will no longer be subject to your brother's idiotic laws and we will have a free and peaceful Marenon.”

Julian stood, letting the words sink in. Holden’s plans felt perilous. Anyone with that kind of power could be dangerous. To be the ultimate power? Unchecked? But if it were meant for good, wouldn't it be for the best? Julian thought of the Stühocs and how they had killed his father, a man that wanted peace. Surely, he would have wanted this, anything to destroy the Stühocs and provide a way for Humans to live in peace.

Julian resumed packing the saddlebag. “I'll get you the medallion,” he said.

“For the cause,” Holden said.

“For the cause,” Julian repeated.

He then mounted Eden as she spread her wings and prepared to fly. Getting all of the medallions was essential to peace. Perhaps having all the power was the only way.