The Ligen Stone
Yoav Bar-Lavi
The crown curse and fruit of hatred
On the throne of the great kingdom of Graug set king Harlan, who ruled it with kindness and justice. On the front of his crown was fixated a big blue gem: The Ligen of Graug, which was the heart of the kingdom and its symbol since its establishment by harlan's great-grandfather, name Harlond. It says that at his youth, Harlond saw a man sitting in the middle of a pure wellspring, and his image was shining. As Harlond approached, the man pulled out from the water a big gem and gave it to him, and then went away and has never been seen again; The stone was particular, extremely beautiful and shining with its own light; And the people of Graug believe that it was one of the gods who went down to the earth and appeared as human, and chose Harlond to establish a new and strong kingdom which will serve the gods willing.
Now King Harlan had two sons: Wisgoth and Olini. However, the elder one Wisgoth who was supposed to inherit the throne in the time come, already since his youth he developed a wild passion to the crown and the ruling of people. This was not hidden from the eyes of his father, so after all his efforts to restrain his son's strong passion have failed, in an irregular step he decided to disinherit him from the title of crown prince and gave it to his younger son instead. Since that day Wisgoth bore a deep grudge within his heart towards his father and brother, and thought incessantly of revenge and of taking the crown by force.
So the years went by and the king's sons married women who gave them sons and daughters. The king got aged and the coronation time approached. Eventually after his last hope expired, in on of the feasts Wisgoth cried loudly and cursed his family, quit the hall, vanished and never seen again in Graug. His voice was so horrible at that moment that no one dared to prove him or to stand in his way. However, the coronation ceremony was held as planned and the people were glad for the old king's choice. The last one cried loudly: "My son Olini will carry the Ligen from now on, the blessing and the burden; Moreover, everyone should know that I am Harlan, the fourth king of Harlond's dynasty, I sanctified the stone in the wellspring's water which it came from, and it will bring death to anyone who will touch the crown if he is not a son of the House of Olini, as long as will remain in the earth those who carry his blood in their veins."
Olini have continued the ways of his father and the Ligen stone shined on his head. But his brother Wisgoth has wandered in the exile and was welcomed by the kings with lot of honor; pretending to a victim he incited them with his devious lies against the kingdom of Graug which preparing secretly, as he whispered in their ears, to conquer and append all of its neighbors to its sovereignty.
His efforts bored fruit, and so one day the great Graug was invaded by many armies. A big and blood soaked war has erupted, which ended in the defeat of Graug and the destruction of its palace. The king's house people were chased and got spread all around, and were forced since that day to hide their origin in order to save their souls. The king himself got captured and been brought to his brother's hidden place, across the border, there he has been tortured and murdered and the Ligen crown was taken from him and finally reached the hands of the evil Wisgoth. But the last one had only a short term joy, because his father's decree then got activated: his skin got pale, his eyes got fully black and after few days he died; and so happened to anyone who has touched the crown, and since then no one dared to put his hands on it, and the light of the stone got fade in the meantime.
The collapse of Graug turned its land into a wild dangerous area, which got populated by rabble of folks. The son of Olini tried for vain to find the traces of the lost crown, and finally despaired. His children and their descendants had abandoned the kingship matters and their blood got mixed with the blood of the rabble. So after five generations the sons of Olini's house were all spread in the land's distant corners; was no left among them even one who knew his origin surely, and the story about the kingdom of their fathers and the Ligen stone seemed in their eyes as nothing but a legend from the past.
As the years went by, in a kingdom name Rosvill which was dwelled bordered to Graug, a beautiful queen name Elizi rose to power and declared that her servants have found the Ligen crown. The precious object was showcased, and a there was a call over the land for anyone who claims for ownership on it to present himself in the castle and prove his claim; and the one who will touch the crown and suffer no harm, will become a husband and a king for queen Elizi; and in any event (since women are also eligible to try), he will be allowed to take the crown back to his land, if this will be his choice.
For a while many challengers tried their luck, but they all had met the same fate: their skin got pale, their eyes got black and after two days they died. Then everyone knew that it was indeed the Ligen crown and none else. The rumor got spread in the land, and there were people who arose and started believing in the legends and exploring their origin; and many of them who got convinced that their origin is indeed related to Olini, went to a journey to Rosvill's castle, to claim the crown.
But months have passed and no one succeed in the Ligen test.
At the land of Graug arose a warrior, great and tall, name Neirosar, who has been told once by knowledgeable sages that his origin might be related to Olini's house. His surname was Asari which means a walking stick, and his father and grandfather indeed were nomads – but his exploring at the wise sages who maintained the forgotten tongue of Graug, revealed that the same name was used in the past also in a meaning of a scepter, and might implies for the family's origin; and so with the grey hue of his eyes which was common among the scions of Harlond; and he has pondered a lot about the crown's story.
Eventually he went to a journey, passed in the desolated wildernesses and fields and crossed also the huge forest which was a natural border between the lands: The Sorceries Forest, So, after a week he entered the foreign city and beheld the queen's castle. Something in the being of the town intimidated him and occupied his mind with doubts and questions: who is this queen? How did the crown reach to her hands, and why no one from among the tens who claim it had not manage to win it until this moment? In order to satisfy his mind he tried to explore the issue before trying his luck. Those who claim the crown were directed to a separated wing of the castle, above it rose a gloomy looking tower; crows flew around its top, and many soldiers stood around it, wearing armor and holding burnished spears. Neirosar was watching at it in several occasions, as a passerby. He observed a big guard wearing armor who set on the gate; nearby, hanged to a chain, lied down a very big predator which looked more like a wild wolf than a guard dog; an old nurse was seen there from time to time at the gate.
Then, while he was watching the tower one more time from a corner, suddenly a voice cried from behind him "hey you!" and an arm held his shoulder. His blood curdled but he stayed in self-control and turned around slowly, as if he knows nothing. In front of him stood a grey haired man, his chin and cheeks covered with many bristles, and on his head there was a sort of crown made of wood; he spoke in a distorted language and all of his being indicated that he is not settled in mind.
"Do you want Ligni, a Ligni crown?" he said while removing the wood piece from his head, and offer it to the young warrior.
Neirosar breathed again. In another day he would probably get amused by the appearance of that stranger. He rejected the gesture with courtesy and tried to extricate himself from the situation with polite words, but then the stranger looked aside, stood erected and suddenly spoke to him in a low, sharp and clear voice: "come with me now to another place where we can speak freely, more than this place which is dangerous, as your heart already warned you; I know many things that might be useful for you."
