Chapter 3 - Valravn

Valravn - 1

He flew through the air like a kite let loose upon the wind, and downward sharply. The large raven came to a landing on top of the the tower, resting there a moment.

At the tallest of four towers that bordered the half ruined keep, the raven sat perched looking down over the men encamped below. It was the tallest tower; of the four, it was the only one still standing at its original height. the other four had collapsed some, or had been in part destroyed by some ancient forgotten siege.. . knocked down with large rocks flung from catapults and war machines. The castle and keep itself was in ruins too.

The Lady Vivien had taken to using her clan’s ancestral home  as her encampment for her army as it grew.. those seeking to join her rebellion came looking for her here. She welcomed all- at least that’s what she said. What was meant was that she only welcomed those with magic, or those who could help her in her cause.

The raven cawed loudly once, causing some of the soldiers to look up at the bird glaring down at them from the towers balcony. He watched them, curiously, tilting his head from one side to the next, getting the best possible view of the camp. He wondered if they knew.

The raven stretched out its wings, throwing its head back up at the sky as the moon seemed to be setting in the distance over the trees. Getting one last  sight of the night sky, one last breath of the night air he swooped downward once more, plunging down from the tallest tower and into the camp.

Black feathers faded into smoke and dark mass crackled and reformed from the raven into a much larger beast strongly resembling a man. The ‘man’, was rather small in size for someone full grown- no more than five and a half feet tall, and rather thin - particularly around the face, where his jaw and cheekbones looked somewhat gaunt. He was sallow skinned and pale- but with a faint hint as if his skin might shine like glitter in the right appropriate lighting. His hair was as black as his raven feathers had been- and had a similar smooth texture to them. A widows peak so very sharp it  it made his face seem longer sat in the middle of his forehead. He was neither handsome nor hideous. but somewhere squarely in the middle.

His eyes were the color of blood as it runs in water - neither bright nor dark- something like a claret red, - that faintest hint of purple leaking into them. His features were pointed-ears included- he had a somewhat hooked nose and a sharply edged jaw- even as a man he strongly resembled the raven he had been moments before. He looked like a man in his twenties at most.

He was clothed loosely in a black tunic and a silvery silk ribbon wrapped around his waist. He  wore tightly wound black cloth wrapped around his feet in place of boots-and the same style ribbons wrapped most of his hands as well, revealing only his fingers themselves. His coat was a deep easily mistakable color- the right lighting could have made it seem either blue or purple arguably- and its silver fastenings hung open.  The long tail of the coat swam behind him in the breeze where he stood, and he closed his eyes a moment to enjoy the passing breeze on him once more. The mood in the camp would lighten soon, just as his already had.

The raven-man called Valravn was her eyes and ears to the capital. He could come and go unseen. In a place by  flanked in the north by a mountainside, in the west by the sea, and in the south and east by woods, it was not so uncommon for birds and crows and ravens to be seen. He spent the  majority of his time, resting on the window sills of lords, and watching the queen in her garden.

It had barely been a full day since the tournament had ended unexpectedly, and the king had laid out, gagging on his own vomit in the stands. How unpleasant… He had sincerely hoped to see Lady vivien gut the man on the battlefield herself- but it would never be.

He re-opened his eyes and wandered across the dusty courtyard and past the staring men and women to enter the keep. Traveling the twists and turns, going deeper into the maze like hold he was in bliss… When he finally arrived at the ladies door the man did not even knock, and let himself in.

“Valravn!”

Her voice, normally so beautiful, but now so angry, grated on his ears as she shouted at him. She was slumped in a basin, washing in the end of her room, in front of her roaring fire. She was naked, he could tell, but did not think to look away.

“My queen, I bring news from the capital..” He started to smile.  “ News, I think, that my queen would rejoice to hear…” the sly smirk seemed to crawl onto his bony face as the words slithered out of him.

“What? What was so important you must interrupt?”

