Newblood - A fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo 2018; CHAPTER-2: The Last Grendale

There were many questions Mahon wanted to ask about his parents and how he had come to be brought up by Scoliers. Before he could put his thoughts into a question Pinnet asked him. "Why did you free a condemned man? Every soldier in Shamarank is looking for you?"
Mahon hid his surprise well but his resentment was apparent "You are here to advise me to mend my ways?"

Pinnet pressed on. "They know it is a mixblood behind this series of crimes. It is only a matter of time that they catch you."
Mahon replied still not willing to back down. "There are many mixblood in Shamarank. And only a few trusted people know about me any way. Why are you here?"

"A nice way to greet your godfather." Pinnet remarked, observing Mahon's discomfort.

Mahon chose to remain silent, till he was able to grasp what was going on.

Pinnet nodded as if approving and changed tack. "I need your help."

"What can I do for you, master?"

Pinnet leaned forward over the table and said in a somber tone. "You have a sister. A twin, Aasia. She has gone missing. I need you to help me find her.

Mahon was shocked. "Sister! Here in Shamarank?"

Pinnet continued. "No! She lived with me at Takhsila. We will have to go there."

Mahon had not been more than a days travel away from Shamarank, ever. And leaving his parents, his city seemed a tall order.

Pinnet changed tack again. "Tell me about Shamarank, how many live here and how are they spread out?"

A part of Mahon's mind continued to reel under the revelation that he had a sister. Being on familiar turf Mahon answered. "Shamarank is spread over 3 leagues East to West and about the same from the shore to the Marrank iron mines in the north.The North Eastern corner is the planned city accessible through the three bridges over Shamar river. On the near bank is the huge Administrative quarter and commercial district with a few residential areas close to the main road leading from the docks to the North gate. The rest of the city is a free zone where anyone with money can lease property from the Governor. Most of the city people stay in this 'inner' city , many are miners and dock workers. Others are employed by the Governor House as civil maintenance staff or militia. The rest are small shopkeepers, businessmen, brokers, contractors, Inn keepers and the like."

"What is wrong with this situation?"

Mahon hesitated for a moment but then answered. "Most people don't own anything and will never leave the shanties they live in. The few who own and run Shamarank keep earning more and more; they are mostly Elves."

"And it has been so since the last three hundred years. Starting with the reign of Gwindel the first, who united the Elven people under the Grendale banner and established the Kingdom- from the deserts of Kamara in the East to the Misty wilds in the West and from the Iron mountains to the North to the shores of the Nether sea. What do you know of Grendale?"

"Only that the house Grendale was wiped out by King Koram when he came to power and the area which was till then called Grendale was absorbed into Highmeadow"

"That is true. Even though Grendale was overrun years ago by an alliance between Highmeadows and traitor clans of Grendale; Koram thought to destroy the clan identity of Grendale clan- the ones who nurtured the Grendale valleys. Mahon, you may be one of the few survivors of house Grendale."

Mahon got up "But..." then he sat down again. Pinnet pushed the still warm cocoa towards him and sat back waiting in silence. Mahon sipped the cocoa, still trying to make sense of the world as his past collided with his present. "Who are my parents?"

Pinnet nodded at him, he had expected this question. Answering it was opening wounds Pinnet had long chosen to forget. " They are both dead. Your mother was princess Ellysia grand- daughter of the last Grendale King, Merlin the second. Your father was the exiled prince Zarafar."

Mahon experienced a deep disappointment. He did not know anything about them. They were just names of strangers.

Pinnet stood up. "Mahon you need to hurry. "The Butcher" has come to Shamarank probably to end the spree of criminal acts you have a hand in. Also I don't know how secure the network Grey has set up is. It is best we leave Shamarank before dusk."

Mahon replied. "OK but first I need to speak to my.. parents."

Pinnet said. "That is fine. But mind you they don't know you are Grendale. For them you are one of the scores of mixblood refugees coming down from the Great Lake. And Grey is one of the many people that form the underground network which works against Elven tyranny."