Neirosar followed him in the city streets, wishing to hear his words now.
"I have seen you since you entered the city at the beginning of the week," said the stranger, "and unlike the other who I have met so far, in you I found respect and wisdom. If only they listened to my words they could have save their poor souls! But my words sounded worthless in their ears, therefore I thought, I will share them only with those who deserved them. Afterwards I got fed up from everything so I covered myself with this costume, which the least attracts the attention of the soldiers."
As they arrived at afternoon time to the humble dorm of Gilar, this was his name, he told his guest everything he knew. "The tower which you have observed, is the hiding place from a long time ago of the prince Wisgoth, who rebelled against his father's kingdom. While the scions of Olini got spread in the land and assimilated into the folk, the scions of Wisgoth maintained consistently their dynasty and the forbidden crown which they still kept, and also their hatred for Olini's house. They have adopted that name Rosvill in which they are known to people, but in secret they maintained their real name, and pondered incessantly of a way to remove the curse from the crown. If they manage to do it, they will replace the ancient kingdom of Graug and cover the world with darkness."
Neirosar pondered the things gravely. "Where from do you know all this?"
"Same as you I have also felt since a long while the darkness which surrounds the house or Rosvill, and I have been attracted to explore the matter of the crown. I have made nights like days in surveillance and observation, and my good luck saved me from being exposed. I have joined my discoveries one to another, and the common sense completed all the rest into one clear picture: That queen named Elizi Rosvill is none but a scion of Wisgoth; and she has intrigued a despicable plan to find all the scions of Olini up to the last one and eradicate them, and by doing it she will make the Ligen crown permitted for her; Two goals at once, from which she will find it difficult to chose the one that enchants her more. I assume that you already pondered the question, why no one has got the crown so far, didn't you?"
The young nodded and his host continued, "So you should know that all those who enter the tower are doomed to death; because the curse harms everybody who doesn't come from the house of Olini, and for someone who does belong to it, there is another cruel fate expecting; actually he doesn't get a chance at all to put his hands on the crown, mind that the unification of the crown with its legal owner might bring a disaster to the tower."
The young looked at him wondering. "How do the guards manage to recognize the blood of the scions of Olini, if themselves they are not able to do it?"
"AH!" said Gilar and his eyes got lit with a gleam. "The guards themselves are not able to recognize the majestic blood, but that predator which lays at the tower's gate, it does, and the guards learn from it. And this brings us to the most despicable part of Elizi's plan. As she Turned twenty, yet before being crowned as a queen, Elizi went alone and secretly to the Sorceries Forest for several times. Afterwards she gone for a decent year and no one knew where she is – except me. Because I followed her traces, which led to the dwelling of a sorcerer in the middle of the forest. The last one you have already seen, she is the old nurse who is now dwelled in the tower. In her way the maiden carried a bag, which only in retrospect I knew its contents. If I knew then the purpose of her plan and her enormity, I would have exterminate her with an arrow from my bow and prevent a lot of sorrow by doing it.
"Instructed and patronized by the sorcerer, Elizi came in contact with a gang of cannibal murderers, sons of a wild tribe who lives in the forest, among them living some who are able to change their figure into wolves from time to time, as it says; this is why they have been chosen for her, and also for her pregnancy will be saturated with animalistic desire, and contains no any trace of love which might thwart the whole plan; and the act of her pregnancy was involved with a deadly skirmish that erupted among the members of the gang, a thing that served well the plan. She got pregnant, raised and nurtured in her uterus the fruit of her hatred to the house of Olini. Afterwards to the light of the full moon, the sorcerer irrigated her with a special potion she made, which contained among other ash from the bones of the poor Olini – as it turned out, the sons of Wisgoth kept his bones since the day he got murdered in their prison many years ago – and the lady drank it from his skull. They repeated this ceremony in every complete month of her pregnancy, while in all the rest days the lady was dormant, so the embryo fed by nothing but that despicable potion.
"So, Eventually came to the world Lingrit 'The fruit of hatred', A cannibal who is able to turn into a wolf. The abominated child grew up quickly: once I happened to see him with my own eyes wandering in the forest, he was only a boy then and his body is already grown up and he gallops quickly. Now in his maturity he probably exceeds beyond the dimensions of a man; his face contorted and he is entirety full with hatred towards the sons of a family, of whom he knows nothing true, since all of his knowledge is based on the lies and illusions woven in his consciousness.
"However, since no one could take control on him, the creature got bound with a heavy fetter and since then he is locked in one of the tower halls, forever hungry. Now sometimes he wear a figure of wolf and burst out through the tunnel which was made for him, to test the crown challengers with his animalistic sense of smell, searching for Olini's blood; and if this blood is being found in them, they are innocently led into his hall, because their flesh and blood are all his food, and every other food is a poison for him.
"However, as a part from the whole plan, except from the sense of smell of this creature, he has another quality not less important, which he himself doesn't aware of: his life last forever – as long as someone of Olini's house still lives on earth; far as they are, his heart feel their existence; but if the last scion of this house will be gone from earth, the creature at the same moment will lose the object of his hatred and die; because he has no any other life force but the hatred, and this is how works the sorcery which drives his heart. And this will be the sign for queen Elizi for the Ligen crown is allowed for her. Therefore more than anything else she is looking forward the day of the death of her abominated child, and that day might come upon us soon if her plan will not be thwarted."
Neirosar brooded, trying to digest the things. Outside the evening came and the tumult from the city got faded; dogs barked somewhere; a woman from nearby called her son to come back home. Eventually he broke the disturbing silence: "Is there no any way to avoid the tower's trap?"
"Don't lose your hope," answered Gilar. "I know that in the bottom of the tower there is a passageway with two doors at the edge, from which one of them leads to the crown that is saved at the top of the tower; the other door I assume, leads to the hall in which the despicable creature is imprisoned. To where leads each door, this detail I haven't managed to discover, but the solution for this is Obvi –"
"How will I choose the door," interrupted Neirosar, "and it's still hidden from me what is the blood that flows in my veins?"
"Slow down," answered gilar, "think a little and you will find that the solution to this is obvious: all you have to do is to go through the other door than the one offered to you. As a matter of fact, even if your choice of the other door will lead you, heaven forbid, to the prison of the creature, this can also bring a great benefit as the creature will die from the poison of your blood and the plan will be thwarted. But about this possibility I don't want to think. As for me, I believe that the king's blood indeed flows in your veins, but my duty is to share my knowledge with you and not to advice you in you choice rather if to take the task on yourself or not. If you trust your chances, the crown is not beyond your hand reach."
