A Land of Fire

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Gwen, standing at the bow of her ship, leaned over, clutched the baby, and peered into the ocean, searching for any sign of Thorgrin. On all sides of the ship her men also examined the waters.

“THORGRIN!” called out the sailors all around the ship—and this was echoed by the sailors on the other two other ships of her fleet. The three ships, spread a good hundred yards from each other, combed the waters together, all shouting Thor’s name. From the top of the masts, they tolled the bells, all three of them, intermittently, looking for any sign of him.

Gwendolyn felt like weeping inside. She had been unable to find Guwayne, and now she had no sign of Thor. She hated this ocean, cursed the day that she ever set sail from the Ring. She knew her chances were grim. Thor and Mycoples had ridden fearlessly into battle, one dragon against dozens, and even if they managed to vanquish them, how could Thor defeat Romulus’s entire fleet? How could he possibly survive?

At the same time, Gwendolyn knew, by sailing in this direction, she was endangering her men, bringing them closer and closer to Romulus’s fleet.

Gwen heard a sudden cracking noise down below at the hull, and she looked over the edge, startled. Below she spotted debris—planks, an old mast, a remnant of a sail… She scanned the waters, looking closely, and saw a vast sea of debris.

“What can it be?” came the voice.

Gwendolyn turned to see Kendrick by her side, Reece coming up on her other side, along with Godfrey and Steffen, all of them joining her and looking down in wonder.

“Look! The Empire banner!” Steffen called out, pointing.

Gwen looked, saw the soiled and torn flag, and realize he was correct.

“This is Empire debris,” Reece said, stating what was on everyone’s minds.

“But how?” Godfrey asked. “The entire Empire fleet destroyed? How is it possible?”

Gwen searched the skies for any sign of Thorgrin, wondering. Had he done this?

“It was Thorgrin,” Gwen said, hoping it to be true, willing it to be true. “He destroyed them all.”

“Then where is he?” Kendrick asked. The bells continued to toll as they headed south, further out into this sea. “I see no sign of Mycoples.”

“I do now know,” Gwen replied. “But even if Mycoples is dead, Thor might be alive. If there is debris, Thor might be floating on it.”

“My lady,” came a voice.

She turned to see Aberthol standing close by.

“I love Thorgrin as much as anyone here. But you do realize we are sailing closer and closer to the Empire. Even if Romulus’s fleet is destroyed, surely his million-man army remains on the mainland of the Ring. We cannot head back to the Ring. We must find a new home, set sail in a new direction. You want to find Thorgrin, and I admire that. But it’s been days, and still we have no sign of him. We have limited provisions. Our people are starving. They’re homeless, have lost loved ones, and are mad with grief. They are desperate for direction. We need food and shelter. We are running out of provisions.”

She knew he was right. Her people needed another direction.

“Our people need you,” Srog added.

Gwen stared out into the horizon, holding the baby, and still there was no sign of Thor. She closed her eyes, wiping a tear, and she willed God to answer. Why did life have to be so hard?

Please, God, tell me where he is. I will give you anything. Just let me save him. If I cannot save my son, let me save him. Please, don’t let me lose them both.

Gwendolyn waited, very still, hoping for a response. She opened her eyes, hoping for a sign, anything, something.

But none came.

She felt hollowed out. Abandoned.

Resolved, she finally turned and nodded to her men.

“Turn the fleet around,” she said. “We shall sail this time for land.”

“Turn the fleet!” echoed up and down the ships.

Everyone turned and looked in their new direction, except for Gwendolyn. She kept herself facing the direction they were sailing away from, her heart breaking, hoping for any sign of Thor.

As they began to drift further and further away, the debris getting smaller, Gwen felt every good thing left in the world being stripped from her. Was that what it meant to be Queen? Did it mean you cared more for your people than for your family? For your very own self? At this moment, being Queen was what Gwendolyn no longer wanted. At this moment, she hated her people, hated everything about being Queen. She wanted only Thorgrin and her son, and nothing else.

But as they set sail in a new direction, as the bells tolled on the masts, she knew it was not meant to be, and they felt like bells tolling on her heart.