The Green Knight (Space Lore Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

himself.
    “You need to come to Edsall Dark right away,” the man said.
    “I know, I know,” Vere said, rolling her eyes. “Something about a war, right?”
    “A war?” Still panting, the man squinted with confusion. “I don’t know anything about a war.”
    And for a moment, Vere thought everything might be okay after all. Maybe this truly was some sort of misunderstanding.
    “Why are you here then,” she said.
    “Because your father is dying.”

7

    The king’s bed was in the middle of the room. An arm’s length away from each bedpost were four stone columns with designs etched into each one. Three people were gathered around the ornate bed. A woman, her gray hair with blond hints still visible, held one of the king’s hands in her own. A young man stood over the bed, his jaw twitching back and forth as he listened to the groans of his ruler. His bushy blond hair fell down over his eyes so none of the others could see any emotion coming over him. A physician walked around the bed with a small cup of liquid.
    “Drink this, Your Highness,” the doctor said, but most of the liquid dripped down the king’s chin. The little that did enter his mouth only made him cough.
    “You’re getting it on his robes,” the woman said, taking the cup from the physician, then attempting it herself.
    At the door, a fourth man stood, watching the proceedings in silence.
    There were no living quarters situated at a higher point in all the kingdom than the king’s chamber. Half of every wall was covered in blue and gold tapestry similar to the sheets the king lay atop and that decorated his pillows. Within the fabric was the repeated symbol of a dragon’s head with five tails. The other half of the curved walls had floor-to-ceiling windows that offered views of the planet.
    To the east, the business district and thousands of people scurrying here and there, endless movement and energy, everyone trying to get rich off of someone else.
    To the south, the space harbor. Launch pads and docking stations, tiered one upon another, over one hundred levels in all, each with a ship landing for the night or getting ready for take off. Above them, a line of starships of every make and size waited for clearance to land at Edsall Dark. Others taxied into position to leave the airspace and go out into solar system.
    To the west, the great fields of Aromath the Solemn. Flat lands of gray grass for miles and miles where, hundreds of years earlier, the former ruler had vanquished his brother, Methus the Vengeful. It was a battle that every child on Edsall Dark learned about in school—two brothers, both flying the same banner, entire armies unsure who was friend and who was foe, until one brother sought out the other and cut him down. Beyond the fields were the forests of tears, where men vanished and where souls were said to roam. And still further, barely visible from the king’s chamber, the great snowcapped mountains where it was said the gods had once lived and now, where they slept.
    Finally, to the north lay Idin’s Mountains, a range of peaks that stretched into the distance. Along the entire capital perimeter stood a wall bearing the same name. Idin’s Wall curved all the way from the northern side of the capital, around the business district to the east, the space harbor to the south, and the fields to the west. The wall was thousands of years old, a reminder of the days when armies traversed across ground on their way to invade kingdoms rather than arriving by starships. If an invader were to take that approach today, their best bet would be to do it from the open fields where brother slew brother so long ago. But even there they were blocked by the wall, and that had given the kingdom a sense of calm that came with being protected.
    Knowing there was nothing else he could do for his ruler, the physician gathered his supplies and excused himself. On his way out, the man in the doorway stepped aside, but only after putting a