"Okay," said Neirosar, "but what is the point in all this when outside the tower are waiting all these tens of soldiers? Do you think that all as one they will lay down their arms and escape from the Ligen's horror?"
Gilar, which seemed to expect this question, shook his head. "I don't think so. The stone is powerful indeed, but there is too much danger in an open fight against many soldiers, and other who will arrive; therefore I have deeply explored the tower from outside, and I found that the escape from the top room is not impossible: At the side that turns to the east and hidden most of the time from the guards eyes, there is a small balcony. A man who is hanging on its curbs can drop himself down to the level below without risking his bones too much, from that level it's possible to jump off to the roof of the next building, and from there to climb down easily to the narrow passageway.
"However," added Gilar, "remember that I will not see you as a coward if you reject the dangerous task. A meaningful task will be then for you to search the last descendants of Olini and share with them this secret, which so far fell on deaf ears."
There was a long silence.
"Tomorrow I shall present myself at the tower's gate," said Neirosar eventually.
"You are a brave man sire Neirosar Asari," said Gilar, "and your choice also strengthens me my guess about your origin."
Neirosar Stayed for the night at Gilar's place, and at the morning he turned to his crucial task. "May you succeed in your way and we will meet again one day!" with these words they got separated.
Neirosar walked for a long hour, surveying the streets and the different building in his way, while the thoughts are running in his head. Eventually he walked past the soldiers and stepped towards the tower's gate. The big guard rose, holding his spear; in the meantime the predator burst out from its place and approached towards him as closer as its chain allowed, growling and bare its teeth. It stopped a step away from him, sniffed, and then sounded an extended howling. The tower's door got opened and the old nurse appeared on the doorstep, wearing a nice facial expression.
"Welcome, our honored guest! Please do not pay attention to this animal. You are probably one of the crown challengers, aren't you?"
"Truth," answered the warrior, avoiding her eyes. following the guard's command he disarmed his sword and left it on the threshold. He marched after the guard through a wide hall, their steps echoed between the walls. From there they turned into a long passage, lighted by torches, at the edge stood the two big doors. The guard pulled out from his belt a bundle of keys, two of them with an extra size, one made of silver and the other made of bronze. He held the bronze key and directed it to the lock of the left door.
"Open the right door," commanded Neirosar beyond his back. The guard turned around, the warrior stood in front of him ready to fight, holding as a weapon a torch he took from the wall. The guard wasn't delayed, he lift up his spear towards him. The warrior quickly escaped from the spear stings and waved with his torch towards his opponent's face, until his eyes got blinded by the smoke; his hands released the spear and the warrior picked it up and killed the guard with a deadly sticking in his neck.
Now his time came. He has only a short time, and every mistake will lead him directly to devastation. He took the silver key, opened the right door and run across a dark hall. All he could see were the flames of two torches affixed in the far wall in front of him, and the reflection of their light on the floor. Will he find stairs at the end of the hall? Or he is about to be captured in the hands of that abominable creature who will burst out from the dark? Every moment he expected the disaster, but the hall finally ended in a wide spiral staircase leading upward. His heart was lighted with hope. He run upstairs all the way up to the top of the tower, there he stood in front of a door, his hand still holding the spear he took from the guard. He took a deep breath, opened the door and broke into a magnificent room, well lighted from outside. There were two guards which seemed to be numbered with the queen's private guard. Their bodies wrapped with a light armor and their heads covered with sparkling helmets, ornamented with silver and bronze. The two got surprised by the warrior entry, but they regain their composure and drew their swords. They were skilled fighters, But Neirosar's spirit was now lighted with fire, he fought them mightily, escaping from the sword of the one and hitting the second, until he decided them both in his spear. His left hand got bruised but apart from this he suffered no harm.
Now he locked the door from inside and got to the middle of the room. There, on a black marble pedestal, upon a velvet white pillow, was laying the Ligen crown: a quite small golden crown, in its front affixed a large shiny gem, with a deep blue color. He shook. He has never imagined a treasure that is even close to this beauty. His heart was beating like a hammer. He held the crown and the stone lit up. Now there was no doubt: He belongs to Olini's house and the crown is allowed for him.
He looked around and noticed a rucksack upon one of the chairs, he buried the crown in it and shouldered it. From among the abundance of weapons in the room he chose a dagger in a leather scabbard, he attached it to his body beneath the belt, after trying it with two thrusts in the air. At the same moment was sounded a horn blast: an enemy invaded to the tower! Beating of many boots were sounded below, and another sound, blurry, which shook the tower walls. He turned out to the little balcony and watched the surroundings for a moment, estimates the distances. Step by step he did exactly what Gilar guided him: hinged, dropped himself, run and jumped. The jumping between the two buildings took his breath away, but he completed it successfully and eventually got down to the narrow passageway. It was empty from people and gave him a chance to escape from the city.
A disturbance was sounded in the streets together with the sounds of many soldiers who were doing their way towards the tower, but they were late: the warrior escaped from the city lanes with the precious plunder, and was now doing his way stealthily to the forest, which was his only hope to go back to his land. And he already clears his way between the first trees on the city border.
Since the major route of the forest was used constantly by soldiers and passengers, he had to do a long way between the trees thicket without a path, and to hang his hope on the luck one more time. After he went deeper into the forest he stopped for a little while and only then he realized how much he needs a rest and recovery.
He renewed his journey and stepped towards the forest deeps, and yet he found no path. The sun set, the forest darkness started stretching out its sheet, welcomed by the voices of wolves, owls and other night creatures. The howls of the wolves got closer, and their footsteps upon the forest's leaves carpet already reached from nearby. Neirosar then drew out the crown from its hiding place and wore it, to light his way with it. The Liggen shined and expelled the predators, and after a while he even found a path. According to his sense it led in his desirable direction, he filled up with a renewed vigor and started running.
Indeed he seemed to be lucky.
He did a long way without giving a rest to his foot, and his way continued properly. But his hope was interrupted by a rhythmic sound, blurry and ominous, which shattered the forest serenity and brought dread on him. Without a doubt it was the sound of the footsteps of Lingit "fruit of hatred" who was released from his prison and sent to recapture the crown. Apparently he wore the wolf skin in order to follow his footstep, using his sense of smell, and now as he found him he got back to his horrible figure, flooded by fury.
The footsteps sounds got closer and closer, and eventually the huge creature appeared in the curve, at least six cubits tall, his feet like trunks, his body built magnificently and his arms enormous. As he noticed his rival he roared a deafening roar and rushed forward.