The Scoliers were ready to let Mahon go with Pinnet. They had been preparing for this moment. Yet they cried openly, standing at the door waving as Pinnet, Mahon and Sardy- Pinnet's guide and companion, rode away. They passed out of the Western gates and headed along the main road towards the fishing village of Bolton about five leagues away. Pinnet had led Mahon aside before the beginning of their journey and told him that they would speak about Mahon, Aasia and their legacy only in private; even Sardy was not aware of who Mahon was. So their journey to Bolton was mostly silent and entirely uneventful. Both the inns at Bolton were crowded and they could manage to get only one room at
The Blue Fin, Sardy gamely opted to sleep over the stables.

Pinnet, Sardy and Mahon had a simple meal of black bread and clam soup with mashed potatoes. The main hall was crowded mostly by the traders leaving Shamarank and a popular topic of discussion seemed to be the arrival of The Butcher and how business would suffer for some days to come. Sardy stayed for ale while Pinnet and Mahon retired early to their room.

Pinnet took up his narration again. "Leo Grendale was a good person who respected all, regardless of race. He liked to read and study as much as he liked to travel. His father King Merlin was too busy with politics to bother about him much. Leo studied in Grendale, Farside and Fernvale before coming to Iron Mountain. There he was friends with my da and in the three years Leo stayed there, he and my da became close enough for Leo to become my godfather. It was a big thing for da. Iron mountain is a conservative society and mixbloods are not looked at with favor. Years later Leo called for me to guard your mother- princess Ellysia.

Leo had defied all convention- inspite of being a heir to the Grendale throne he had married a human- Felicity. For Leo this was perfectly OK. He was a firm believer in the sanctity of life. He had argued for years that every race had it's own strong points. Elves were good at many things but humans invented many useful things like cantilevers and springs and wind up watches and toys and the Aughoras had mined fantastic gems and rare metals. Many were of the opinion that this radical view hurt the Elven pride. Many clan leaders had openly spoken for Leo to step down as heir and Leo understood perfectly that his view was never going to be accepted. He was ready to step down and had conveyed this to his father King Merlin, in front of witnesses.

Princess Felicity died in childbirth. The first time I saw Ellysia, I fell in love with the child. Her carefree smile, her green eyes, the way she tied her unruly red hair and the way she revelled in life. She was very powerful in earth magic but she was not trained for it because we had to flee Grendale. Leo had come to know about the attack by Highmeadow twelve hours in advance. That is why there were so many problems the attacking soldiers had to face when they entered the palace.

King Merlin refused to run away even though he knew his own ministers and officers were complicit and if he stayed he would die. Leo could not leave his father alone against such overwhelming odds, he felt responsible for this predicament. Ellysia, two of her maids, I and five other guards had slipped out of Grendale before the attack began. We also carried the artifacts of house Grendale and a huge amount of gold and gems. Ellysia was sixteen then. On the run we received news of the siege of Grendale. It took nine days for the attacking soldiers to kill King Merlin along with his loyal supporters. In the next three months Koram of Highmeadow contrived to get the backing of four of the clan lords and got himself nominated King Koram. Then the pogrom to wipe out house Grendale began.

How she came to meet Zarafar the exiled Aghouri prince is a long tale by itself. He saved us from certain death- twice. They fell in love and married. Those seven months in Farside were the happiest time of Ellysia's short life. Highmeadow warriors had tracked us. They were led by "The Tiger of Yillend" a very powerful mage elf. They managed to surround the villa where you were born before tripping the magical shields prince Zarafar had been putting up every day. You were triplets- two sons and one daughter. I could save only you and Asia. Everybody else died that day." Pinnet ended, his mouth a silent grimace.

Mahon lay silent for some hours, sleep evading him. When he did sleep it was fitfully, having disturbing dreams he could not remember when he awoke before dawn. Then Mahon cried for the first time in his adult life. He could not explain why or even what it was that he was grieving, only that the sense of loss was profound and crying made his heart feel right.

Aasia had slept just some minutes ago when she woke up. Her throat tightening and tears welling up in her eyes, the sense of grief and loss was markedly strong. And for the first time in years she felt the image of her mother, she had built up from Pinnet's narrations, stirring in her mind.