Part 1

Henry stared at king Erik and his sandy blonde hair. His shoulder capelet hung down his left shoulder nearly obscuring a frostrium steel sword, the hilt had a blue tinge to it. He looked confident and unconcerned at meeting four people, while he entered alone.

“Hello, sister.” the king said. “It’s good to see you again.” his gaze resting on Cara from across the room.

Henry couldn’t tell if Cara was glad to see him but she replied politely and as any sister would when greeting a brother she hadn’t seen in many years.

“And you dear brother.” she replied calmly. “You look tired, please, take a seat.” a smile brightening her features.

An instant later two servant girls came through a back door and entered with a tray of refreshments. One girl laid a platter of fruits as the other passed out glasses of wine and water. To Henry’s surprise and delight, wine was placed before him as well. He had half expected to be skipped but he was old enough to drink and would do so gladly.

Erik adjusted his sword and sat across from Xerath, locking eyes with the king. Neither said a word and the room fell silent again.

Many exchanged looks of varying expressions crisscrossed the room, and the tension grew.

“Before we talk about what happened in Vulkira, I am willing to offer money in exchange for safe refuge behind Xer’s walls.” Erik stated.

“How much?” Xerath narrowed his eyes.

“Three thousand pounds of gold.” Erik said. “I’m also willing to give you our most precious resource.”

“Frostrium Steel?” Kyburn asked, shifting in his chair.

“Yes.” Erik confirmed. “Ten pounds.”

“Ten?” Cara sat up in her seat, her calm demeanor slightly unbalanced.

“Is that a lot? Henry whispered to Kyburn.

“Yes.” Kyburn sighed. “One pound of Frostrium Steel could buy the captial enough food for an entire year.”

Henry’s mouth dropped open. He had been living off of coppers. That amount of wealth was unknown to Henry. He couldn’t fathom such an amount.

“No.” Xerath said calmly. “I will not accept your offer.”

Erik’s face contorted in confusion. As did Cara’s.

“If-if I give you mor-” Erik started.

“I don’t require your money, brother.” Xerath smiled faintly. “You are welcome in my kingdom regardless of what price you offer.”

“You’ll let us enter for free?” Erik frowned, still confused.

“Yes.” Xerath took a deep breath. “But… I won’t refuse the Frostrium Steel you offered. We will have need of it in the days to come. My blacksmiths will forge armor from it.”

“Well…” Erik scratched his chin. “I thank you then. I will put the money to good use and have the ore delivered to you immediately.”

“Good.” Xerath waved a hand as if it were nothing. “Your people will need it far more than I.”

“Husband?” Cara shifted in her chair. “That is very generous of you.”

“Indeed.” Erik stared intently at him. “May I ask why you have absolved me of paying you such a sum?”

“Call it…” Xerath paused, narrowing his eyes. “A favor.”

Erik raised an eyebrow at that.

“I will decide later where you and your people will stay within my borders.” Xerath continued. “But you will be taken care of. After all, we are allies.”

“Very well.” Erik said. “Thank you, brother.”

“Eh uhm.” Kyburn coughed, drawing everyone's attention. “If I might change the subject, we are all glad to see that you are in good health, king Erik, and we hope that the people of Vulkira are safe as well, but we are all curious to hear what exactly happened in Vlakias.”

Erik nodded in thanks but said nothing. Turning to look at his sister again, frowning once more. Another moment passed then he locked eyes with Xerath a second time, staring him down.

“I’m sure you have ample amounts of questions and seek answers. I won’t pretend to have them all but I will do my best to ease your minds?” Erik said calmly.

“What do you know of these creatures?” Kyburn asked instantly.

“I received a report from one of my mining villages in Vori that they had discovered a structure deep underground and noise had come from behind it.” Erik began. “I sent a dozen soldiers to investigate. The villagers had shut down their mines and were in fear for their lives. Thinking it was a minor issue I brushed it off with little concern.” he paused, thinking, “However, I was sorely mistaken.”

“I could never have anticipated the events that followed. It took less than a day for me to find out all the men I sent to Vori were missing and every soul within fifty miles were rushing to Vlakias for safety. Even still I did not realize the magnitude of the threat until it was on my doorstep.” Erik continued, slowly as he recalled the events. “They attacked Vlakias during the night, without warning, and overwhelmed the city in a matter of minutes. Our walls, useless, as they jumped clear over them or simply smashed through the gates with ease.”

While Erik talked, Cara’s face grew skeptical but listened intently. Kyburn looked troubled by the news but composed. Xerath hadn’t moved a muscle, he only stared blankly as his brother-in-law spoke of the events in Vulkira. His first response was an eyebrow raised when Erik mentioned the monster crashing through walls and entering the castle itself.

