The Last Battle: Part 9, Draft 1

A little bitty transtional section, taking us through some of Kata's ride to the border. I've been told the pace of the story is a little slow, a point which I do not dispute. My plan right now is to plow through and get the whole thing written start to finish before I start making edits (with the possible exception of Apex 1, which may get edited when I reach it chronologically). But I think you'll all be happy to know that the pace is going to pick up in the next few segments. We're going into a flashback showing how Kata and Santok meant. And given that they're soldiers from warring countries, you can probably guess it was in less than pleasant circumstances. Also, a story that I hinted at earlier will be told, though possibly not for a few posts yet.

Oh and "Dray Fandhil" is the name of the captiol city of Sathyriel (subject to change as always). "Dray" was a dragon caller term for "village". As it says in the history, Cyra built the capitol on the site of the dragon caller village where she was born. In reality, it's a weird version of "dragon foothills", a reference to the capitol's proximity to the dragon mountain.

Comments happily accepted.

Departing from Dray Fandhil after the Sending always took a long time. Even the roads that were normally little traveled seemed crowded with knights traveling all over the kingdom and beyond. Knights returning home with their families traveled at a leisurely pace to accommodate the young children. Knights who were traveling in groups often stayed in town for just a little while to finalize the plans for the coming mission, though some had worked this out ahead of time and were on their way immediately. Knights on solo missions like Kata chose a pace to fit their mission and destination. Some even stayed at the local inns and taverns for a few days, seeking to avoid the crowds from the Sending and still get away from the castle for a while.

Kata knew by now the fastest way to leave Dray Fandhil and get to the roads heading southwest. It was a roundabout route winding through the town: left at the central fountain, down Temple Cross, right two turns before the ruins, through too alleyways so narrow that Kata always worried that Tally would get stuck, past Wolf’s Hollow tavern, two more rights, and out the Southern Gate.

“Never ride faster than you need to,” Brogan had told Kata years before. “It wears you out and it wears the horse out and you never know when you might need the speed you wasted. Besides that, it riles the villagers. Knight charging along to get somewhere attracts attention. Starts rumors that something bad’s up.”

So Kata rode a little slower than she might have. There was no way to let Santok know she was coming until she was quite near the border anyways, so the rush wasn’t necessary. Riding when she didn’t have to be somewhere at a set time was a rare pleasure for Kata, so she made certain to enjoy it. She chose roads that took her through the most picturesque countryside. The southwestern roads crossed through the edge of the great forests of the beastmen. Even when she passed through the fringes of the vast wood, the leafy canopy was thick enough all but to block the sun entirely. Kata watched the tiny spots off dappled light on the dusty road and Tally’s mane pass by and grow progressively smaller. She spent a night in a tiny forest village as the chief’s guest and feasted on a roast caught fresh that very evening. She came out of the forest the next day and was greeted by fields of wildflowers coming into bloom. She met a small band of centaurs heading west to Evonstal and joined them for a while. They talked of the beauty of spring and the signs of the coming weather. The youngest centaur didn’t speak a word the whole trip and stayed close to his mother’s side. But just before they parted ways, he handed Kata a little bundled of herbs, which he whispered were “for your horse”. Tally devoured them that night at a small inn and seemed eager to go the next morning.

But still, there were long stretches of road with little to occupy Kata’s mind. Tally knew where they were headed, so she only had to direct him when she was ready to stop for a rest. So Kata found herself thinking of Santok, and the time they had first met.