Birthrights - 3. Chapter 3

The attack came quickly and the boy once again found himself surrounded by his enemies. It seemed no matter how many he managed to kill, there were always plenty more to take their place. He moved his right foot ever so slightly, but before he could complete the movement, he heard quickening steps advancing behind him. As if by pure instinct, he spun around, Saber in hand, and gave a sharp thrust, causing his advancing target to run himself onto the point. He made it all the way to hilt before the life left his target's eyes and he slumped forward, leaving the boy to now support his limp body. It took some effort, but the boy finally managed to free his blade of the corpse just in time to see another of his targets withdraw a shiny silver revolver from his jacket. He dove to the right just as the first bullets were passing where his head had been a split second before. Withdrawing his own pistol on the way down, he landed on his side, the gun already aimed and ready. And without hesitation he pulled the trigger, sending a perfectly aimed bullet right through the head of his target. He watched as the body toppled over backwards, causing a few more of his enemies to trip over it and fall onto their faces. Had the situation not been so dire, he would have laughed at the sight.

He scrambled to his feet, only to now find his back against the wall and five more blades turned on him. He held out his gun and pulled the trigger only to hear the clicking sound of an empty chamber. Frustrated, he tossed it to the side and looked up to face his fate. He closed his eyes and awaited the painful sensation of the sabers piercing him from head to toe and the quick death afterward.

“Killed by a bunch of filthy pirates, couldn’t think of a worse way to go.” His words only seemed to further their rage as simultaneously they all prepared to finish the job.

A second before the first of the points was about to make contact with his chest and pierce through his heart, another shot was fired into the air behind the crowd. They all turned and seemed to just freeze in place, as if stunned by some supernatural force. And then, without a word being said, they dispersed and moved to either side of the boy. He opened his eyes and, to his amazement, the Captain had emerged and made his presence known. The boy tightened his grip on his saber, as the Captain began making his way between the now split crowd. He stopped just a few yards away from where the boy was backed against the wall... and just stared. Their eyes met and locked on to one another. It seemed like ages passed between the two before the Captain finally handed his pistol off to another of his underlings and then swiftly unsheathed his own sword. Even though he was a pirate, he still maintained his honor and would not fight with the advantage of a fire arm. It was understood this would be a fight between only the two of them on equal levels.

The boy dug his feet in and prepared himself for what was to come next. He began going over every possible action his opponent could take. He had been taught years ago that most battles are won before anyone ever moves. They are won not with your weapon or your fist, but in your mind. The Captain only stood there, still, as if he had been turned to stone. Unable to contain himself any longer, the boy pushed forward as hard as he could and began to run to meet, blade to blade, with his foe. Time seemed to slow the closer the two came to each other. The captain finally sprang from his position, now closing the gap as the two swords finally clashed.

“How many times must I tell you, 'Pay Attention!!'” The boy was jolted out of his day dream by the sound of a book slamming down on the desk. He had to think momentarily about where he was. He looked and saw the small circular room filled with old dusty books, all piled randomly on top of rows and rows of shelves. In the very center of the room was a large globe, which seemed to draw all attention away from the rest of the room. It almost made you forget about the disheveled pile of books.

After quickly getting his wits about him, the boy turned to see the old disappointed eyes of his tutor and mentor. “Edmund, I cannot teach you if you cannot bring yourself to listen to what I have to say.”

“I really was listening, Professor Kiam, I swear.” But he could tell that the old man wasn’t buying it. He had been his personal instructor for years now and he knew the boy all too well.

“Really? Then I suppose you would have no trouble telling me what subject we were on then... since you were paying such great attention.”

Edmund began to tap his fingers on the desk, a habit he had picked up whenever he was trying to remember something or when he was deep in thought. “We were discussing uhhh... the ummmm...” But as hard as he was trying, he was drawing a blank and Kiam knew it.

“We were discussing the history of how the different nations of the world came to be. That is, before you decided your mind was better suited elsewhere. Now if you would be so kind as to go over what you remember.” He pointed to the globe at the center of the room and without hesitation, Edmund got up from his seat and walked over to the large sphere and began running his fingers over the bumpy surface. Carefully written under the bumps he read the words Cacean Mountains.

“Well, I’m waiting.” The old man walked over and leaned on the edge of his desk and began to watch Edmund with great expectancy reflecting in his pale bluish eyes.