Henry was amazed and hung on Erik’s every word. The descriptions he gave were accurate to the ones he had read in Gus’s notes. The thick hides. Massive hulking bodies. Henry couldn’t help but think of the opportunity to study the Vog up close.

“They call themselves Vog.” Erik said.

“Yes. Yes.” Xerath waved a hand. “We are aware of these beasts. What we want to know is why they would attack you. Why now after all this time.”

“Their leader, Felkuru, is far more intelligent than you or I.” he addressed Xerath. “They pose a great threat to us all but at the same time... I see us coexisting together peacefully if only we could communicate better. He did not want to fight but due to an unfortunate…” he paused for effect. “Accident, my men in Vori destroyed something precious to them.”

“What exactly was that?” Henry blurted out.

Erik stared at him before answering. “An egg. Apparently a male Vog. I know little of the sex differences but…” Erik paused again. “I got the impression a male Vog is extremely rare and more precious to them than I could ever imagine.”

“It spoke to you? This… Felkuru, creature?” Xerath squinted his eyes.

“Yes. It did but… not in the way you or I would speak.” Erik crudely explained. “You would… find it difficult to believe.”

“Please.” Henry said, still fascinated by the whole thing. “Tell us. And what impression did you get exactly?”

Erik glanced at him again and looked slightly confused. “Who is he?” tilting his head in Henry’s direction. “I don’t like being interrupted.”

“Henry.” Kyburn said. “He is from my town, Zulin. He has done extensive research on the Vog. He is somewhat of an expert.”

“I see.” Erik smiled, changing his tone. “Then I will happily tell you all I know if it helps us understand them more and if possible learn something about them for myself.”

Henry blushed from embarrassment, he once again got ahead of himself and spoke without thinking. It was not his place to speak, especially in a meeting this important and he feared he would be removed if his interruptions continued.

Xerath nor Cara made a move to berate his actions, however, only nodded for Erik to continue. Henry guessed they both were curious over his question and let it slide.

“Fel formed a bond with me somehow. I have yet to fully understand this connection but I assure you… I can see into his mind.” Erik paused, taking in their reactions.

Cara nearly rolled her eyes in disbelief, while Kyburn smirked slyly. Xerath said nothing, only gave him the same expressionless stare. If it surprised him in any way, he did well to hide it.

“He called it ‘Fusing’ or ‘melding’ and it nearly killed me. I can feel him now, faintly. Our minds are connected and I have seen visions of his perspective, or at least I think it is his.” Erik said, still confused by the whole matter himself. “He can see into my mind also. I must admit it has caused headaches to say the least. It has been very taxing on my mind. How much he sees or understands is still unknown but I assume from our connection he bears us no ill will.”

“If he can see into your mind… then he is listening to this very conversation, yes?” Henry dared to ask. “If you have a connection from this far or from any distance it must be a form of telepathy.”

Everyone looked at Henry at the use of the word, which he guessed they had no idea what telepathy was. Without them needing to ask, Henry explained himself.

“Telepathy is what you described, king Erik. It is a conscious transmission of thoughts or memories much like your connection to the Vog leader. If what you say is true then your brain has ‘Fused’, as you called it, with Felkuru. My guess is, the reason it nearly killed you was that our human brains are extremely fragile, and making that bond with an alien species possibly overloaded your mind in an attempt to fight off the foreign invader. Or perhaps your mind couldn’t contain the amount of information the Vog was transferring to you. Your mind may not have been able to handle the stress and sensing the fragility of your mind, Fel broke the connection before killing you.”

Both kings, Cara and Kyburn looked at Henry with stunned faces. At first, he thought he had said something wrong but quickly realized they were surprised by his knowledge in what he was saying.

“I-I read i-it in a book.” Henry stammered, defending himself. “I read a lot.”

“Indeed.” Xerath smirked. “That much is evident. I’m impressed. Thank you Henry.”

“That makes perfect sense.” Erik suddenly said after a long pause of silence. “My mind felt as if it were going to explode and my body was in intense pain. My physician gave a similar explanation, though I didn’t tell her I was seeing things.”

Henry read the room and noticed the looks of disbelief from Cara and Xerath. Kyburn had a face of extreme skepticism but might be the only one that believed Erik’s story. Gus had endless conversations with lord Kyburn so perhaps he would listen to Erik. Henry was unsure himself whether or not to believe him but the situation brought out his curiosity like never before.

By this point, Erik had seen their disbelieving faces and stared at each of them. “You don’t believe me.”