Nerisar escaped from him. Whether if it came to his mind to stand for a desperate fight or not, his bruised condition was now lessened the shame of retreat for him. He turned away from the path into the trees thicket, quickly maneuvering his body between the branches. This slowed down only a little his rival who was following the blue light, tramples and smashes everything which stood on his way and little by little closing the gap between them. Suddenly was a sound of a blow and the blue light dropped down and laid inanimate nearby a trunk. It seems that crown carrier stumbled in the root thicket and failed. The creature approached and bended over the light, and at the same moment the warrior dropped down upon him from above and tacked his dagger in his upper back, deep into the giant creature body. The last sounded a bitter cry, and then collapsed to the earth as a rockslide.
Neirosar drew his dagger out from his rival body and stood near him. Dark blood flowed from the wound, the creature moaned and curved, breathing deeply. It injured badly but not mortally. Neirosar was now ready to complete the killing task, but something delayed him and he hesitated. His heart agitated with mercy in front of this poor creature, which the right to choose was taken from it: it born as a part of a malicious plan, its life passed in prison, and it is now also about to end as a result of a trick.
"Now listen to my words to you, Lingrit the fruit of hatred!" cried Neirosar, and look! The creature opened its eyes and looked at him.
"I am Neirosar from the house of Olini. I can kill you now, but I do not do it, and this for you to face the lies which were poured into your mind and lit the fire of your hatred, the hatred that tortures your soul since its birth."
The creature did not make a sound, but for no doubt he heard the words and understood them. And Neirasar then spoke and told him about the plot of his mother the queen Elizi, and the circumstances of his birth.
"I able to bring you cure," he continued, "if only you give me your word of honor and declare that you abandon the path of evil and the aim for which you came to the world."
Lingrit then shifted on its place, curving in inferno tortures, and it seemed that a conflict occurs inside it, which tortures it even more than its wound. Suddenly it opened it mouth and started pronouncing words in a deep throaty voice. "Escape, Olini, hour more, no wound"
Neirosar kept standing. There was silence, and it was like the world around them stood still. And then after a short while Lingrit moaned, closed its eyes and it seemed to be dying. Eventually it opened it mouth and pronounce its last words:
"right speak, Olini son. Only hate you, my heart live, only hates Olini. Now hate dead, I dead, no cure. My end good, no pain more. Goodbye Olini son, thank for my dead, wish revenge my life."
At the end of these words died Lingrit "the fruit of hatred".
And so it was, Neirosar eventually has managed to find a lighted corner that was hidden deep in the soul of the miserable creature. It seems that in some strange way, from among all the descendants of Wisgoth, only this creature carried a bit of the noble blood of its forefather, the king Harlan. It was a relief for Neirosar that this place was the source of its last words, and it had a few moments of peace before his death; and he kept its last wish in his heart. He covered the giant body with dry branches. He dried a tear from his eye and looked forwards: Soldiers probably entered the forest and they are now following the footprints of Lingrit, assisted by dogs.
Neirosar wore the crown again and ran in the path. After a while his worries was confirmed, the sound of horns reached to his ears far from behind. An hour has passed, the sounds got louder and he could now hear also the soldiers cries. And then for his joy, he reached a crossway which was familiar to him from his past journeys; his land is no longer far and the way is known to him. He harnessed all of his strengths and rushed forward. The trees became fewer, the dawn rose, and eventually he quit the forest and continued to the hills of his land, which were now covered with mists. His pursuers were afraid to enter the land that was foreign and hostile for them, they soon gave up the chase and retraced their steps empty-handed to their land.
And so Neirosar brought the Ligen crown back to his homeland. Everyone who saw him was surprised by the sight of the shiny stone and honored him greatly. During the next days, among the people a whisper was spread saying that indeed there was a truth in the Ligen legend, and now the lost-kingdom has returned, and they were filled with hope. An enthused crowd was harnessed to the great labor and aided to Neirosar to rebuild out of the destructions the fortresses and walls of Graug kingdom, and to protect its borders. And so, within a few years the Kingdom was well built and Neirosar has began his tenure as a king.
A few years later, when his army got stronger, the king prepared to come with it upon the kingdom of Wisgoth and to obtain revenge with its leader. He could not forgive the price of blood which her plan took from his relatives, and more than anything still stood in front of his eyes the memory of Lingrit's last hour, and its last wish. He sent scouts to spy on the enemy land, and also to carry a message for one of its citizens, if they will manage to find him – who is none else but his friend Gilar which he asked to invite to him.
The scouts returned with a bunch of news, but the king's friend they have not found.
However, in one stormy winter day at the gate of the hall stood a poor tired wanderer, and asked to stand before the king. By the king's commandment he was well treated and was taken to him, and he was none else but Gilar who wandered over weeks after being uprooted from his place, and their meeting was full of happiness. The king rewarded him handsomely for his large part in the return of the crown, a part which is not less than the king's part itself, as he announced in front of everyone.
Queen Elizi, told Gilar, her fury has not stopped since the day of loss of the crown. All of her plots failed and also her sorcerer remained with no advice. She then removed the noble mask from her face, became a cruel ruler and suppressed all the minority nations which dwelt east to the The Sorceries Forest up to the sea. She appointed a minister and commanded him to build her a large army, to strike her enemy and bring the precious treasure back to her hands.
And the army of House Wisgoth indeed become stronger, but the king of Graug was the first to strike: when winter passed he marched in the head of his army and crossed the border from south to The Sorceries Forest, in the way to east. A great battle was held, which ended when Neirosar achieved a big victory, the enemy was defeated and its institutions were destroyed; the enemy's chief of army surrendered with no conditions, this prevented an unnecessary massacre of soldiers, most of whom were forced to fight in a war they were not belong to; but the most important, queen Elizi and the sorcerer were both captured and brought to sentence in Graug. They been judged severely by the king, who decreed to bring them to the forest to be a prey for the animals, and there, the wolves tore them into pieces.
When all of these events passed, Graug renewed the days of its past. Meanwhile, assisted by the wise, the king has managed to find again the place in which, as the tradition says, the Ligen stone was given to the father of his dynasty; it was a wellspring named "Glorepoll", its holiness kept in secret and the king stated a rule for the sons of his house from now on to visit it and to know it, and this way to get a tight connection to their roots.
The people were happy to see the Ligen stone shining on the king's head, and peace prevailed in the country for many years.