“What do you want to know?” he asked his teacher. The man walked up to stand next to him.

“I wish to know what you know.” Edmund thought to himself and began thinking back to their previous lessons before finally speaking.

“Hundreds of years ago our entire planet had waged a war that had gone on for centuries and threatened to destroy mankind itself. Through all the battles and hardships, no one people could defeat the other. That was, until a man named Armond Callisto sought a way to bring an end to the fighting. He began a journey across the world and from each nation he would recruit those who had grown weary of the violence and invited them to join his army in one last attempt to bring peace. It took him almost twenty years, but finally the day came when he led an attack with a grand military made up of all races and beliefs. Together they were able to end the fighting once and for all. So it was, after years of struggle and warfare, he had become the first person to unite the world. And for the first time in history, the world was at peace.

"Many people called out for Armond to become a singular world ruler. But even he knew it would only lead to more conflict in the end. It would only be so long before someone disagreed with his views and would see bloodshed as the only solution. So instead, he gathered the leaders of each nation and had them sign a pact that should one leader ever again attempt to conquer another, they could call upon the other nations of the world to reform Armond's grand army to once again end the struggle. And so the world was in balance, with no one ruler able to overthrow another.”

“Ahhh, but we know that this was not to last.” Professor Kiam walked around to the other side of his desk and began shuffling around through the drawers of his desk. Edmund watched as he pulled out a glass bottle filled with a golden liquid along with a small glass. The old man poured himself a shot. Edmund's heart gave a slight leap as he knew his lesson for the day was almost over. They never did seem to last for very long after Kiam had his first glass of whiskey.

“Well? Are you going to continue?” he said, as he set the bottle back on the desk. With the end in sight, Edmund began to finish the story.

“The balance of power was broken when Emperor Voran's kingdom had been plagued with famine and was on the brink of falling apart. His citizens had begun to leave and flee for the other kingdoms in hope of a better life. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he was overthrown. So he sought out a way to reclaim his former glory; it wasn’t long before a plan was formed. He sent his spies to infiltrate the royal family of Almora. It's believed that he spent years trying to get them all close enough. But then the day came. Voran had slowly advanced his entire military northward and in one fatal surprise attack, quickly began to overrun Almora's military, who had no chance to react. But it wasn’t enough to simply overrun them, he had to ensure that there was no one left to claim the throne and call out to the other nations for help. So after the attack, while the royal family's defenses were at its weakest, his spies made their move and slaughtered them. News of the king's death spread quickly and after that, it was only a matter of time. The battle lasted for three days. With the Almora citizens fleeing the city in fear, Voran took control of the throne and became the new ruler and placed his son, Ivan, in charge.”

Edmund waited for the old man's comments, but heard nothing for the longest time. A few moments later he was greeted with the slightest sound of heavy breathing. He finally turned away from the globe to see Kiam with his eyes closed, leaning back in his chair and his feet resting on his desk. “You can't be serious,” Edmund mumbled to himself, so as not to wake his sleeping teacher. Using the situation to his advantage, he quickly grabbed his overcoat and hat and snuck his way out the front door. If he hurried, he'd still have enough time to catch the zeppelin down to the airship docks.

The streets of Evalin were almost impossible to navigate this time of day. Mobs of people would move in huge herds along the narrow streets. The roads were usually filled with honking cars, causing a constant noise that would echo throughout the entire city. But by far, the best and most convenient way to transverse the buzzing metropolis was the city’s massive zeppelin that would circle the city and ferry people from one part to another. Ever since his father had taken him on one when he was younger, he had become obsessed with them.

The Launch Station was absolutely swamped as people were getting off the zeppelins, and others pushing to get on them. Edmund, being small, even compared to the other kids his age, would often find himself being pushed by the crowed if he wasn’t careful. Squeezing in between different parts of the crowd, he managed to make his way to the front. He was determined to grab the best seat he could. After all, the entire ride was pointless if you couldn’t see the city in all its glory. After much anticipation, their transportation finally came into view as it rounded the corner, turning onto the street. It was a magnificent sight to see; the passenger car was solid white steel with a gold scrolling design wrapping around it and the balloon itself was painted a shimmering shade of gold, making look as if it wear actually made of the precious metal.

Edmund listened to the gasp from the crowd as the tourists decided to make their presence known. It wasn’t every day you got to see a massive flying machine hovering over the city streets, weaving its way in and out around the buildings.

