Raven: The Betrayal of Kings - 1. Chapter 1: It Began on a Moonlit Night

Raven: The Betrayal of Kings

By Cailen Vautour

‘What you think you know, will never be worse than the truth.’ ~Lord Zasuan circ. 1296

CH1: It began on a moonlit night.

The moon had never shone so brightly, its reflection stark against the still black waters of the lake. Not even the gentle hint of a breeze disturbed the calm of the night. Along the water’s edge, nestled on a large slab of bedrock dropped carelessly from a glacier aeons past, a young man gazed upon the water. The moon glazed bright across his eyes and they glowed eerily in the darkness.

The ancient rock hovered only inches above the water and during the day might be covered from the waves of passing boats. Time had smoothed the edges of its violent past and here it rested in the alcove of a lake, under the shade of an old maple tree. If the water was calm enough and the air still, like it was on this night, one could sit upon it as a throne, as if part of the alcove itself and so low it felt as if one could be floating along the water’s surface.

The infinitesimal stars shone brightly, creating a kaleidoscope of patterns across the sky, an event one might not see in the city, but in the small town of Warrenville, it was an everyday occurrence. The young man was not looking skyward; he was gazing at the sky upon on the water.

The only warning the rushing of air, as he threw a small flat stone out and watched the sky ripple and distort in outward patterns disturbing the calm of the night. It skipped across the surface causing many more disruptions before succumbing to the waters pull and sank into the murky depths.

The ripples flattened and spread across the water until they grew too small to see and the sky became still once again. He stretched his arms high across his head; the hood of his sweatshirt fell away, revealing the long tresses of brown hair that shimmered in the moonlight.

A lone leaf fluttered from a tree. It danced through the air and softly touched the surface of the water that disturbed the calmness once again. The boy relaxed and shut his eyes briefly taking in his surroundings, his breath clouding against the chill of the night air. Summer was ending and would soon give way to fall. The air was filled with the fetid smell of pitch and mold, the leaves would soon be changing colors and the peace of the summer would give way to the cold, wasted death of winter.

“Raven?”

The boy turned to the voice and saw the shadow of a figure behind him.

“Hey dad,” he said turning his gaze back out onto the water.

“Are you going to stay out there all night? Remember, you have to get ready for the big day tomorrow,” A tall man, wearing a dark flannel shirt and jeans, with short, brown hair combed flat against his head, stepped out from the shadow of the trees. He leaned leisurely against the trunk of the tall maple and glanced up into the sky.

“Moon’s oftly bright tonight, it’s a sign of great illumination.”

“Har Har,” his son spared him a partial glance “You are referring to school starting tomorrow.”

“No I’m serious; a full moon means it’s a time of discovery,” his father paused for a few seconds before adding with a lighter tone “and the best place to discover things is in school, so you should get plenty of rest.”

“I’ll head back in, in a minute.”

“It’s beautiful out tonight son, but don’t stay up too late,” he put his hand on his shoulder and together they were entranced by the calmness of the night, before the elder returned into the wood behind them.

Raven watched him leave, set back into the line of trees the lights from a house glowed brightly against the blackness, the shadowy cover made its distance uncertain. He gave the lake a final glimpse before painstakingly making his way home. He trudged through the dried pine needles crunching against the bare soles of his feet, carefully dodging the lifted roots of the trees, he entered his backyard eyeing his house clearly; its lights like a beacon in the night, Casa de Farrell.

His sister had always called it that, Casa de Farrell. In truth it was a simple summer cottage that his father had renovated into a sizable home many years back when he was born. Its high porch boasted incredible views of the lake, and the wooded lot made it incredibly private compared to the throngs of small dilapidated cottages built by generations past, crammed along the shoreline. It was more than enough for him, his sister and his parents, and especially since Nikki had left for college last year.

With the puerile grace of youth, Raven bounded up the steps of the back porch two at a time and wiped his feet gingerly on the scruffy floor mat before reaching for the handle of a long sliding glass door.

“Don’t forget to wipe your feet!” his mother called from inside.

“Got it Mom!”

He squinted and let his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness inside as he dramatically wiped his feet again on the mat with enough vigor to let the scratching noise be loud enough to carry and walked into the large open living room.

“You ready for school tomorrow?” His mother came bustling from around the corner wiping her hands on a dish rag and looked him over.

“Yea,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders, taking a moment to slip on a pair of flip flops that were left by the door.

“That doesn’t sound too enthusiastic sport,” his dad called from the couch.

“Well I’m not too enthusiastic about it either truth be told” he snapped back. He pulled himself up the carpeted stairs and down the long dark hallway to his room.