The Sorceries Forest
Since the days of Neirosar, the Ligen crown has passed from father to son for sixteen generations until the tenure of King Griam. Since he considered the crown as a risk and a burden that are unnecessary for peace times, he only rarely carried it in public and preferred to keep it safe in a hidden place in his hall. His son Griadel who ruled after him had not changed this approach, and so along with the crown, heroic stories of the past were forgotten from the heart of people.
After many years as a single, Griadel eventually married a young lady, much to the delight of his family and circle of advisers. The lady gave birth to two sons, that a great love was between them and which were beloved by everyone, and so, happy years came upon the palace and the whole of Graug. The king's sister was the only one who did not take part in the joy, and except from pleasantries she avoided from talking to the king's wife.
Her close friends tried to mumble her. "Look at your brother, how happy he is now, Aren't you happy for him? What fault you have found in his wife? She is a lovely person and an exemplary mother."
But she stayed silent.
"Well," they said to each other, "Jealousy between women is not something new."
"Especially, when talking about a pretty woman who is married to a king."
And they soon gave up their attempts.
Years passed and the king's sons grown and strengthened, they were well trained in sword and became princes and unrivaled warriors in Graug: the elder, Grin, who had black hair, and his younger brother, Blase, who had golden hair. The king's health was weakened, and the coronation time of his successor was approaching; but there was a tradition in Graug, to not coronate a new king before he had experienced in war; or alternatively in peace times like the current time, the successor required to pass a test in which he proved his courage: He had to spend a week alone in The Sorceries Forest, armed with not more than a dagger, and to not come back without a claw of a bear, a fang of a wolf and a horn of a mature deer – evidence for hunt.
Winter time came, the king gathered everyone in a feast, in which there was recounted the entire story of the Ligen crown: the defeat of Graug and theft of the crown, the curse of King Harlan, the plan of "the fruit of hatred" and the recapture of the crown by the brave Neirosar. Everybody's eyes were laid then on prince Grin, who was preparing at these days for his journey at the forest, praises and encourage words was sounded from all around, but the burden of the journey was laid on his heart and he was contemplative and silent.
Eventually he went to the forest. The king made a toast to his success, but at the same day at evening his sister stood before him and asked to talk to him urgently and privately.
"There need to go after Grin to the forest and bring him back immediately, there is a great danger on him."
The king looked at her. "The Forest test is customary in our house for generations, and I do not intend to deviate from it. My son will return from the forest, and if he will fail the test, he will experience in it secondly and thirdly and as much as need to prove courage proper for a king. Why would you doubt his skills?"
"Now you must forgive me," she answered, "I know that my words will not be pleasant to your ear. Look, I have no any doubt in the skills of your son, But –"
"Yes?"
"But the fact that he is really your son," her voice trembled.
The room fell silent. The king's eyebrows contracted, and the eyes beneath them moved from one place to another. "How dare you?" he hissed through his teeth.
"Did not you notice the change in the behavior of your spouse, since the story of the crown was told in the hall, about its being sacred to the descendants of Olini, and the curse that is still laid on it?"
"It is only natural that since that moment my wife realized the severity of the dangers which expecting her son in the journey and afterwards, and her heart was filled with worries, as every mother would react; whereas you both have never been friends to each other, and everyone sees the reality through his own eyes, and interprets it as he understands."
"If so then why, unlike it is expected from every mother, she didn't try to prevent the going of her son into the danger?" and to this she added: "Notice also that Grin does not look similar to you in anything."
There was silence.
"My dear brother!" she held his forearm. "It's been a long time that I suspect that your wife, the one that you love and admire so much, is not like she seems on the outside. I watched her at the hall, how she was shocked by the story that she heard for the first time, about the fate of those who touched the crown and were not belong to the house of Olini. I admit, it's been a long time I suspected that your firstborn did not come from you, and now I have no doubt anymore. Forfend him from touching the crown! But as for his mother, more than to his fate she fears from the punishment that she will get when her betrayal will be revealed."
The king remained deep in tought.
"Please," said the king's sister, "send people after Grin! Before he get caught by villains who will be sent to kill him; and my heart tells me that this indeed what your wife will do, she will not scruple in any way and will not miss such a great chance to avoid a punishment and save her status. This is the worst thing imaginable and this is what I had to say, please forgive me!"
The revelation had not changed the love of the king for his son, who was now found as a stepson. He called his younger son, and in an expressionless face and without sharing the secret with him, he sent him after his brother. It was a night of mid-winter and the coldness penetrated into the bones. Blasé was wondering about the meaning of things, but left immediately to his way on the back of his horse, armed with a sword and a bow.
And as the king's sister guessed, so it was indeed: the queen sent one of her loyalists after her son, to assassin him. At the evening of the second day of his journey in the forest, Grin veered from the main way and went deep into the forest, following the footprints of a mature male deer. He did not suspect anything while that villain silently sneaked (by), aimed and shoot on him a lonely arrow, anointed with poison. The arrow sliced the darkness and stuck in the back's side of the forlorn young man. The last one sounded a bitter cry, staggered and failed and stayed laid motionless in the forest's deep. The accurate shooting satisfied the assassin, but because of the frost and the torrential rain that was then starting, he hastened to retrace his steps without implementing the queen instruction to make sure of the death of the prince and to conceal his body. This probably will be done by the wolves until the end of night, he thought to himself and went to his way.
But the frost has froze the young man's body and slowed down the spread of the poison in his body; and an hour later he was found by his younger brother, who dismounted from his horse and stepped towards the cry he heard. He was horrified by the sight, but then he found that his brother is still alive and needs a cure. He looked back and forth, bewildered and helpless. Meanwhile the rain has stopped. Hither an owl appeared and stood on a tree branch nearby, watching the events with an interest; and when it realized the situation it cried again and again, just like its trying to tell the young man something, and eventually spread its wings and flew away; but after a short while the night bird had returned, followed by a short man with a slim build. Blase realized that the man is a friend, and the last one after looking into his eyes was hurry to give help.
The man turned out to be an animals-tamer who lives in the forest, and his name is Sigol. First of all they carried together the heavy body of Grin to Sigol's small house which was nearby. They drew out the arrow from the body and the animals-tamer brought the iron arrowhead to his nose, and his face turned grim as he smelled the poison. He lit up a fire, heat water and added to it leafs which according to the smell, were belong to some kind of Salvia; in this water he dipped a piece of cloth, disinfect the wound and eventually bandaged it.
"The wound itself is not dangerous," he said, "but it’s a deadly poison that penetrated your brother's body. If he will not receive a medicine, he will die within twenty-four hours."