The moment it finished its decent and the people were let off, the crowd picked up again and began moving towards the passenger car, filling it back up in a rapid, flowing motion. As beautiful as the outside was, the inside managed to outdo it completely. It was adorned with the same white and gold scroll works as the outside, but in a much more intricate fashion. And all the seats were made of a bright red leather that reminded some of a fine wine. The entire passenger car often reminded Edmund of the ballrooms and theater halls he had visited with his father over the years, only done on a much smaller scale. Having done this a million times before, Edmund ran for what he already knew to be the best spot.

“Hello there, young sir. I was wondering if I'd be seeing you today.” The words came from a thin, older gentleman in a blue uniform, who, as always, had come up to greet him as he boarded the vessel.

“So tell me, Cecil, are you always this proper and polite or do they pay you extra?” Edmund asked, with a wide grin growing across his face.

“Two marks more and hour, sir, and a lovely fruit cake every year around the holidays.” The old man let out a slight chuckle as he leaned in closer to whisper to the boy, “But you see though, the joke is on them. I would have done it for the cake alone.” The man returned to his post and began greeting the last of the passengers before signaling the cockpit all was clear for takeoff. Excitement grew as he felt the vibration of the engines roar beneath his feet. There was a hissing sound as the pressure from the steam was released and slowly the craft began to lift into the air.

“What do you say we open her and give these out-of-towners a real show to remember?” Cecil said as he gave a quick wink to the boy. Edmund positioned himself up against the railing on the outside of the seats. He knew all too well their purpose and now waited there anxiously.

“Ladies and Gentlemen it is my esteem pleasure to present to you the grand city of Evalin,” and with nothing more to say, Cecil gave another subtle signal to the cockpit and a split second later the sides of the passenger car began to retract, revealing massive curved panels of glass that gave everyone aboard a complete view of the city from above. This had been one of hundreds of times Edmund had ridden the zeppelin, but no matter how many times he had seen it, the view always astounded him.

He leaned over the railing to look where the glass curved downward, giving him a view of the ground below. The cars and people were almost unrecognizable from this height and it often would make him wonder if this was how the birds felt when flying over the city. To the people down below, the zeppelin look as if it were a giant oblong shaped bubble being carried around by a grand golden balloon.

“In all the years I’ve had this job, that’s never failed to amaze the tourists,” Cecil said, taking a seat next to Edmund, who was still staring down at the rooftops.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve lived here my entire life and it still amazes me,” he said, returning to his seat. “This city is so huge, no matter how hard you try, you never see all of it. Every time I look out these windows I always manage to find something I missed last time.”

“Speaking of this Grand City, where about in it will we be letting you off?”

"Father doesn't like me going there alone, but I think I'm going to the docks."

“Ah, I see. Fancy doing it before your father is wondering where you are, eh? Well, if you see Gus, tell him he still hasn’t paid me since our poker game last week. I'd tell him myself, but he manages to change the subject every time I bring it up.”

A wider grin stretched across Edmund's lips. “Why is it you need me to shake your boyfriend down for gambling debts. I mean, isn’t it enough that he's sleeping with you?”

Cecil's eyes grew wider than Edmund had ever seen them before as the old man began to look more and more flustered at the boy's bluntness. “And just who is it who's been spreading these completely preposterous rumors about us?”

Edmund's expression now went from coy to confused; he wasn’t aware that he wasn’t suppose to know. “He did,” he stated in a very matter of fact tone. And Cecil now looked more annoyed than surprised.

“Figures he’d tell you, after all, he never was good about keeping his private affairs private. And I'll mind you not to go making the same mistakes. It's not exactly anyone else's business"

“Alright, don’t worry. No one else is gonna know.” And with that, Cecil left the boy to tend to the rest of the car.

* * *

The airship docks were probably the busiest part of the city... and often the most dangerous. Edmund would have to sneak here because years ago his Father had forbidden him from coming alone after he was mugged on his way home. But despite the risk, the hustle and bustle of incoming and outgoing ships had always excited him. He would sit for hours and just watch as people from all over the world would arrive from far off foreign lands, speaking any number of languages. He often dreamed of what it was like where they came from and would imagine what it would be like to travel there someday. He dreamed of other big cities and small villages scattered to the four corners of the globe. It was his ultimate goal in life to someday leave the buzzing city he had come to call home to travel and see everything the world held, as Armond had done a hundred years ago. Up till now he had only been to Calveral in the north on a few business trips with his father. As much as he loved going, it was essentially the same as his own Evalin, but colder... much colder.

