The Choosing (34 page)

“They are human Seth, well at least those two are.”  Ashton stated shrugging his head in the direction of the iron bars.  “Their size is part of the blessing bestowed upon them by their god.  The first man to receive this blessing was the original King Valdadore, and if you remember the story teller’s story in Stone Haven, then you will recall that the First King was able to become four times the size of a man.”  Ashton stated knowingly.

“So the crazy old bastard was telling the truth?”  Garret asked amazed.

“So it would appear.”  Ashton replied.

They each again approached the bars, and pressing their faces between them, watched the giant men within performing some sort of battle practice.  After a few moments Garret pulled back from the bars, and the others noticing his absence then turned to relocate him.

“Those guys are about two and a half times as big as me I would guess.  Their swords are about as wide as I am for crying out loud.  Yet you’re telling me that they get even bigger than this?  Where would they live?”  Garret bombarded Ashton with questions.

“Well let me see if I can explain this well enough.  Wait I have a comparison.”  Ashton began, and with a deep breath continued.  “Ok, you know how I pray, then I repeat words in another language, then I glow when I am healing?”

Ashton’s three companions nodded to his question their individual acknowledgements.

“Ok the knights do something similar.”  Ashton continued his narration.  “They are usually normal size like you and me, but they pray to their god, and he blesses them with incredible size and strength.  My mother told me the largest of them still alive was the King himself, and He can become nearly four times a man’s normal size.”  Ashton said taking another large breath as he finished.

“Do all Valdadorian Knights get the same blessing?”  Garret asked, yet another question popping into his mind.

“No I don’t think so, but each of them is blessed by Gorandor, and each of them receives some sort of blessing to make them better on the battlefield.”  Ashton again answered.

Garret seemed to think about the answers a moment as his face twisted in upon itself momentarily.  Apparently coming to some conclusion, Garrets face once again smoothed out, and he pressed his head into the bars again for another look.  His companions followed suit.

Two enormous men stood in the manicured field opposite the wall of the four companions.  Both of the giants were armored from head to toe in gleaming polished steel armor.  Each of the giants too held a massive sword the length of a man and a half, and a shield of equal length.  They lunged back and forth landing blow upon blow on each other.  Most blows glanced of their shields, but scratches and dents on the giants’ armor bore witness too many blows that had gone unchecked.  With every step of the giant men the companions could feel the iron bars reverberate with the impact the ground was forced to endure.  Garret was soon daydreaming about how hard it must be to forge a suit of armor so large, when he realized the bars pressing to his head no longer vibrated.  Snapping his attention back to the field before him he witnessed one of the giants raising his hand to halt the other’s advancement.  The men squared shoulders with one another, and touching their swords together at the tips, they bowed their heads to one another.  Lowering their massive weapons, they exchanged words and each of them nodded as if agreeing on something.  That was when things got interesting again.  Garret and his three companions watched as each of the giants began to shimmer, and their bodies began to lose shape as they appeared to lose definition around their edges.  The more the shimmering encompassed the men the more unstable they appeared, and with two large booms wind gusted heavily into the four companion’s faces forcing them to close their eyes momentarily.  When the wind vanished as quickly as it had come they reopened their eyes to reveal two armored men of average height walking away from them, across the field beyond the gate.  Each of the companions watched them go, each of them wishing they had been able to keep their eyes open to see the transformation.

The group continued to watch for many minutes in hope that more knights might appear, but no more forthcoming, they eventually stepped away from the gate and decided to continue on to their next location.  Garret and Ashton led the way as before, following the eastern wall of the castle towards the north all of them talking excitedly.

Seth and Sara followed their companions through the street towards their next destination.  Sara, clinging tightly to Seth’s hand slowed for a moment to put some space between them and their companions ahead of them.  Seth, curious about Sara’s change of pace looked to see her expression, and again he found the teasing smile upon her lips.

“Oh no what now?”  Seth asked jokingly.

“Well I was thinking it’s probably safer if you don’t receive that particular blessing.”  Sara stated.

“Why is that?”  Seth asked her in return.  “It seemed pretty amazing to me.”  He added.

“Yes it is amazing but look at it from my perspective.  Let’s just say that in the near future we are joined, as we both hope we will be.  Following that I am finally able to give myself to you, and who’s to say that one day I don’t bed you so well that you start saying things like “oh god oh god” and then
Kaboom
, I get split in two and die in our bed.”  Sara stated trying in vain to look serious as she explained.

Seth started laughing so hard he snorted, and Sara unable to contain herself any longer giggled both at her explanation, and then at Seth’s snort.  They were laughing so hard they had stopped walking, and realizing they had fallen some distance behind, rushed to catch up with their companions.  Seth was so taken aback by Sara’s descriptive narration, that every time he thought of it or even looked at her he would start laughing again, and this would cause Sara too to start laughing anew.  Several times they shared a look, followed by laughter, and received questioning looks from their companions in front of them.  Each time they would wave it off explaining that they could not explain why they were laughing.

They walked to the northern most corner of the castle and turned back to the west, still following the castle’s wall.  After making the turn to the west Garret and Ashton walked a few dozen more steps, and gradually slowing they came to a stop.

“Well here we are.”  Garret stated.

“Where is here?”  Seth asked his brother.

“Temple row.”  Ashton was the one to answer as he turned to point opposite the wide street of the castle.  “Sasha told us the temples span from here all the way to the western wall of the castle, there are supposed to be nineteen gods and Goddesses represented here, each with their own temple.”  Ashton recited the words spoken to him earlier by the inn’s owner.

“Ok so what do we do now?”  Seth again asked.

“I am going to visit the temple of my Goddess.”  Ashton stated.