“That you were attacked by monsters from the mountains… I believe.” Xerath stated. “The facts speak for that but I cannot believe that you have a ‘telpathy’ connection, whatever you call it, with the Vog.

Henry inwardly cringed at the king's pronunciation but kept his mouth shut and didn’t correct him.

“Brother, it is hard to believe all that you say.” Cara added. “We have had reports from our own scouts that the creatures lurk close by and know this to be true but what you speak of is nonsense.”

“I see.” Erik looked slightly hurt that even his sister doubted him. “I don’t blame you. If I were you, I wouldn’t believe me either, however, I can prove it.”

Xerath furrowed his brow, “How?” he asked, curious, despite himself.

“I only need time.” Erik responded. “Within a day, you will get word that general Brynd, from Tykin, slipped into Vulkira with an army and attempted to take Vlakias behind my back.”

“Please. This is preposterous, you’re embarrassing yourself.” Cara scoffed.

Xerath gave him another blank stare.

“You will receive word that his army confronted the Vog and were slaughtered.” Erik continued, ignoring Cara’s jibes. "No one knows this. Not even my own people. But I saw it happen."

Erik grabbed the glass of wine in front of him and gulped it down quickly. Without another word from anyone, he stood suddenly, nearly knocking his chair over, and left the room. They only stared as he slipped away from sight and were taken aback by his sudden departure.

Cara seemed upset and Xerath looked agitated. Kyburn and Henry kept quiet and waited for a response from their king and queen, unwilling to turn their attention to themselves.

"Does he take us for fools?" Xerath growled. "He's lost his mind, Cara."

"Why would he lie though?" she asked, directing the question to her husband. "He has nothing to gain by lying."

"Because he is insane. You can't question a mad man's logic." Xerath scoffed.

"My brother is many things but insane is not one of them." Cara defended Erik. "He is under an enormous amount of stress, perhaps he is... sick." she shot in the dark for an excuse for her brother.

"Yes… the word is mentally unstable." Xerath dug at the insult further. "Why are you taking his side anyway?"

"I'm not taking his side.” Cara said coldly.

Kyburn shifted in his chair uncomfortable to be in the room while they argued. Henry was in a similar state but was distracted by everything Erik had said. He was consumed in thought but still listened in on the conversation.

“Why are you defending him then?” Xerath shot back. “It certainly sounds like you are.”

Cara stood, her purple eyes and nose flaring in anger. “I’ll be in my room, husband.” she started to storm off but froze at the door. “He’s my brother. I love him, and I’ll do anything for him, you of all people should know that.”

Xerath’s jaw dropped at the implication. Even Henry caught the meaning. Kyburn cringed and was visibly squirming. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. Henry and Kyburn both were loath to be in the middle of a heated argument, especially when the queen implied she married the king only to save her brother.

Cara’s jet black hair whipped over her shoulder as she turned and left the room. Xerath’s face lit with rage and began to shout something but stopped before any words were formed. His anger faded as quickly as it came and he placed his elbows on the table and dropped his forehead into his palms.

Kyburn indicated to Henry for him to leave, which he did gladly and swiftly. Before slipping through the door, Henry glanced back to see Kyburn pat Xerath’s shoulder and whisper something to him, comforting his friend.

Henry was momentarily distracted by the reasoning for the falling out Cara and Xerath faced. There was clearly tension and past issues at play. He could not make sense of all the drama between them but it must be grim enough to cause such animosity.

Kyburn had told him it was due to Asar’s death, their son, but Henry couldn’t understand why they would fight over such a thing. “It wasn’t their fault their son died.” he thought. “Why would they be angry with each other?”

Henry made his way to the front of the castle and lost himself in thought again, wanting to escape the deep-seated issues of his king and queen.

Part 2

“Henry, was it?” a voice called to Henry’s left.

Turning toward the voice and to his surprise, he faced king Erik, laying back in a thickly cushioned chair, sprawled comfortably.

“Uh, um.” Henry stuttered. “Yes. That’s me.” he said awkwardly, unsure what to say to him.

“Did they start fighting again?” Erik asked him, pausing, waiting for an answer. “My sister.” he clarified.

Henry didn’t say a word but his face betrayed him, answering Erik’s question.

“I see.” he sighed heavily and sat back, placing a wet cloth over his face. “They weren’t always like that you know.”

Henry’s interest instantly shot to the roof and he wanted to hear more, so he quickly sat on a stool next to the king.

Erik heard him sit down so he continued, “They used to love each other very much. Still do but…” he hesitated. “The two of them had a rare relationship any person would envy.” he sighed again. “And against such odds, my sister found true love.”

