Side Story 2. Knightly endeavor

There we have it. 

The horses stink, my ass hurts, and, to top it ALL off, my scalp feels like it’s turning medium-rare… 

At least my blond hair wasn’t as much a heat magnet as it could have been. I hear that PEOPLE with darker hair will feel the heat twice as much. I wonder how that works?

I looked up at the bright yellow sphere high above us, not a single cloud in view.

Ah… The scalding summer sun of Sunvale… Quite the fitting name. There has to be a song… or poem out there dedicated to how much it just sucks.

Actually, if there isn’t, I’m feeling pretty inspired right about now. 

Let’s see: ‘Oh sun of Sunvale, you….’

“Hnnnnnnnggg…”

I heard a loud and painful sigh behind me. Coming straight from my travelling companion.

“Oh, quit  moaning!” I yelped back as I glanced over my shoulder at Galvian. 

He looked pathetic, leaning back on his saddle. He had fashioned the jacket of his grey knight uniform into a makeshift hat. Which made him look completely ridiculous, but he probably didn’t care.

“And take that thing off! We’re not supposed to draw attention!”

He let out a grunt and did as told before tucking the jacket back into his luggage while sarcastically responding to me.

“Yes, Your Highness Hersia Okavlon.” He said in a mocking tone.

He then tried to give a low bow on his saddle, but his horse failed to find it as amusing as he did and kicked the air in protest.

“Whoa there! Easy! Easy!” He said in a voice he meant to be soothing.

I let out a sigh and turned my head forward once more. The thick forest of the vale was still far away, so the only point of interest in sight was the still waters of Lake Alenia and scattered fishermen’s villages amongst the rough and rocky outcrops of the lands surrounding the waters.

“Tsk!” I snapped my tongue in annoyance. 

“oH qUit MoAninG!” Galvian parroted in a mocking voice.

I pulled on the horse's bridle strongly, bringing it to a hard stop and glared at the boy-knight. A wave of fear visibly ran over him as his horse’s pace matched mine, but he then composed himself and glared back.

“What’s with the attitude?” He asked in the most arrogant of tones.

“What’s with the attitude? The ATTITUDE? Oh, I don’t know! Maybe something-something, you almost got us kicked out of the order! Do you NOT remember how much of a damn pain in the ass it was to get in, in the first place? You and your damn two coppers plan!” I screamed at him

To my complete disbelief, he dared to act offended.

“My two-copper plan? Need I remind you that it was OUR two copper plan? And that I only organised the pickup. It was YOU who lost her cool at a SIX-year-old! SIX! What the hell were you thinking? You just had to ask her a couple of questions and check her bag! What in the blinding grace of Seeir made you think you had to beat a man to a pulp and rip her teddy apart right in front of her? She was a kid! There’s no need to play good knight bad knight in front of her!”

I kept glaring, unmoving. 

He’s right, I know that, but it sucks that we both had to pay the price for his shitty intel. 

I took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

He grunted again, but also sighed.

“Sorry about that, it’s just this heat… Made me snappy.” Galvian apologised. 

He always apologises, and it pisses me off, but he had a point.

“Yeah… I’m sorry as well. This just… Sucks…”

After the incident with the orphan girl and Marquess Vilger, Galvian and I had been put on probation. In simple terms, we had gone from active knight duties to glorified messengers between the different units posted around the kingdom. This usually wouldn’t be so bad, but due to the circumstances of our work, we were meant to travel inconspicuously… And that meant no carriages, no fancy horses, basic camping gear and worst of all: a very small budget for lodging, so we would be forced to only stay at the worst inns.

I nudged my horse's sides and we started moving again. 

At least there was a nice breeze coming from the lake itself… sometimes. 

If only that were enough to counteract the sun. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

I felt the familiar tickle of Alenia’s blessing in my lungs. Children of richer families were often made to drink this water from a young age to ensure they grow fast and healthy… 

I was no exception. 

One would always feel invigorated after drinking from it, so I only associated good memories with this smell. The water of the lake was renowned for its curative properties and as a catalyst for many medicines and elixirs. 

Some sceptics doubted the actual benefit of the water, but the alchemy involved had a strong basis. This water flowed from the Silver mountains in the north of Sunvale and trickled down the blessed forests of Alenia. The ground of these forests was a breeding ground for many a plant, and some of the world’s most famed alchemists had made it their home for this reason. It was said that from this process, it became imbued with those plants' curative properties, making the water especially potent.

As the heat slowly got to me, I felt just about to pass out when Galvian spoke again.

“Have you heard the stories about the Alenians?”

I furrowed brows

“You mean Aleniakins?” I asked, confused. 

No one liked it when their heritage was casualised or abbreviated, and being of Alenia’s blood myself, it felt like a tone deaf probe, but, perhaps to my relief, he shook his head.

“No, the Alenian. It’s an old legend. They say that deep underneath the surface of Lake Alenia, there is an ancient race of people who live and breathe underwater. Apparently, they built gigantic cities and will sometimes invite fishermen sailing the waters to come down and see it…”

He stopped his explanation and stared at the lake.

“...And?” I asked, having no real expectation.

“They are never seen again.”

I let out an unimpressed snicker.

“Sounds like a children’s story.”

Galvian shrugged at my reaction, probably only telling me about the story out of boredom.

“Whose kin are these ‘creatures’ supposedly from anyway? Alenia?”

He shook his head.

“None. Apparently, they used to be fish and turned into people with the help of Alenia’s water.”

I exploded with laughter. It had been a long road, so really anything would set me off at this point.

“Fish? To people? Ridiculous! What’s next? Cats to lions?”

He smirked as well.

“Well, we could always try to feed one some water and see what happens…”

We laughed for a bit and continued on our way.

The day wore on and turned into weeks under the blazing heat of summer in the valley.

After what felt like an eternity travelling the rough coast, it finally began to narrow into the delta that would lead us to our destinations. 

Fields along the water, trees growing higher than I knew was possible….

“Sunbarrow Valley. Alenia’s holy sanctum! Finally...” Galvian declared as he eyed a small town in the distance, probably thinking about the comfortable bed waiting for him.

I nodded in agreement.

“Finally.”