"Tell me what I have to do, and I will do it," said Blasé, ready to face every mission.
"For this poison there is only one medicine I know, that exists in the forest borders. A big wonderful apple tree grows in a clearing in the forest, a riding day away from here. You have to pick up one of its fruits and let your brother drink its nectar; but this you must do only by using a silk glove which located in a cave not far from here, otherwise the nectar itself will be a poison. A dead-living woman is watching the glove for her son, who is dead since many years. It is told that the man once rescued and rehabilitated the tree after it was corrupt by villains and since then its fruits are poisoned, because the tree remembers. If you manage to win her trust, the woman will let you borrow the enchanted object; but you must bring it back to her not later than the next midnight, otherwise she will chase you until she gets you. Nobody can escape the fury of her revenge: there were people who brought the borrowing back too late, or tried to keep it for themselves, and also when they believed that enough time has passed and nothing can happen – one night they hear a horrible howling nearby their place, and later at the same night they wake up from their sleep, and for their horror they see the dead woman standing by their bed; and she kills them and bring back the theft."
The young man was horrified by the words, but was not recoiled by the task. "Where is the apple tree?" he asked.
"The tree is in the north of the forest," answered the animal-tamer and added detailed instructions for the route. "A riding on that horse of yours with no delay, will bring you to there and back in time."
Blase thanked him deeply, mounted his horse and immediately went to his way, first to the cave; and he got there after riding hour. In a careful step he entered and marched in a dark narrow path, which at its edge there was a light. He passed the entrance and entered a small room, quarried in the rock. An empty bed was there, above it there was a shelf which upon it was laid the green silk glove. In front of him, with her back to him was sitting a black-hair woman, staring at the empty bed. Suddenly in a sharp move she turned around on her place towards him. His blood froze in him. Dark wide-opened eyes looked at him from a completely pale face. Because of the horror he figured to turn away his face, but regained his composure and stood in the blazing look. Eventually the woman turned around back and continued to stare at the bed. Afterwards she got up from her chair, went to the wall and poured oil in the lamps. Blase moved his hand towards the glove that on the shelf and took it in front of her eyes, but the woman continued her matters with no any response, and he saw this as a confirmation to go and continue his way.
For long hours he rode in a moderate speed in the forest darkness, between the trees walls that rose above both the path sides. Rain shards from the trees fell all the time upon his face and kept him awake. From time to time he passed on wood bridges over the raging river that crossing the forest. So far nothing disturbed his journey, but after he crossed the river at the fifth time he become careful, because he was now got close to the lairs of the cannibals tribe – which is the same wild tribe who assisted queen Elizi in her time, by giving their seed for her abomination plan. Eventually the dawn has rose, and in the day light which becoming stronger he speeded up his horse and rode a long way. Then suddenly, at the side of the path ahead of him he noticed two figures. A moment later arrows sliced the air and flew just near him. He was not tarried: he stopped his horse and with a light and skilled hand he drew out an arrow from his quiver, through the arc, aimed and shoot. One of the figures failed down. Now he drew out his sword and rushed forwards. A shot arrow passed a tiny distance from his ear. He caught his rival and hit him with the sword. The injured man escaped into the thicket.
Due to the lack of time Blase gave up the pursuit after him. He continued riding there for a while and saw no more signs for the tribe people. He turned to the right in one of the branching according to Sigol instructions, and before noon time he reached the place where the path started winding and climbing up. At the end of the windings he discovered a forest clearing lush of grass, in its center there was a huge apple tree. A shiver passed the leafs from the bottom up to the top, when Blase brought his hand covered with the glove between the branches, and he then chose and picked up one of the ripe juicy fruits. Meanwhile his horse earned a short break and a meal from the fresh grass.
Full of hope, he turned to his way back. His way was now well lighted by the noon sun, and went smoothly. But then his luck betrayed him and he was ambushed by the people of the wild tribe, who shot many arrows from several directions. He speeded up his horse and rode like a storm, and almost managed to escape the range of the bows – when the horse was hit in its neck by one of the arrows. The miserable loyal animal still managed to run for a while and rescue his rider from the ambush, before it collapsed and dead.
Blase cried bitterly, wishing for revenge in the damned tribe people. He was now deeply regretted for letting his injured rival escape, few hours earlier at the same place itself. With no other choice he started walking in the path. As long as he is alive, he thought, he must harness every possible effort and to do his best to come back within the time limit. He got rid of his sword and arc and any other load that was unnecessary now, and started running. He kept on for a while, but eventually failed under the efforts and stopped to take breath. His mind turned blur, he shuffled his feet in the path, panting and close to exhaustion and desperation, when according to his estimation most of the way is still ahead of him.
Hither suddenly his ear caught a sound of horse footsteps. He raised his head and listened, and the sound indeed was not a delusion of his imagination: the sound which came from the front got louder. He now ignored the sense of caution and kept going on the path; for any case, he still kept his short-blade dagger. The footsteps sound continued getting louder, and eventually he could see a lonely rider, who approached up to him and stopped his horse. His appearance and costume could not indicate his belonging to any folk or kingdom known to the prince; He had an aquiline nose under wise eyes.
"Hello Sir!" cried the young man.
The rider examined in his eyes the face and costume of Blase. "It seems to me that today was not going well for you, young man. Any news from the north?"
"Your eyes did not mislead you. The wild tribe people, a curse on them! They are who killed my horse... I desperately need a riding animal, a mater of life and death for me and for my brother! I will pay you with lot of gold for the horse, or for a ride on its back, if only you give me the credit for this."
"Who are you and where are you going to?" asked the rider. "And why do you expect from me to trust the word of a stranger passenger?"
"You are right of course, forgive me for my fatigue caused me to forget my manners and I did not introduce myself. I am prince Blase of the house of Olini, and who are you?"
"Prince Blase of the house of Olini! My goodness!" cried the rider and dismount from his horse, in order to not be higher than the prince while talking to him. He gestured with a salutation and a smiled faintly. "I am Trokal, a researcher of the ancient time".
Blase who was always deeply interested in the ancient time became curious, but his time was too short for satisfying his curiosity and he answered with a quick salutation. "The way in front of you is infested with the wild tribe people. Don't you fear them? What say you?"
The stranger stayed silent for a while and eventually said: "prove that you are indeed a prince of the house of Olini; I will ask you three questions about this house, and if you answered them all correctly then we shake hand for agreement; and my horse will be given to you in the fixed price of an eight-year-old horse, because I am not interested of making benefit from someone's trouble."
