A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

He clenched his fist, and his jaw clenched with it. The flames of his anger were hot enough to burn cities, and still, they continued to rage. The eternally ice-cold Lombard put a hand on his shoulder – the only good hand he had left – to show him that he understood.

"Reckless," Lombard commented. "But Dominus Patrick too was a passionate man. His passion allowed him to break Boundaries that talent would have restricted him from. I counselled Blackwell towards another path. You have another option, but it will depend on a third party."

"Who?" Oliver asked.

"Princess Asabel," Lombard said.

…

…

The layout of the Academy was very much like the layout of the Kingdom.

To the North-East, there were the Pendragon lands, nestled on the Yarmdon border primarily, though they shared just a tiny fraction of the East border with Verna as well. That was where Oliver was made to travel, for his foolish request of making it all the way to the Capital.

It was the opposite side of the country to Ernest and Solgrim, and Asabel's lands were even further. She'd been given the borderlands, as one would expect. They were the more dangerous lands to hold, and the soil was not as good as it was closer to the centre of the country – but that was all the assertion of her Quarter Inheritance could win her.

To make it to the Silver Queen Asabel Pendragon's lands, they had to first cross through the true Pendragon lands – a prospect that Lombard had warned would be daunting.

"You are not greatly loved there," Lombard had commented dryly. "Some go as far as to blame you for Asabel's Quarter Inheritance. Her father certainly does. I imagine he will make our life difficult, as we pass through the official checkpoints."

"…Apologies for dragging you along in this," Oliver said. They'd been travelling for a good couple of days by carriage, and Lombard and Tolsey had come all the way with him, along with Verdant, Jorah, Karesh and Kaya. Blackthorn and her party followed along just a little ways behind them. Apparently, she had business with the Pendragon Queen as well.

"HALT!" The guards demanded, as they neared the first of many well-guarded bridges. A rough hand pulled open the carriage door, and drew back the curtain, and soon after three hard and aggressive faces looked inside. "State your name," said the loud man who had demanded their halting.

"I am Captain Lombard, a soldier of Lord Blackwell. I come to see Queen Asabel, if passage would be permitted," Lombard said.

The other two soldiers stiffened, hearing Lombard's name. He was about as famous as Captain's came, after all. The lead man, however, showed no trace of a favourable reaction. He merely sniffed at the declaration.

"Do you have an official seal from your Lord?" He said. "You must understand, we cannot admit mere soldiers, on name alone. Not with the borders being in what state that they are. There are spies from all over."

Oliver thought that to be a far too drawn-out excuse. This was the first of many bridges, and was just right on the edge of the central sector of the Kingdom, far away from any of their borders.

The ever-stoic Captain Lombard showed no trace of an unfavourable reaction, however. "Of course," was all he said, as he drew out a letter sealed with the owl sigil of Lord Blackwell.

"I suppose that seems right," the man admitted. "What of your companions? Who are you?"

"I am Verdant Idris," Verdant said calmly. "This is my ring of office."

"Oh… Pardons, my Lord," the soldier said, though he didn't sound very much like he was seeking a pardon. "You?" He said, pointing at Tolsey.

"He's my Vice. A soldier of my own. If you make me declare every man, we will be here all day, no?" Lombard said. "The standard policy is to find the allegiance of the man in charge. You've found two of them. I'll offer a third – Lady Blackthorn's carriage rides behind ours."

The soldier nodded his head. "You would know better than a mere Sergeant like myself, Captain," the guardsmen said. "Just one last question then," he pointed his finger at Oliver. "Your name, boy."

Oliver tapped his finger on the window ledge, and glanced at the sky. Another two hours, and it would be dark. The prospect of spending the night in hostile territory was not an inviting one. He sighed, given no choice, and turned his gaze to the man. The man gulped despite himself.

"Oliver Patrick," Oliver said mildly, keeping his gaze focused on the man, and noting, just for a second, the fear that swirled around his heart. He saw too the same fear in the soldiers behind him, the second he turned his gaze on them.

"They've heard stories," Ingolsol noted, drawn out by the scent of fear. "And only stories of the best kind."

"You…" The Sergeant said, his voice tight.

"We have answered your questions. You will let us proceed, Sergeant. Unless you have some reason not to?" Lombard said, his cold glare joining Oliver's. The man was forced to relent, with a great degree of bitterness.

"Open the gates," he said to the men behind him. "Let him cross. Though I warn you, Captain Lombard, King Pendragon shall be informed of this. I don't know what he'll have to say about it. You'll have to find that out yourself."

The carriage door was slammed shut, and their carriage trundled onto the stone bridge, above the deep rushing black waters below.

"…There was a degree of hostility, back there," Tolsey said, attempting to break the freezing silence, once they'd finally put the long bridge behind them. "Strange, isn't it?"

"You've been too long on the Verna front, Commander Tolsey," Verdant said with a sad smile. "It is an unfortunate state of the country that we live in, when hostility can be raised against faces that have never met."

"The Pendragon House is not what it used to be," Captain Lombard grunted. Coming from him, that comment bore weight. He rarely said anything that might cause him trouble later down the line. He would prefer to be tight-lipped, and give a cold glare. "Those soldiers were poor. When a Sergeant swaggers in his meagre power like that, corruption is afoot, you can sense it like a cancer."