The dado was painted a deep shade of forest green while the upper part of the wall was a near peridot color. A broad horizontal band of a rich golden yellow cut the two in half across the wall throughout the space. Along the far walls sat a long set of built in bookcases and a big desk with a computer displaying a classic screensaver of running pipes, but his eyes focused on the center to his giant king sized sleigh bed with the same colored green comforter as the dado and large white fluffy pillows. He turned to his right and entered his bathroom which consisted of a long counter with a sink, toilet to the right and the back wall the width of the bathtub.

He brushed his teeth quickly and hopped into bed, turning on a motorized fan on his end table emitting a gentle hum to break the silence, he did this every night as he hated the silence that came with living in such a remote area. Resting his head he stared up to his ceiling, his feathered raven hair flowed down his back and shoulders. He set his alarm and in the stillness, nervously thought of the following day as he closed his hazel eyes and succumbed to a fitful sleep.

O.o.O

Dustin Raven Farrell was about to begin his senior year at Birchmont Regional High, and he was not looking forward to this year more than any other year. For years Raven had been the target of Corey Vancil, quarterback; now Captain, of the football team. The coterie of the team was unparalleled in ruthlessness and leeched into all the other branches of sports and even into the academics. In the center of this was Corey Vancil, good-looking, smart, rich, and whose hatred of Dustin was only matched by Dustin’s hatred of him.

As far back as Dustin could remember as a child his parents thought it would be a great idea for him to do gymnastics. It was a shock to them and to Raven himself just how many kids knew the word ‘faggot’ in the third grade. They turned to swimming only to find that it wasn’t any more popular than gymnastics and eventually he stopped competing after months of pleading with them to allow him to quit.

He had loved swimming, and was really tall for his age towering at just over six feet and after many years of acrobatics; swimming gave him a very thin and sleek body. He was a talented swimmer, but last year something happened that finally broke his spirit to compete, that something came in the form of the blue eyed, brown haired, and perfidious Corey Vancil.

The next morning came quickly as it often did with those who have a lot on their mind, and Raven, despite his ineptitude at baseball, basketball or anything requiring using his hands, turned off his alarm with the grace and skill of a sharpshooter; hitting the button without even glancing at it.

As he began to wake up, the more and more he dreaded going to school, and mechanically gathered up his clothes and headed for his morning meditation ritual in the shower. He liked showering before school because it helped to wake him up. It also allowed him time to think, to be alone, and to contemplate what he wanted to accomplish… and that usually included wristing one out before he was finished, so it goes.

With his mission completed, Raven changed into a simple, clean cut pair of jeans with a well fitted tee-shirt, and a nice AE tee over it, attempting to gain a preppy look to blend into the throng of his peers, but with his long hair and thin, hunched stature, failed to achieve the desired effect.

He grabbed all his new notebooks and binders his mom had given him last week, simple ones with black covers, and knowing Raven’s general attention span, they would be half full of doodles by tomorrow afternoon. He chucked them into his backpack and rushed down the stairs where he met his mother by the door, wiping his palms on his jeans nervously.

“You have a good day sweetheart,” she called from the kitchen before coming to him quickly and wrapped him in a big hug. She looked him over with pride and gave him a pat on the back, “I’ll be back shortly after you this afternoon.”

He calmed down… if only a little.

“Okay mom,” he pecked her on the cheek and walked out the front door and down to the cul-de sac at the end of his driveway. His parents managed to buy him a car for his 17^th birthday last year and he stepped up to the two door hatchback with trepidation. He took a moment to once again admire it. Sure it might be outdated, and rusty; the silver paint to be chipped around the doors, and have an exhaust problem, but to Raven, it was his baby and he fell into the bucket seat, chucking is bag to the side took a deep breath and started on his way to his first day of school.

O.o.O

Birchmont Regional High was located on the town lines of Warrenville and Aspendale and served both. It was built in the 1960’s in typical brick and stucco in a geometric modernist fashion. But it had gone over a major renovation several years ago and many new science wings had been added, along with a new gym and pool and football field, the latter parts were graciously donated to the school by the funding of one Carson Vancil, Corey Vancil’s father.

Raven found a decent parking spot in the back by the gym and headed into the school to the chaos known as ‘the first day of class.’ Like most people, Raven had forgotten, but generally the first day of arriving at school is total hell. He had no idea where he was going. Desperate, he pulled his schedule out of his backpack.

“Room 114,” he muttered.

‘Well, where in the name of Lindsey Lohans giant crab cooch is that?’ he thought letting out an audible growl.

By chance he glanced up noticing that someone had put large multi-colored signs, in cray-paper, the multi-colored pack kind that you might find in a kindergarten or play place for young children. These signs had arrows pointing in the direction of the rooms. Following the crowd he finally found the sign he was looking for.