“Aye! Are you gonna jus stand there all day and watch the tourists, or are you gonna come here and gimme a hand?” Edmund looked over to see a dock worker who tended to one of the royal fleet ships. Of all the other ships that had docked, it dwarfed them in comparison. He often thought to himself that its size was more for show than function... sort of a way for the king to one-up the other nations. The worker who had yelled for him was a short broad man who often reminded Edmund of the dwarfs he had read about in some old fantasy novel he had borrowed from Kiam. But he would never inform Gus of that. He was a far too proud and sensitive a man. And last time he saw Gus cry it took almost an hour to get him to stop.

“So what's on the agenda for us today, Gus, clean up engine maintenance, or you gonna go on the roof and spit over the railing again?”

“None of them, although if ye play yer cards right, I might just take ya up on that last one, heheh. Damn tourists crowd these streets enough, they do.” He then leaned over and grabbed a small crate and shoved it into the boy's hands before grabbing a lager one and hoisting it onto his broad shoulders. Without having to be told, Edmund followed him into the cargo hold. By the looks of things, the ship was being loaded for a long trip.

“Nope, today it's being prepped for another diplomacy mission. Yer dad came by earlier and told me he would be leaving tomorrow morning.

“Strange, father didn’t mention another trip up north.” Edmund's heart gave a jump of excitement at the thought of getting away from classes for a few days.

“Well, that's probably because he isn’t going north this time. You think we'd need all this if he was just making a short hop like that? No, this trip is a bit different. He's heading east across the ocean to Almora.”

The words made Edmund's heart stop for a second or two, turning his blood cold. Why the hell would he not tell me? The words kept replaying again and again in his head. He looked down at his right hand where the Almoran crest had been tattooed in blue ink by his birth parents. Of all the places in the world he longed to go, Almora was the most important on his list. He had long wished to return there, to try to learn about them. His father told him when he was real young that as he was fleeing the city he had found him abandoned, so he grabbed him up and fled the city with him. But ever since he heard the story, he always felt there had been a piece of it missing; something his father wouldn’t divulge. He harbored hopes that his birth parents might still be out there and he wished to meet them. He loved his father in every way that a son can, but every night he would lay awake and not be able to help but feel that a part of him was left back there. And he needed to find out for himself.

“H-How is he going to Almora? I thought Voran had blocked anyone from entering the city. No one came in or out, except for a few trade caravans, for years.” Edmund could barely form the words as the thoughts of his greatest wish coming true raced again and again through his mind.

“Well best I figure, and I ain’t one for much political jargon, mind you, but my best guess is that old King Voran and his son Ivan has ran the place so far into the ground that he ain’t got no choice but to open it up to trade again. But woo boy, I'd hate to be on board this ship when it pulls in there. I imagine them peoples be pretty desperate by now and that them be clawing their way onto this ship. God knows he turned that city into the world's largest prison. Any who, from what I hear, word is your dad was requested by King Evan himself to be his envoy and help see that the trade agreements are made.

“This makes no sense. Why would he not tell me any of this?” Edmund, now looking more and more distressed, looked down at the tattoo that was a constant reminder of where he truly came from. It was a magnificent sword whose hilt gave way to a beautiful pair of dragon wings. Circling this were runes of some old language that he couldn’t recognize. Even professor Kiam was at a loss for their meaning.

“Now don’t go getting me wrong, yer ol' man didn’t seem none too happy about the situation, I mean, it is still quite a dangerous undertaking. He prolly just didn’t want to risk you getting hurt is all. I wouldn’t take no offense to it,” Gus said, trying to lighten the boy's mood. But it was a futile attempt; something was troubling him deeper than he realized.

“I don’t know why he's hiding this from me, but I intend to find out.” Edmund was now standing by the edge of the cargo hold when Gus came up to stand beside him.

“Well it's sorta like me mum use to tell me all the time. She'd say, 'Son, there are two types of people in this world, them what sits around and asks questions and them what goes out and finds their answers.'” And Gus could see that was exactly what I intended to do.

Later that night, Edmund lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His conversation with Gus had been repeating in his mind like a broken record. That gave only more and more questions each time it played. Finally, he couldn’t take it; if he was going to get answers, he would have to go to the source.