Blase welcomed the kind offer, and the stranger asked his first question: "What was the name of Olini's father?"
"King Harlan," Blase answered immediately.
The stranger nodded and asked his second question: "How many generations have passed in the house of Olini since the days of Neirosar until tenure of king Griadel, which you claim to be his son?"
"Seventeen generations," Blase answered after he strained his memory for a moment.
Trokal nodded and asked his last question: "What is the name of the wellspring in which the Ligen stone was sanctified?"
"Glorepoll wellspring!" Blase answered, enthused and satisfied from his luck that smiled to him again. The stranger handed him the reins and gestured him with a deep salutation, then he picked up his bag and buried a number of objects that he pulled out of the saddle bags.
"What can I say? You earned your part fairly, your highness, shall this horse carry you faithfully to your destination!"
As if all of his tiredness gone at once, Blase rode southward on the back of his new horse, at the path that was getting dark at nightfall. One after another he crossed the river on the wood bridges. Darkness had covered the forest, but his way moved on unhindered.
About half an hour before midnight time he reached the cave and brought the silk glove to its place, under the inquiring eyes of the dead-living woman. He was very relieved to leave that place. At midnight hour he came back to the small shed, where his brother was laying unconscious under the care of the animals-tamer. Blase gave the fruit that he picked up from the tree to his fellow, and the last one produced from it the juice. He poured it into the mouth of the injured, and poured it also on the wound place, and lo! The young man woke up from his fainting, raised himself up to sitting and looked around, as if he had never been injured and only woke up from a sleep. Blase was filled with boundless joy.
Grin only after a while could remind in his confused mind in the arrow that was shot to him in the dark. The younger completed for him the story of the last twenty-four hours, when he is diminishes the importance of his deeds, but the elder could see on his face the signs that left from the journey hardships, and since then he was always grateful to him. The identity of the assassins and their purpose stayed unclear for now. The brothers gave their deep thanks to the animals-tamer and promised him the friendship of their house, and everything that he wants which they can give – but he asked nothing for himself. Grin intended to resume his mission, but eventually he was convinced by his brother that the risk is too great, and that it is better first of all to follow the traces of the assassins.
And so it was, the brothers finally came back safe and sound to the hall. Everybody wondered about the early return of the prince Grin empty handed from the forest, but at the next days things became clear.
"Our son Blase showed heroic in the forest," said the king to his wife, "and proved beyond any doubt that he himself deserved the crown, doesn't he?" and he looked at her face.
The queen avoided his look. "Yes indeed, my dear!" she answered with hesitation. "How good is that our sons came back from the forest and will no longer need to put their lives in their hands."
The king nodded to agree.
"When do you intend to have the coronation ceremony?" the queen added a question.
"Right after the execution of my treacherous wife," answered the king with glazed eyes, as if he was talking about grain growing. The queen fainted on the spot.
As she returned to recognition she was right away led to the basement, there she was investigated until she admitted all of her deeds, and gave the names of her partners (including the assassin). The truth shook the royal family, and most of all the half-brothers princes. The king and his consultants had a complete agreement about that the execution of the queen on the gallows will be the best way for the king to keep his dignity in these circumstances; however it was actually Grin who requested to reduce the punishment of his mother, because he remembered also another days in her company, at the time of his youth.
"Her severe deeds are unforgiven indeed," he said, "but all of them were derived by a selfish concern for herself and not by evilness, she is not evil as Elizi or Wisgoth."
After he considered the situation gravely, the king decided to accede for the request. The only one to be executed was the assassin, while the rest three adulterers were thrown solitary into the confinement for an unlimited time.
The queen was banished from the kingdom when she is wearing rags like a prostitute, to the sight of the people. During her leaving there were derogatory exclamation by the crowd, and exclamation in the praise of Olini house, and the dignity of the king was kept. The queen, after losing everything, her beauty was also gone and no one stayed by her side, and she had to beg for alms in a foreign land. Her shame was so great, that even the gallows often seemed to her as a less punishment. However the king's sister was known since then in her loyalty and wisdom.
A few days later Blase was crowned to a king and everyone praised his courage. His half-brother bore no any grudge for him, and after a while he accepted his fate, and his place in the royal house was not diminished; but one day a voice commanded him to retire from his house and to found a stronghold of his own with strong corps; and he attributed a deep meaning to this voice and requested to establish a principality of his own, nearby the northern border. And his request was acceded, but there were always love and loyalty between both the houses.
The Last War
After the tumult of the coronation, life slowly got back to routine. But something kept on disturbing the mind of king Blase, something which he could not put the finger on. For the first time since his return from the forest, he could spend some time with himself, ponder the things and arrange them in his head. All of the events and the figures involved in them passed through his mind, one after another: his banished mother with her partners, his father, his brother, Sigol the animals-tamer and the dead woman from the cave; the memory of her figure made him shiver but she was not the issue, therefore his mind continued towards the crooked-face people of the wild tribe, and the mysterious rider who rescued him when giving him his horse.
The horseman! This is indeed the figure that disturbs his mind through the fog which covers it. Where he came from and where he went to? And why until this very moment he has not appeared in the hall to get the payment he deserved? Then popped up a question that is even more disturbing: how come this stranger showed such a deep knowledge in the history of the house of Olini? Blase recalled then in the questions he was asked by the rider as a proof for his title, and suddenly he got a shock.
"Glorepoll wellspring!" he said to himself, "unintentionally I revealed to him our top secret, that this is the holy wellspring in which the Ligen Stone was given to the father of our dynasty, once upon a time. Alas! This information with no doubt was precious to him immeasurably more than the price of a lone horse. And here is, the questions game that he played was completely forged and was made for this purpose. I was blurred and exhausted at that time, and he deceived me with his slyness and extracted from me by the way the name of the wellspring. A curse on me that I failed in such a trap!
The failure of queen Elizi did not brought the end to the dynasty of Wisgoth; it went underground again, this time in a wild land southern to Graug, and its sons continued to bear their grudge to the house of Olini, and to formulate an idea to recapture of the Ligen crown; but since the failure of Elizi they have put all of their efforts on searching a way to remove from the crown the curse of king Harlan. For this they established and assembled a secret council of sages and sorcerers, that this was all of its purpose.
And so, at the days of king Griadel in Graug, at Wisgoth dynasty rose up prince Galatar, who had increased in his stature and evilness over all of his predecessors. and at his days the council has deepened its knowledge, and found that the curse can be removed by the man who will hold the crown after dipping in the water of the holy wellspring after three days of fast – provided that his spiritual level is not lower than the one of king Harlan who put the curse at the same place, otherwise the water will effect him in a similar way of the crown touch.