“What happened to them?” Henry asked.

“Something out of their control happened.” Erik’s voice saddened. “Tragic, really. I used to be an uncle.” he let Henry put that together.

“Prince Asar?” Henry guessed, unsure what to say or why Erik was telling him this. “Everyone knows he died. It was a great blow to the kingdom but why would that tear them apart?”

Erik pursed his lips. “You’re young. Even I don’t fully understand what it's like to lose a child. I lost a nephew. They lost everything. I imagine my sister blames him. And he blames himself.”

“But why? Shouldn’t it bring them closer together?” Henry asked, not understanding the complexity. “Prince Asar died of natural causes. It wasn't their fault.”

“Murdered. Actually.” Erik sat up, looking Henry in the eyes. “Just an infant. Who could’ve imagined someone doing such a thing.”

It all dawned on Henry at once. Xerath’s reaction on the hill on their way to Calchester, his reluctance to meet Cara. The sadness in Cara’s eyes and why she had left Xerixes to live in Calchester. All the reasoning and details compiled together and Henry knew it to be true. He finally understood.

The memory of losing his parents came rushing back. How he regretted not being able to save his mother from depression. How she often went into fits of anger, not directed at him but at everything. He understood why now, why Xerath and Cara’s relationship was strained.

He felt stupid for not understanding and putting it together until now.

“I can see you want to know how it happened.” Erik frowned. “It was no one's fault really, but both of them blame themselves. I don’t think they are aware that they blame each other either but I see it in my sisters’ eyes. And Xerath’s.”

Henry sat motionless, still unsure why Erik was divulging this information to him, someone he had just met.

“Forgive me, sire… but why are you telling me this?”

“Hmm?” Erik paused. “You seem trustworthy. Also, I must admit I am being selfish.”

“Selfish?” Henry looked confused. “In what way?”

“I don’t get out much and I simply wanted to talk to someone.” Erik said plainly. “And you… believed me back there.”

“Oh.” Henry said uncomfortably. “I still don’t know if I believe you, but…”

“But?” Erik lifted his head.

“I think it's possible.” Henry shrugged. “With everything that’s happening, I'd believe anything at this point. So much has happened in such a short span of time that the Vog being able to communicate with us doesn’t seem far-fetched.”

“Well… I thank you nevertheless.” Erik laid his head back into the cushions once again. “It honestly went better than I expected.”

“What will you do now?” Henry asked.

“Wait.” Erik chuckled, replacing the wet cloth on his face. “And this chair here... it looked so inviting I couldn’t resist.”

“Why are you waiting here?” Henry asked. “I thought you’d go back to your camp once the meeting was over.”

“When my visions are proven true, I’ll be here. Waiting.” Erik explained, smirking under his cloth. “Because when they do find out I’ve told the truth, they’ll most certainly want to have another chat.”

Henry frowned. “In a way, I hope you are lying.”

Erik lifted the cloth from his face once again and stared at him. “Why?” he asked, curiously.

“If you are telling the truth, that would mean the Vog have an evolutionary advantage over us. Giving them the ability to communicate from hundreds if not thousands of miles away. The Vog would have such an advantage over us, that our scouts would be rendered utterly useless. They would outmaneuver us at every turn.” Henry paused. “If it came to war, we would have no hope of defeating them.”

Erik raised his eyebrows in surprise, “How old are you?”

“Seventeen… why?” Henry asked.

“Where are you from?” he asked strangely.

“I-I’m from Zulin. Lived there my whole life… why do you ask?” Henry looked at him skeptically.

“I see. No reason in particular, you just… look out of place here.” Erik pursed his lips. “You’re a smart young man, Henry. I think it’s safe to assume you know Gus Opin?”

“How did you know that?” Henry tilted his head.

“Oh please, you even sound like him. Especially when you're talking about things you are passionate about.” Erik smirked. “It’s obvious you’ve read his work too.”

“I sound like him? I’m that bad?” Henry frowned.

“Heavens no. Hashem forbid, you sound intelligent. “It’s a compliment, not an insult. You have a unique mind if you are studying under Gus.”

“Right.” Henry shifted in his chair, unsure how to take such a compliment.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get some sleep in before things pick up here.” Erik said confidently. “Might as well sleep while I’m waiting to be proven right.” he winked at Henry.

“I’ll leave you to it then.” he slid from his stool and made his way to his room, “That was an odd conversation.” Henry muttered to himself.

But the fact that prince Asar had been murdered instead of dying from natural causes came as quite a shock to Henry. As far as the masses knew, Asar had simply died tragically. They had kept it a secret for some reason, and Henry wanted to know why.