There was dismay in the eyes of all that had heard the intention of the king and at that moment, Aios was able to read the care for him in all their eyes.
"I bid you to reconsider, your superior," Omis said and knelt. The men that had come with him did the same.
"Are you keeping your heads from danger?" Aios asked.
"I will join you in battle as my fathers and forefather have done. I will join you as I have also done. If I did join you, none of my men are staying behind. You know this, superior one. But the court needs to sit on this," Omis said, with his head still lowered.
"He has spoken well, superior one," Clios said and stepped close to the throne.
"Consus' counsel has been the best than his fathers ever gave. I pray that you listen to him and have this matter subjected to the court," Clios said.
"Superior one, this is a step towards violence. The orcs are stirred against all septs and we can't deny this. A step into their territory would depict war and they won't hold back. The coven of the witches would help to cast sleep on you and the thought would be kept till the court sits on it," lord Consus said.
"I know what to do to get into the realms that sleep opens for me, lord Consus. I have done it and it was better to stay awake. These thoughts hunt and haunts me in my dreams. I can see it; I can feel it. it is today or never and being today, it is now. Listen, you all from the royal throne," Aios said at the peak of his voice and the lords and soldiers in the court stiffened for the royal fiat that was about to come.
"I, Aios Legenthi, first of my name, and the king in the north declare a visit to the territory of the orcs. By no means is anyone tied to this order. You may all turn back; I will go alone. Ready he unicorn," Aios said and tapped.
After his decree, he stepped down from the throne where he stood and took the rungs that led him to the center of the court and then walked between the lords and soldiers that remained stiffened before him.
At the front of the courtyard was the winged unicorn that had been prepared at the tap of his fingers and a servant molded into a stool and sat beside the unicorn. Clios was out to the courtyard and there was Consus the bald wise man behind him while Omis the commander and his selection of the ten best were with him too. There were horses for them all and they mounted it too after Aios had sat on his unicorn. With one of his hands on the reins and the other holding firm the sword from the heavens, he rode towards the gate of the palace and his entourage behind him.
Servants of the royal house all bowed as Aios rode in the street and all chorused "Most Superior."
When they were close to the gate, Aios called his unicorn to a stop as there was a furious ride from behind him. His entourage stopped too and they all turned to see Felethy racing towards them.
"It is the princess, your superior," Clios said with a smile.
They all watched as Felethy jumped from her horse and ran towards the crew. She towered in stature just as Aios and for every fairness that Aios possessed as a man, Felethy had it in multiples. Her hair was longer such that it was adapted into a weapon, her eyes were all white, and was magically gifted in the face of danger, she was also a skilled warrior and the commander of the elves' forces in the women's wing.
"Father, where are you off to with sword in the hand and the shield garment?" she asked.
"This is beyond you, Felethy," Aios said with a smile. He knew how persuasive Felethy was and wasn't ready for a debate.
"Where are you going father? You cannot order me to return, I am a lord in your court and I deserve to know. Uncle, you should know," Felethy said and turned to face Clios.
"We want to meet Bolobas, we want to try and bent the prophecy," Clios said.
"I see the wise one in the squad. If he agrees, then it is possible," Felethy said and looked at lord Consus who bowed slightly and muttered…. "My princess."
"I am going too," Felethy said and sighed.
"As I have said, Felethy, this is beyond you," Aios said and ensured that a smile didn't break through on his face. He knew all that she would do, he knew she would either try to stop him from taking the trip or she would want to follow, of which none of which was guaranteed.
"Is it a dangerous trip?" Felethy asked.
"I know you have tried all you could in the past to keep me from danger and you would stop me if this is dangerous too. I should be in the squad if it is a safe trip. I want to protect my king," Felethy said and bowed.
Aios looked into Clios face and saw that he consents. He swerved toward Consus' direction and he nodded too.
"You can come then," Aios said and rode out of the gate.
When they were out of town, Aios' winged unicorn spread its wings and up into the sky, it went while the horsed entourage followed behind. The routes that led to the territories of the orcs were known to be ugly as their faces and their judgments, making it hardly possible for human horses to trod. But the magic that envelops the elves and all that belonged to them quickened the horses that the entourage rode and what should have cost them three nights only cost six hours. The horses were quickened and were granted the energy of the stars, making them tireless and their feet with extra-temporal agility.
***
In the territory of the orcs, Aios saw the described ugliness according to the annals that he had read and the myths that have flown from generations. The plants were darkened and he wondered how growth happened to them. They stood in a mash land and there, Aios saw the reason for the dark appearance that the plants possessed as the waters that ran in the ground was dark as well. Debris covered the spaces before them and long as their eyes could see was a narrow path that had been created on the rock by the feet of the orcs whenever they march out to war.
With his magical eyes, Aios followed the path and saw the great dark gate, concealing the evil that was happening behind the walls although the sounds could be heard; there were screeches, growls, and roars, all from afar and it signaled the exhuming, and the creation of ancient creatures that were to be listed for warring purposes.
"The gate is opened," Aios said when he saw it.
"Ready!" Omis said to his men and they raised their crossbows.
"Lower it," Aios ordered and Omis relayed the order to his men.
"There shall be no violence here," Aios said.
"All your bows for an orc and a bulldog?" he added.
"Father, is it Bolobas?" Felethy asked.
"No. A messenger. He is sent to inquire what our presence denotes," Aios answered. He knew Felethy wanted to see him. She was fond of him when he was still in the fold and if anyone in the north would forgive Bolobas for his crimes, Felethy would, without the basics of politics as he had intended.
No sooner had Aios given his response than the messenger approached the group. The bull on which he rode zoomed furiously in their direction and it was as though it was never going to stop. Separated by six feet, the orc pulled the reins to a stop and caused the dark dirty mud to be spilled on Aios' white and unblemished unicorn. Aios raised his hand, knowing that the act would anger his men.
The malodorous scent filled the space and there was nothing that could be done about it, but Felethy covered her nose with her hand. Aios stared into the orc's face and saw him struggling to gain control of the bull that he rode. As he stared, he saw another angle of their failure in the creatures that they were summoning through black magic. He could have been taken out with a shot if he wanted violence but he saw that they had orderliness too. They were not so dumb to not know a truce as he had thought of them.
When the orc was done with the bull. He raised his head and sniffed with his half-broken nose. There was a heavy gash on his head which signified survival in a war and he had never been totally healed from it as there were blotches of black colloid fluid seeping from it. He wasn't a being that would stand upright if he were to come down from his ride as he was bent in the stomach region.
"Elves," he said in his crooked and hoarded voice, more of the sounds by toads in waterlogged areas after a sniff and moving his eyes across their faces.
"Yes, elves from the north. I, Aios Legenthi, first of my name and the lord over the northern…"
"Aios," the orc cut in and growled.
"Greetings to the king of the orcs, if there is one. I seek the presence of Bolobas Legenthi, once an elf, now an orc. Take my words to him," Aios said and watched the orc as he growled in anger. He wriggled his head to the left and then fast across his right. When he was done with what seemed to display his anger, he pulled the reins of his bull and zoomed through the path that he took when he came.
"They are preparing, always, your superior. They now ride on bulls," Clios said and Aios gave no response. He acknowledged their growth too.
After some moment of silence, Aios looked into the space and saw that that gate opened again. This time there were more proceeding out from the gate and Bolobas was before them.
"He is coming. Bolobas is coming," Aios said.