Now all is left for the council was to find the holy wellspring.
So, it was like the fate stood then at the side of the evil prince, since that mysterious horseman who encountered the unlucky prince Blase, was none else but one of the council members; and as told, with his slyness he managed to extract the name of the holy wellspring from the prince.
When the name of the wellspring had reached to his ears, Galatar went alone and secretly to the land of Graug, disguised as a hobo; and he found the wellspring and dipped in its water unobserved, and was not damaged by it. For the moment he continued to maintain his anonymity, letting his enemies to rest on their laurels; but secretly he has already begun to device an army and to seek for allies among leaders of folks and tribes, who lend an ear to his promises about treasure and power.
A few years later, when his army became strong enough, Galatar exposed himself and challenged king Blase. He sent him a message by a courier: "In order to bring an end for the ancient conflict between both the houses and to prevent another bloodshed, his highness Galatar is ready to meet you for a duel wherever you chose, including your own court, provided that the prize for the winner will be the Ligen crown; and in case you win, Galatar will disarm his corps."
Due to the fury at these words and the threat that is hinted in them, Blase tended to accept the challenge, but his heart had not allowed him to risk his people only for the sake of his dignity. "Why does your impertinent master think that I should fight for my own property?" he answered to the courier, "tell him that the one who challenges me will bring himself a bitter end, and now get out of here."
Galatar has received the king's reply with indifference and with no surprise, and at the meantime continued to gain power: the first ones with whom he made allies were the people of the wild tribe, which at that time increased in numbers and became a cruel folk that threatened the whole Sorceries Forest; afterwards one after another came small kings who surrendered the threats of Galatar and his powerful personality, and made one hand with him.
Meanwhile, at the other side the king of Graug commanded to strengthen the fortifications and to prepare the army for a big war. Two years later, the courier of Galatar came back to him. He displayed for all to see an amputated palm, very large and armored with iron. "This palm," said the courier, "was belong to the greatest warrior of the Murikalds, who was defeated by my master. Will you now accept his challenge for a duel, or would you reject it again?"
The king noticed the doubts at the eyes of his consultants. "Go to your master," he told the courier, "and don't come back here without his sword, which will be a sign for us that he has abandoned this way he had chosen, otherwise we will declare war on him and strike him badly."
And the courier once again came back to his master, who was begun preparing for a war.
That palm which was displayed before the king, was indeed belong to one of the Murikalds: a northern and rare folk of enormously grown warriors. Their hands from the elbow to the fingertips had a natural cover of iron, and the strength of their punch was equal to the hit of a wild ox. In fact, the only way to defeat them in a battle was to hit with an arrow (or a blade) directly in their hearts, or into one of their eyes. At that year prince Galatar did a journey to their land, and taunted them. After he defeated their greatest warrior in a duel, the ridiculing smile had been removed from the face of their leader, and he was willing to make alliance with him and enlist his people to his service. And so it was that Graug was actually surrounded by its enemies: the areas at south and south-west was settled by Galatar and his ally kingdoms; at the east was The Sorceries Forest that was infested with the wild tribe people, while at the north the frightful Murikalds were waiting for command, the alliance with them kept in secret, which was the base for the main hope of Galatar to win the coming war.
Eventually at a night time, the couriers of Galatar went away to his various allies and delivered the command missive in their hands. A week later Graug was invaded by tens of thousands of soldiers, and a war started, large and blood-soaked. The soldiers of Graug fought bravely despite their inferiority in number, and repulsed the attack; but as the darkness came pounced on them masses from the wild tribe people: strong warriors who more than anyone else are skilled in night-fighting; and there were among them some who wore a figure of wolf, frightful and deadly, and they brought horror to the hearts of Graug soldiers, who retreated backwards.
So in a troubled hour, to the light of the rising dawn, king Blase went to battle when the Ligen stone is shining on his head; and his soldiers once again broke out the enemy lines. They smote its soldiers hip and thigh, in front of Galatar who was observing the battle from the peak of one of the hills, filled with rage towards the missing Murikalds.
But the Murikalds did not break the agreement with him as he thought. Only that in their way from the north they had encountered with a force that was not known to anyone outside the borders of Graug: the corps of the principality of Grin.
After he had retired from the kingdom, prince Grin had found as told, a separated principality at the northern border, with a force of its own. It was surely a small one, counts no more than three-thousand individuals, but they were all an elite soldiers and horsemen who were trained by Grin himself, to fight fearless with all kinds of weapon; and they all lived together and knew each other, in an unmatched comradeship.
Now, when the Murikalds arrived from the mountains heights of the north, they were discerned by the principality guards; because the only way that connected Graug with the north passed in a saddle that was observed constantly by the people of Grin; and they ambushed the galloping Murikalds and exterminated many of them in a sudden attack, by accurate shots and rolling boulders from the top of the slope. The hundreds that had remained fought back and destroyed about third of Grin's force, but eventually they were killed to the last.
A great battle which was rather equal was held at the third day of the war, at the foot of Graug's walls, and the armies dwindled. The scales were in favor of Graug, but then Galatar himself appeared in the battlefield, in his wrath he slaughtered everyone who stood in his way, and his soldiers were storming after him in frenzy. The lines of Blase's army were breached and the dead bodies of his soldiers filled up the battlefield. Graug was standing on the edge of defeat, and its king along with handful of his bravest soldiers were pushed towards the walls gates; and at that place met him Galatar, whose eyes lit up with madness to the sight of the Ligen crown.
At that moment there was sounded in the battlefield, loud and clear, the trumpet blast of Grin's principality. These had not rested, and arrived from the north right after their victory over the Murikalds. The main force stormed now and massacred the surprised enemy, whereas the small spearhead of twelve warriors including Grin himself, pushed his way up to the walls gates. There they have seen the Blase fighting alone and undaunted, defending and retreating, against Galatar and eight of his people that were trying to encircle him. Grin and his warriors stormed and struck the attackers, roaring the battle cries; and the mighty Galatar had killed many of them in his sword, until he surrendered to the tip of Grin's blade.
And this brought the end of the battle and the entire war.
and so, after all it was Grin who saved the kingdom of Graug at that fateful hour; and he was happy to repay the debt to his brother, who in its time had not spared any effort to save him from the hand of death.
After this war, in which fell galatar, the greatest ever of the sons of the dynasty of Wisgoth, the flame of this dark dynasty has extinguished, and no one had dared again to challenge the kingdom of Graug.