The room, was boiling hot- the fire raging away, crackling brightly beside her, only a few feet from the tub. The water in the tub itself seemed almost boiling as well with the steam coming out of it. The witch loved the heat, and always had a fire going, he’d swear, even in the summer. It was making him sweat, but all the same he moved closer to the basin as his grin grew wider.

“I had.. by fortune and chance, been present at the king’s tourney  this past day.”  He rested himself down on the edge of her tub. “ And you will never guess who drank a goblet of poisoned wine.”

“King Owayn?” she asked, suddenly more alert, her face lit up like a firefly.  When she saw him nod she flung herself up from the water, both ignoring entirely the fact that she was completely naked, pressed against his coat and tunic as she hugged him.

Rather than notice her nakedness however, he seemed more shocked by the action. She rarely if ever showed him any affection, friendly or otherwise… She had never hugged him before. the woman who loved her warmth so much was known for being cold and callous.

“The King is dead.” He added with a sense of finality at finally admitting it to someone. It felt pleasant to feel those words roll off his tongue so smoothly as he put one arm around her awkwardly before she finally pulled away.

The woman pulled herself from her bath, dripping water  onto the stone floor as she stepped out, one barefoot at a time. The water dripped from her hair and into her eyes, so she stopped a moment to rub them, before heading across the room to a chair with a large cloth hung over the back.

Lady Vivien sat on the edge of her bed, drying herself off, starting with her legs working her way up to her head.

“ I cannot believe it. such wonderful news- Valravn, poor me some wine won't you- and for yourself too if you’d like.”

He acquiesced,  standing once again, damp from her embrace. He went to the table where she had wine and goblets already set out.. One for her husband he imagined, from earlier perhaps.

The woman was long legged and fair skinned. She pale, so much so that she looked as though she had spent a great deal of her life in the shade. Freckles dotted her cheeks and arms. Her hair was so long it reached the small of her back  and the bottom of her spine, usually worn loosely, it was wavy, and a dark red, almost the color of drying blood. Her eyes were the same color, but perhaps some what brighter.. easily mistaken for a hazel or light brown in the wrong light. She was thin, and small breasted, but tall, and despite her grace, she was known for her immense strength.

“That fool is finally dead.” She grinned, taking the wine from Valravn, who simply leaned on the wall near her bed, sipping quietly at his cup.

“Have you an inkling who it was who poisoned him? It wasn't any of my men that I know of..” She shook her head, “It does not matter who killed him, only that he is dead.” She laughed, hysterically, downing the wine, and throwing the goblet across the room carelessly in her fit.

“Man or Witch I cannot think of a single  one who will truly mourn his passing.” She looked over to her servant, her humor fading as she gave it some small thought. “ Except perhaps Rasmus- they were brothers after all…”

“I thought lord Rasmus had no love of his brother,  something to do with the queen wasn't it?”

“Of course he hated him yes, but they were the same blood, shared the same father… And he had loved his father.”

He nodded, trying to understand. He had no brothers or sisters, no mother nor father to care for.

“The queen has declared her son, the boy, King. He is to be crowned within the fortnight I heard.”

The smile on her face was a wicked one at that news. She laid back once more, looking up at the ceiling. “ Well then.. We ought to give the boy king something splendid for his coronation. Something unforgettable.” The tone in her voice was all he needed to understand what she was implying.

“ Leave me.” She said suddenly again. “ I have plans to make, I will give the men orders in the morning, and I will have the boy dealt with soon.” she said, laying her arms up behind her head, covered still only in her towel.

“As you wish.”

As the man headed back towards the courtyard, he could not help but wonder, who had really killed the king? No one liked the man, true, he had killed many of his own men, calling anything from insults to good advice treason on a weekly basis. But who would dare to kill him?

In the courtyard once more, there was a flurry of black whisps- smoke and feathers, and he shifted once more, from man to bird. He took to the air, and the raven  went into a window on the highest tower- his tower.