“101-133” the bright green sign read.

“Finally,” he breathed, heading for that hall and rushed down the corridor to 114, he poked his head inside and decided to take a seat in the front. The noise in the hall slowly dimmed as people made their way in, most of them in groups, much to his annoyance. He watched the clock turn as most of the seats filled and finally the teacher walked in.

Joseph Blackwell was an older man in his early fifties, and a fitness nut which clearly showed through his simple black suit with a red shirt and black tie. He also had a penchant for the dramatic and ran the drama club after school.

` “Good morning I’m Mr. Blackwell and I teach sophomore and senior English. But for you lucky students, this year I will be your homeroom teacher!” he used a heavily cacuminal articulation over empathizing the “t” in each word.

He handed out papers to the students in the front rows.

“Pass them back to your classmates… very good,” he said, waiting for everyone to finish then continued.

“If you get detention you will serve them with me after school, I am responsible for taking attendance every morning so make sure you are here in this room when the bell rings. For the twenty minutes you are here you may eat, talk quietly, but not on your phones. You can also do your homework from the night before…”

A couple of kids chuckled.

“But most importantly, if you need anything please feel free to talk to me, I know the guidance counselors are also here for you, but if you need advice or have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me… let’s begin!”

“Adams.”

“Here,” a girl said.

“Avery.”

Raven glanced around the room, examining his classmates for the first time since last year, when out of the corner of his eye he saw someone he didn’t recognize.

“Farrell.”

Raven snapped his head back around to the front.

“Here,” he said, exhaling, before returning to look at this person.

“Holliday.”

“Here,” the stranger in the back replied.Heads turned in his direction.

“I see by this roster that you are a transfer student, would you like to introduce yourself?”

“Not really.” The class chuckled.

“Shall I?” Mr. Blackwell asked

“My name is Ian. I’m a transfer student from Duke. I play football, basketball, soccer, baseball and swim.”

“Welcome, Ian,” Mr. Blackwell said before continuing with the roster.

Ian had shorter red hair with a mix of brown blended in, and wore a tight white tee shirt and baggy jeans. The shirt left nothing to chance; this boy was ripped and the girls stared at him. His biceps rippled as did the six-pack under his shirt, even the guys in the room stared. Staggering, bright blue eyes appeared even lighter against his dark skin.

It was as if the universe shifted and the earth no longer rotated around the sun, but around this boy Ian, who, noticing the stares, smiled cautiously showing off a set of perfect teeth. A couple of the girls let out a soft

‘Awww’

‘Dang it, dang it,’ Raven cringed.

He felt a powerful stirring deep inside, an old fear resurfaced. This new student, a mere fledgling, commanded so much respect so quickly, that Raven couldn’t help but think of Corey Vancil. Corey had moved to town several years back and at first Raven and Corey were really good friends, Corey had a certain gravitas and charisma, just like Ian, that made him a natural leader. Raven couldn’t help but become swept up in the hero worship. Ian stirred those long repressed feelings which plucked at Raven’s heartstrings with twangs of pain and regret.

He glanced away from the newcomer and concentrated on the teacher in front. The morning announcements started and a bulletin of Birchmont’s swim team tryouts after school in a few weeks caught his full attention. The bell finally rang and he picked up his bag off the floor.

“Hi, I’m Ian,” A vicinal voice startled him and he stepped back. Ian’s face was less than a foot away from his own.

Ian smiled and Raven’s breath hitched in his throat.

“I don’t know my way around,” he said. “Could you help me find my first class?”

“I…I…”

‘God damn it voice get your ass in gear, ‘hey brain, stop fantasizing we have work to do!” Raven thought quickly.

“I’m probably going to be just as lost as you I’ve never been down this wing of the school either,”

“I didn’t catch your name,” Ian said.

“I’m…”

“Hey Ian!” a voice shouted from the door.

Raven looked up to find none other than Corey Vancil walking into the room.

Corey Vancil was dressed in his American eagle jeans and tee, his chiselled arms showed off his bronzed skin from his summer working as a lifeguard. His short brown hair was gelled and styled and his dark blue eyes were piercing as he walked right up to them and shoved Raven into his vacated desk.

“You want to stay away from this faggot,” Corey said, glaring at Raven then giving Ian a smile “this is the cocksucker I told you about who used to be on the swim team, the one trying to do guys in the locker room.”

Ian looked a little flabbergasted, and then gave Raven a face that he would never forget.

“You keep your little faggot ass away from us if you know what’s good for you,” Corey leaned down and whispered in his ear before grabbing Ian’s shoulder and they walked out of the room.

Raven hurtled out of the seat and rushed off to find his first class.