Sweet Waters Throne

220 Chapter 22No matter how much his friends advised him to start a rebellion, collect his own army and make his way towards Blackmount, Aprophil still hesitated. Jordy also played part in advising him against it, she said the cries of Maldonians weren’t his to bear. “They are not your people, and they will not save you when you burn” Jordy insisted this.

So now Aprophil was caught between listening to his allies and friends or his mother and wife, Miranda also was against the idea of fighting for the throne, she called it a suicide mission.

But what did Aprophil want? He was ought to listen to himself and what he truly wanted, which was the Sweet Waters throne. At first he had no thoughts about the throne or whatsoever, he was a merchant making his gold coins and living a luxurious life. But the moment he saw Amabel claiming his throne, that moment was priceless.

It was as if Amabel turned into a god, the crown on his head changed who he was and Aprophil wanted that. Not because he was greedy for bigger things, but because it was his by right. The throne belonged to him, and now his people were calling out for him.

One particular night during the hour of the wolf, Aprophil left his wife sleeping on their bed and sneaked out of his castle. He took his ship and sail to Sea Tone, his allies, the ebony Lords assured him that’s where the opposition was stiff ─ it’s because of Matthew who died because of defying the King. The riots were intense in Sea Tone, all the houses which raised a red sigil in support of the King were burned down.

The city was surrounded by sailors and fishermen, no one expected to have warriors and soldiers in it until the days of riots. Lord Hofun was forced to step down or killed, he chose the former and abandoned the city, he rode to Blackmount to see the king’s help. Aegon Hofun dared not to speak against the angry folks, he also left the castle and disappeared to Arkala with his wife and children.

Maggie, the wife of Matthew received the best treatment from those considered the angry folks and rebels. Their leader, a huge man standing at six foot five with a goatee granted her a passage to Penrith with ten thousand gold coins, this man’s name was Samwell Marshall and he was the one carrying out public gatherings and the new Lord of Sea Tone.

Samwell Maeshall was seven and thirty, he weighed over two hundred pounds and he was a terrifying man gifted with his sword. The good folks called him a god of war, his usual weapon was the war harmer which he could only lift it since it was too heavy. Samwell called out Artemis and challenged him to a duel, he took a hold of Sea Tone while advising other good folks to take control of other cities or he will have to do it for himself.

Having seized Sea Tone, this sailor thought he was capable of seizing more cities, and his next stop was Horriss. Hawk Horiss was the current Lord of Horriss and he shared blood with the King, many thought Hawk would never betray his cousin Artemis, no matter how much bad blood existed between these two and the wounds of Battle of Stonedance still lingered between their families.

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Hence if Hawk wouldn’t join up with the rebels, as Samwell was recorded saying, “I will crush his head with my harmer, rape his mother and father a bastard with his wife” and he clearly meant trouble.

The rumors about this so called god of war who managed to secure Sea Tone made it’s way to Aryan, right after she fled Lydia. What happened in Lydia left her soulless, she only had one thing in her mind and that’s to kill Artemis. Cregan Lawsend was dead during this time, Aryan sneaked inside his chambers and slit his throat. But before she did that, Aryan allowed Cregan a moment to confess.

“Why did you do it? Why did you poison my brother?” she asked him, a sharp knife was on Cregan’s neck.

Cregan didn’t even move, they had a little bit of fighting earlier before Aryan finally defeated him and grabbed his sword. Now they were all alone and the doors were barred, no one was coming for him and Aryan assured him even if they come, he will be dead already.

“I did as my king commanded” replied Cregan.

“Your king, who is your king?” Aryan pressed the knife hard on Cregan’s neck, Cregan refused to say who it was and he resumed to wanting to fight, he didn’t last long before Aryan slit his throat and right there marked the end of the famous Cregan Lawsend, now the Lord of Lydia.

Aryan sneaked outside of the castle, he made sure to never meet with any of Cregan’s men because if she did, and somehow the alarm was raised and the city’s gates were barred, she would never make it. However, she did meet few men along the way, five of them, one of them at a time and she silenced them before they can notify other men.

When she finally made it to her ship, she started it and sail away. The next stop was a small village, and its people spoke about the Wrath of Artodo, and the destruction of Old City. Aryan was shocked by this news, she kept asking two times if it was true, and the people told her it was true. “Men, women and children burned without mercy, few survived while many burned to ashes. I pray for Maldonians, they have a tyrant for a King. Dragons shouldn’t exist at all, they are hateful creatures”

Aryan did agree on the last sentence and that’s dragons shouldn’t exist. She kept on sailing and in the next village she heard rumors about Samwell Marshall, the people called him their savior and they believed he may somehow save the people of Maldonia from a tyrant king and install the rightful king to the Sweet Waters throne.

When Aryan asked, “And who is this rightful king of Maldonia?” the people replied with Aprophil’s name and that’s when she knew the news had spread and now it was all over the world even outside of Maldonia. These small villages were usually outdated in such things, but if they knew about Aprophil and what’s going on in Maldonia, it only meant that things were stiff.

Still with a hatred towards Artemis for poisoning her brother, Aryan decided to journey to Sea Tone and meet with Samwell Marshall. Aryan forgot the promise she made to Olivia, and that she wouldn’t participate in any wars nor put herself in danger. But this was an opportunity she didn’t want to miss, she tell it to herself that once this is done, her soul will find peace.

The chronicles say what led Aryan to Sea Tone was vengeance. It had consumed her to the point that’s all she could think about, even after killing Cregan Lawsend, it wasn’t enough, while it should have been since he was the one who actually did it. But Aryan wanted the one who gave the order, and that’s Artemis.

Before arriving in Sea Tone, Aprophil thought he saw something similar when he docked in one of the small islands along the way, a ship he had encountered once ─ the Stormbreaker, raising lion sigils above the sky. He knew right there Aryan was also in the island, but what was she doing here down south while she was supposed to disappear.

The last time Aprophil saw Aryan, she said something about crossing the Freezing Sea. It was a riddle he was yet to solve, and maybe since the person who gave him the riddle was in the island, mayhaps it was time for Aryan to spill the beans.

Aprophil ordered his men to seek out Aryan Squire all over the island, unlike other islands they passed through which were empty or less populated, this one in particular had over fifty thousand people living there and for a small island, this was densely populated.

There were people everywhere, the beaches were populated, inns full, brothels opened even during the day and it was a good place for one to stay. The harbor was well constructed and that’s why many ships docked there even though the taxes were high, Aprophil paid one hundred gold coins the moment he landed. The price was two times the normal prices in Whitebridge, these people depended on taxes to live it was crystal clear.

Aprophil finally found an inn which had one empty room, a luxurious one at twenty golden coins and he had no choice but to pay so he can rest. His men would sleep on the ship, besides the ship was supposed to be looked at.

The inn had a tavern downstairs, men were drinking ale and eating chicken as they laughed and make stories. Most of these men were sailors, they wore rugs which were grey in colors and most of them were unwashed. In the midst of these men, Aryan was there, dressed in a black hoodie and black trouser with black boots, she saw Aprophil from the moment he entered inside.