Vivien inhabited the second highest; it was the sturdiest, most well maintained tower standing. the third tallest contained the armory, and the smallest  housed the soldiers barracks primarily. The tallest tower was known simply as the Bird Watch. It was called this most likely because it had been made the home and ever constant perch of Vivien's vigilant raven-man servant and spy, Valravn.

He perched once more on the ledge of the tower’s balcony- it wasn't always a balcony, but he treated it as such, as it was a wide opening  in the side of the tower, a catapult made window near the top. He made the shift to man once more when he reached the top.

His footfalls on the floor of the tower’s upper most level were lighter than most. it was often joked he had birds bones, because the floor boards did not seem to creak or moan beneath his weight, but when a man  had once tried climbing the tower from the inside stairs, he had fallen through the floor and plunged to his death.

He watched them again, the soldiers below just waking up.  The tower leaned precariously to the side, and the majority of the tower had become long since inaccessible. The insides were mostly gutted for almost three stories- after that there was no access to the upper floors- unless of course you were a bird.

From here he was Vivien’s eye and her messenger. He would send out her letters on other birds he kept there. Whatever messages he did not trust with his creatures, he would carry himself, bringing word back and forth from her armies and her castle to keep her informed.. He was her eyes and ears, and she, his master.

The upper room which he occupied himself was more of a roost. There was a pile of blankets he had brought up there to sleep upon- leaves and feathers decorated the untidy mess in the corner.. There was dust and webs all about the room- and the floor boards themselves  creaked at every step from even his light feet. If a  normally weighted man was to talk this floor- he would surely plunge several stories to his death. The floor and ceiling both were filled with small holes and patchy areas that left this tower unfit for anyone else's use.

All the same Valravn loved it here.. He was free here. No one else could come up here.

Books lined one wall- but they had not been touched in decades- they were not his. The bird- man could not read a word of the symbols scratched into any of them.  They were covered in more than an inch of dust in some places, and were likely home to more than a few small creatures that had been unfortunate to be trapped up here.

He would fly back to the capitol in the evening once again, unless Lady Vivien bid him otherwise. He was generally tasked with watching over the queen and her son, more so now that the king was dead surely. Alaric was no longer the prince, he thought, but rather, the boy king.

He pulled the long coat off of him, throwing the ragged thing onto his pile of blankets. Beneath it, his bandages trailed all the way up both arms- the only things separating what looked like prisoner’s irons clapped on each ris- one link hanging from either one- but connected to nothing at the end. Symbols were dug deeply into the metal that they were made from, spells written out in ancient forgotten languages, binding him.  

There were two large chests in the room.  One of which lay open,  filled with such gems- most of which were worthless save a few, and yet he did not care. He would collect glass if it sparkled in the light of the moon. He found himself drawn to things that shown like that- and had made a habit of collecting sparking items.. Some of the men had been known to call him a thief- stealing silver coins, small rings or gems.. even a silver soup spoon. If it sparkled and went missing- it was assumed to be up in the tower.

The other chest, he opened slowly.

He reached into the chest that was in the corner of the tower room, pulling it open carefully, and dusting off the contents.. A set of armor lay inside- not a whole set no.. but steel made gauntlets,  greaves,  and a helmet- there was even some chain mail in there- but there was also a boiled leather vest piece that he pulled out first of all..  He would be needing this soon he feared.

Val’s gaze turned to the large opening in the side of the tower, staring out at the color of the sky. It was growing a warmer shade- dawn would be  no more than an hour off.  He laid himself down on the pile of blankets, and held the thing close to his chest, and closed his eyes. He would find no peace or sleep for now. Not while his fear and excitement alike gripped him so firmly.

Author's Note

This story is still in the rough draft stages, and there are likely to be a lot of grammar mistakes, and a lot of places where I could add more. This is mostly just a place for me to post my work and see if any one is even interested in reading just another fantasy based story.