He found his father alone in his study, with his reading glasses on, going over various paperwork, as was his usual routine. He hated disturbing him from his work, but if he didn’t find out now, it would be too late and he would have lost his only chance.

“Father... why didn’t you tell me you were leaving for Almora tomorrow?”

Morgan was absolutely stunned by the question and was completely unprepared to answer it. He had been certain that he did everything possible to keep him from finding out about the trip. He had exhausted every possible way to get out of it, but it was a direct order from King Evan himself. In the end, his hands were tied. Of course he couldn’t tell Edmund the truth, he was still too young to understand just how especially dangerous it was for him there and how, someday, he would have no choice but to face that danger head on. He had spent the past twelve years grooming him to someday be the perfect leader, even if it meant hiring an out-of-work drunken college professor to privately tutor him in all he would need to know. He knew someday Edmund would be a great king, but for now he was still far too young.

“Because it's far too dangerous and I knew you would insist on going. I had actually hoped to leave before you awoke tomorrow. You must understand that Voran is still very much a dangerous dictator and at any moment he could seize our ship if he felt like it. I won't expose you to that kind of danger. I’m sorry, but I’m making this trip alone.”

“But what about my birth parents? You told me that if we were ever able to go back to Almora, you would go with me to help me find them. What if the trade agreements don’t work? This could be my only chance!” Edmund argued, but he could already tell it would do no good.

“Edmund, I’m sorry, but when I promised you, I was thinking that you would be much older I’m sorry, but you're too young. And the chances of us finding you parents, or of them still even being alive...”

“So what? We shouldn’t even try? You want me to just give up?” Edmund now could feel tears in his eyes as what may be his one chance was slowly diminishing before his eyes.

“Look, I swear I will do all I can to assure that the trade agreement is passed and then we'll be able to travel there freely. And when you're older, I'll take you to look for your parents, but I’m sorry, for now the answer is still no! Now that’s the end of this discussion. Back to bed, now! Before I decide to inquire as to how you found out that I was even going.”

Edmund felt as though a knife was being shoved deeper and deeper into his gut. The one chance to find his parents and it was gone. No matter how much he wanted to forget it, he could still hear Gus' last words, 'them what sits around and asks questions and them what goes out and finds their answers'. Gus's mom was right; he couldn’t just sit and ask questions if he wasn’t willing to seek the answers. Even if it meant doing it on his own.

The city took on a completely different persona at night. The once-buzzing streets were now, for the most part, empty. The shops that often kept people moving to and through the area were now closed and dark... except for a few corner pubs that thrived on the business of the night owls who would often stop in after work and not leave until the sun peeked from over the horizon. As Edmund ran down the streets and in between the alleyways, he could often hear their drunken crooning coming from off in the distance. To be honest, the golden glow from the pubs windows was somewhat comforting to him, like random beacons of light scattered throughout the dark corners. He hadn’t realized just how long of a walk it would be from his home to the docks and he thought about turning back more often than he cared to admit. But soon that passed as he realized that he was now closer to his destination. And turning back now would be prolonging his time in the dark.

The sun was just appearing in the sky when he finally found himself at the docks. A few golden rays now shot out from the far east, casting a faint glow over the massive vessels. Please god, let him be here, he thought to himself, or else this entire trek across the city would have been for naught.

“HELLO!!!” he yelled out at the top of his lungs, but he was greeted only with the sounds of pigeons and his own echo. He was becoming more and more frantic; as the seconds wore on he must have called out three more times, yelling slightly louder each time, but still nothing. It wasn’t until he went to scream out the fourth and loudest time that he found himself interrupted by a warming familiar voice.

“Gosh damn, Ed, do you know what in the hell time it is?” he said, emerging from a small shack that was built on the other side of the docks.

“I’m real sorry to wake you up Gus, but I need your help and I can't do this without it.”

“Wha- what's going on out there?” Edmund looked over Gus’ shoulder to see an equally tired Cecil emerging from the same small shack that Gus had come from.

“Err, nothing you senile old coot, go back to bed.” Gus looked into Edmund's eyes and saw a true look of desperation such as he had never seen in anyone before. He could not help but be compelled to go along with whatever crooked scheme it was that Edmund had planned. “So tell me exactly, what is it you was wantin' me to do?” A wide grin quickly parted the boys lips as he looked over his shoulder at the cargo hold to the royal airship.

“So tell me, Gus, about how big do those crates get?"