He hurried down along 3rd Ave, taking care to avoid bumping into other passersby as he went. Despite his rush, he still took time to glance at the various different merchants peddling their wares along the side of the road. A man selling mushroom soup, an old lady swearing by her latest batch of healing potion, and a small child selling roses. He found himself enchanted by the street life until…WHAM!
A stocky man of a rather darker blue color than most Ertians collided with him sending them both careening for the ground.
“My apologies sir!” The short man nearly screamed in an unnaturally high voice. “Didn’t see ya’s there!”
“No worries my good lad, no worries.” Despite his annoyance with the small fellow, he decided that this was neither the time nor place to be angry as he was equally at fault for the collision. “I’ll be sure to mind where I’m going next time!”
The short man bowed low, looked straight at him with piercing blue eyes, and darted down the street without saying another word.
“What a strange little fellow!” He thought to himself as he walked down the side road towards the apartment that he shared with his wife Lily. It had been many years since he had been given such a look, and longer since someone had bowed so low to him. The short man bowed as though he were in front of a great lord, duke, or perhaps…King.
He wrenched open the apartment door and sprinted up the stairs towards his apartment on the fifth floor. It was now approaching six o'clock in the evening, and Lily would be just finishing fixing dinner for the two of them. Sure enough, as he opened his apartment door, he was greeted by the delicious, enticing scent of lamb chop and cooked carrots.
Lily kissed him on the cheek and began to recount her day for him. He loved listening to her soft voice each evening, even if only to hear about yet another long day at her flower shop. To him, her days sounded dreadfully boring. To be fair, however, any day not spent healing another poor Ertian body was dreadfully boring in his books.
They finished up with dinner, and Lily retired to their bedroom to continue reading Ertia, A History. He decided to cozy up by the fire and work on grading student essays from the previous week. He reached for his leather bag and trusty red grading pen. To his amazement, upon opening his bag he found that the essays he had packed there before leaving the hospital for the evening were gone! In their place lay a lone sheet of shabby, frayed parchment bound by a gleaming blue ring. He took it out and began to read slowly to himself:
Greetings Aven,
If you are reading this letter, then I have surely already passed from this earth. My name is Brinston Arjen. To most, I am called King Arjen IV. To some, I am known as Brin. To you, I am called Father. Yes Aven… This may come as a shock to you, as it will come as a shock for the most of the Kingdom, no doubt.
Your mother and I tried for an heir for many years with no success. The greatest healers, spellcasters, and witchdoctors from Wysteria to Concordia and everywhere in between could not help your mother and I conceive a child. When we had all but given up hope, a strange little man with a startlingly dark blue complexion came to us. He told us that he had been sent from a place far, far north of the Empire. A place many scholars no longer thought existed…the Ertian Empire. We of course questioned his claim, as the Ertian Empire was said to have fallen hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago. However, he professed to have a solution for our ailment. He jotted down a concoction of herbs, roots, berries, and most everything else that can be dug up from the ground on a scrap of paper, handed it to me, and told your mother and I to drink it the night before a full moon. Needless to say, we were skeptical.
However, we were desperate. So, the night before the full moon our servants fetched the ingredients for the wretched drink. We both drank the solution, and miraculously you were conceived that evening. It could only have been an act of Erts…
We were of course overjoyed that we were to finally have an heir at last! Someone to pass along the Arjen name. However, the political landscape was shifting. In our old age, there were those who sought to claim the throne upon our passing. With no heir to pass my crown to, your distant cousin Christopher would have been next in line. His family has been after the crown for centuries. It has never come to war, but we knew it was always close.
We felt that they would seek to harm you, should you be discovered. So, we did what we felt was best for you, and for our name. You were given to an orphanage in Amora. Destined to live the life of a commoner, seeking your own fortune, until the time was right for you to claim the throne. Aven, the time is now right…
Your cousin Christopher has no doubt taken the crown for himself upon my passing. You must do what is right for our family and for the Kingdom! Take back the throne of Ertia! There are those that will fight for you, my son. You must only seek them out. Have faith and, as always, let Erts guide you.
For Glory!
Your Father
Aven reread the parchment for what felt like the hundredth time. This couldn’t be true, could it? He was just a lowly commoner. He did well for himself teaching future healers at the hospital, to be sure, but a commoner all the same! The bright blue ring fell out of his hand onto the floor. He reached for it and inspected the words carved into the lapis lazuli.
“Aven Arjen. Fifth King of Ertia”
_________________ Joren
of River's End
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