Iskald, son of a powerful duke of a Northern Realm, is mentored by an aging General Aezubah. The duke is murdered, and Aezubah cannot rescue the boy from the clutches of the Tha-kian slave traders. Years pass before a princess, Laela, saves him from his masters’ whips.
Iskald is then torn between love for his home and the passions stirred by the princess. On the deserts of the Southern Realms he seeks to bury his life as a slave and soothe his tormented soul. In the process, he becomes a warrior.
Two powerful Viking Kingdoms vie to conquer Iskald’s homeland. His people, led by Aezubah, have mounted an impossible resistance. Iskald’s life is henceforth shaped by the swirling challenges of love and duty.
The most outspoken person in the Nekryan peace faction was Princess Laela. It is difficult to imagine what was happening in the heart of the beautiful girl.
Only after Iskald had left did she finally realize just how many feelings the young man had ignited in her wild soul. The memory of the burning desire, the feeling of longing and an incredible feeling of loss, they all overwhelmed her when Iskald disappeared.
What she previously thought of only as friendship had suddenly appeared before her eyes, her soul and heart, as that what it really was: love. Iskald had opened her eyes on a wholly different world, he gave her care and attention every step of the way; he had done so much for her without asking for anything in return; and he had day after day proved his willingness to shed his last drop of blood for her safety, comfort, and happiness.
But it was only after he had left that the girl realized just how much she missed all those things that she had before taken for granted for months. She longed for his smile, his caring touch, his comforting words. And, convinced that she had lost the only love of her life, certain that she would never see him again, that she had lost him forever somewhere in the hostile Southern lands or perhaps in the barbaric Kingdoms of the North, Laela closed herself in her apartments.
Seldom did she leave her chambers and hardly did anyone hear her voice or laughter. Lost in her thoughts and memories, she was also lost to the world. No one had the power to free her of her burden, no one could bring the joy back into her heart; no one could give her the peace of mind she was looking for.
Then news came from the North that a new warrior had appeared, whose strength and skill had no match, invincible and powerful, a hero who defended his home and decimated the Vikings. Not for a moment did she doubt that it was Iskald, that it could only have been Iskald.
And while others had for a long time trouble believing that it was the same person they knew years ago in Nekrya, she saw it at once. It was their Iskald, her Iskald.
King Diovinius, the aging Nekryan Lion, only shook his head in quiet disbelief and then said nothing for a long time, lost in his thoughts, contemplating the future of the world that was changing right before his very eyes, changing dramatically from day to day.
Laela, in the meantime, was overjoyed. In one short day she changed so that no one recognized her anymore. The palace was filled with her laughter and song, and the world once again saw a smile on her beautiful face. Her life was filled with meaning once again. There was only one goal she had now, only one thing she yearned to do: stand before Iskald, look into his eyes, and then fall to his feet and ask his forgiveness.
She wanted to ask his forgiveness for her indifference and her blindness, for all the unkind things she ever said to him, for the fact that she did not realize for so long how much he meant to her. Thus, Laela begged her father to listen to the voice of reason and that instead of launching an unprovoked attack; he should seek a peaceful resolution.
King Diovinius was, for the first time in his life, unsure what to do. The ruler of the most powerful Southern Kingdom could feel the eyes of all turned to him, looking to him for advice and leadership. Realizing that everyone in Nekrya and in the rest of the South, the common masses, politicians, aristocrats and rulers, all of them waited for him to do something, waited for him to take a course of action which they could follow.
Realizing the pressure that was put on his shoulders, Diovinius hesitated. There were many questions in his mind, there were many concerns; many things he would like to talk with Iskald about. The world was changing while he felt himself slipping away. His time was over, he could feel it, and a new era was emerging.
What would it bring?
Was he to greet it with open arms or wielding a sword?
If there was to be peace between Nekrya and Lyons, a great new power would be born, uniting two sides of the ocean, the two sides separated by waters and by a deep-rooted hatred of long millennia. But was such peace even possible? The two Kingdoms were united in only one thing, that being the ageless hatred.
Could Iskald and Laela, the two emerging leaders of the world, could they somehow breach that gap, could they cross that abyss? And if they were to do so, should he, the aging King, should he aid them by taking the first step and extending his hand towards the ageless rivals?
As far as Iskald was concerned, Diovinius was certain that the young man did not wish war. The Nekryan ruler knew Iskald well and had for a long time treated him almost like his own son. In addition, Diovinius was well aware of the feelings his own daughter had towards the young Northern King and the last thing Diovinius wanted to do, was anything that would cause her pain.
But did Iskald feel the same way about Laela? Would the two of them indeed join their lives and unite the two Kingdoms by doing so? Many scattered and unanswered questions filled the gray-haired head of the powerful Southern ruler.
Eventually Diovinius sent word to Lyons that he wished to meet with the young King and hold peace talks in order to resolve the differences between their two Kingdoms. The reply came quickly: Iskald wished to meet with Diovinius as well. He would come to Arrosah with a small group of trusted warriors and advisors at the earliest possible time.
Laela was thrilled when her father told her the unexpected news. Finally she believed that her life was by no means over, that she was given another chance to make things right, to make things the way they should be.
Everyone in Lyons, in the meantime, including Aezubah and Jasper, the two men Iskald trusted the most, were firmly opposed to the planned venture. The young King patiently listened to his two older and experienced friends, who told him plainly that venturing into the very heart of Nekrya was foolish in the very least, that the two Kingdoms had always been enemies, that the invitation could be nothing more than a simple trap, that he was not to trust the Southerners, that his father would never have approved, and that there were many, many more reasons why his decision to go to Arrosah was simply unacceptable. Iskald listened to them all quietly.
“If you don’t want to go, then stay here,” he said finally.
It was then decided that all of them were to go because they all loved their King and would not even hear about letting him into the lair of the Lion alone; and since he was determined to go, they would not stay behind. But they were not pleased about it and left the Royal Chambers shaking their heads. Aezubah approached the young King and looked him in the eyes.
“You should think about why you really want to go there,” he said before leaving his apartments.
Iskald stared at the wall before him after Aezubah left, thinking about his last words. Aezubah was right, as usual anyway. The main reason why Iskald wished to visit Arrosah was to see Laela, not for the peace talks.
And why should it be any other way? He had accomplished what was needed of him, what was required of him as King. He had overcome all odds and forged a Kingdom although no one believed it could happen. He had stopped the flood of Vikings and spared the world an agonizing war with a vicious invader. He had rebuilt Lyons and ensured that her power would only grow in the future.
Did he not deserve a reward for all that he had done, accomplished and achieved? For all the sacrifices he had made, for all the suffering he had gone through? Could he not finally think of himself and of what made him, only him, truly happy? Was it not the time to be selfish now and to reach out for what he himself wanted, especially when it was right before him? Had he not been through enough already? Why should he be unable to reach a peace of mind and have someone help him carry the burden of Kingship?
Iskald closed his eyes. He wanted peace with Nekrya, yes. But more than anything in the world he wanted to fall to the feet of the beautiful Princess and to beg her forgiveness for having been a coward throughout his entire stay in Nekrya.
For the fact that he had never told her of how he felt, that he had never given her the choice and only assumed that she would have never loved him. For the fact that he left without even saying goodbye and without ever sending word of his whereabouts.
He needed her forgiveness for his ungratefulness; after all she did for him, he behaved like a coward and simply ran away at the very moment when he should have stood up and been a man. He would ask her forgiveness and then, together, they would unite the two feuding Kingdoms, ending the hatred forever, burying it beneath volumes and volumes of their unconditional love.
Copyright © 2008 by Slawomir Rapala