“I have to go learn about Gorandor.”  Garret added.

“What about you my angel, is there any temple you care to visit?”  Seth asked.

“Not particularly my love, I will come with you if you have one you would like to see.”  Sara answered.

“Well honestly I had just thought to walk the street and admire them, but I suppose if one should stand out I might go inside.”  Seth stated and then added in a whisper for Sara’s ears only.  “After all, we have to get joined somewhere, might as well pick a place.”

Sara nodded happily, and smiled lovingly to the man she adored.  They said their farewells and agreed to meet back at this corner in a couple hours, and then they parted ways.

Seth and Sara watched Ashton lead Garret away down the wide street where they eventually vanished among the other people traveling up and down the road.  Losing sight of his brother, Seth tightened his hold on Sara’s hand and led her slowly in the same direction his brother had gone.

Seth led them to the nearest temple, almost directly across the street from where they had separated from his brother.  The building was a magnificent structure covered from the road to the highest arch with intricate stone carvings.  Each of the carvings that sprawled up the walls depicted scenes of nature and various animal and plant life.  The door to the temple sat between the trunks of two large stone trees.  The trees’ branches were interwoven above the door and at the doors peak was carved a nest.  Standing inside the nest was a majestic looking bird, its stone gaze peering down at the two people in the street who stood gawking at the temple.  The building was beautiful.  It was as if it were a part of nature that had petrified here beside the road.  However as beautiful as it was, the stone gaze of its protector made Seth uncomfortable and so he decided to move on.  With Sara walking beside him Seth again traversed down the street to where the next temple sat.  Though the buildings were large, they were placed so close to one another that it was not long before they once again paused to admire another temple.  This temple too rose majestically from the ground, covered with carvings and sculptures of its own.  It looked much like the first temple in design, only here the scenes of nature were replaced by various symmetric symbols carved into the stone walls.  Above this door was a carving of two hands.  The hands reached palms out toward one another holding between them an open eye.  This too made Seth uncomfortable, but even so he waited until Sara was done admiring the building before leading her once again to another.

Sara and Seth visited the doorstep of temple after temple to admire the painstaking detail that was poured into building each one of them.  Even after stopping to admire each and every temple on the street, they realized they still had a significant amount of time before they were to reunite with their companions.  They were stopped at the last temple on the street, and had inspected it thoroughly when Seth once again turned to walk away.  This time in the direction they had just come, but before he could take a step, Sara squeezed his hand asking for his attention.

“Did you see any you were interested in?”  Sara asked. Her amber eyes pleading.

“I’m afraid none of them really stuck out.”  Seth replied.  “But there are a couple that seemed more appealing than the others.”  He added in an attempt to not destroy Sara’s hopes.

“Really?”  Sara asked enthusiastically.  “Which ones?”

“There was the one with the teardrop above the entrance, that one felt the least uncomfortable.  Then there is the one with the weird symbols and the eye.  It was a little creepier, but it was kind of intriguing.  Then after that one I think the temple with the big dragon statues at the entrance.”  Seth told her honestly, letting his discomfort with the temples be known.

“I know the gods and worshipping isn’t anything you hold in high regard Seth, but would you stop to take another look at those three for me?”  Sara asked, still clinging to the hope that he might choose one and in doing so allow them to make plans to be joined.

“For you my angel I would do anything.”  Seth answered earnestly.

Sara led Seth back the way they had come, a slight bounce in her step.  Seth couldn’t help but notice the happiness mingled with hope in her eyes as they walked.  He did not want to disappoint her so as they walked he again gazed upon every temple they passed.  They stopped again at the temple guarded by the immense stone dragons.  Nothing on this temple made Seth feel uncomfortable.  The dragons did not stare at him with empty eyes.  They did not menace him with bared teeth.  The thing about this temple that Seth did not like was the fact that dragons were just fairytale monsters used to frighten children into obeying their parent’s rules.  Seth imagined if the temple was inhabited by people worshiping a god that was depicted by a dragon, then he must assume that their religion had a lot of strict rules the followers were frightened into following.  As Seth decided upon the temple he could not help but notice Sara watching his reaction.  She seemed to recognize his decision before he could speak it, seeing something in his face he had not intended to show.  Knowing Seth did not like the temple, Sara again led him down the road to their next stop.  She still had a bounce in her step, though it had diminished greatly.  Seth hated that he was making her unhappy, and could not stand to look upon her in his guilt.  He instead chose to look to the temples they were passing.  It was then that he noticed something he had missed previously.  The temples were exactly the same as before, but as they walked away from the dragon temple and approached the next one Seth noticed a structure between them. 

It was nothing magnificent, it was not even large.  No grand statues or carved scenes marked its entrance.  Nothing wrapped its walls at all.  The structure between the two grand temples was as plain and bare as the road beneath his feet.  Looking down to actually make the comparison, Seth realized he had stopped.  Looking up from his feet he found Sara staring at him with a questioning look in her eyes.  Smiling to reassure her he hadn’t forgotten how to walk, he gestured towards the small stone building between the temples.

Sara scrutinized the small stone building hiding in the shadows of its neighbors.  It was made of bare stone with a wooden door.  The door had a word carved into its surface, but from this distance she could not make it out.  Besides the door no other detail marked the front of the building.  Sara marveled at a sudden realization.  She knew instantly that Seth would want to inspect the building further.  The building, Sara felt, was a lot like her.  It was small and plain, it appeared all but forgotten by the people who once took care of it, and nothing about it was remarkable.  Like her, the building was a lost cause.  Seth seemed to like lost causes, after all he loved her.  This in mind Sara returned her gaze to the man she loved and smiled at him already guessing his decision.