1Note on the text: The game of Lagon, which is fictional, resembles in its entirety, the game of soccer, which is not.
PROLOGUE
Ravenna stood at the window, the Archipelago spread out before her like a jeweled necklace floating upon the unending Ocean.
Far over on the Eastern Horizon, the Sun had reached Zenith; and now the turquoise of the waveless sea met and blended with the azure of the cloudless sky. The islands were mere specks in the great womb, quiet and still. No cloud sullied the imposing backdrop, nor did any bird fly in the motionless sky. Ravenna's gaze traveled West, where the emerald green waves broke upon the jagged coastline, barren and bare. And then further inland, all the beauty and grandeur of the great city of Halim Huzol shone in the morning light, one breathtaking panorama for the eyes to feast on until they were intoxicated by the very act of looking. Terrace after terrace and dome after dome shining brightly in the golden light were crammed into a complex canvas, stretching all the way up until the foot of the Great Palace. Hidden underneath the stone structures, within the labyrinthine alleyways, passages and corridors, even among the interconnected roofs, a secret Universe existed, the mysterious world of Halim Huzol. It was said that each point of this city was no more than ten minutes walk from any other… the right paths under, above and on the ground, and you were there.
"I looked upon the wonders of Halim Huzol, and wished I could tear mine eyes out so that nevermore would I suffer gazing upon inferior sights again." Thus had spoken the great bard Taeron when first he had beheld the Abode of the Gods. And then he had written his famous verse which Ravenna now recalled from some faded portal of memory;
"When first I looked on Halim Huzol
Upon glorious grandeur in gold
When first I rode upon the knoll
Beneath the mountain's fold
When first I saw steeple and spire
And dome, and mosque, and minaret
When first I saw temples of fire
Above which rose the Orb, and set
Then did I feel before my eyes
Lay reborn, sweet Paradise…"
It was said that Halim Huzol could be viewed in its full majesty only from one point, and that was where Ravenna stood now; at the fourth window of the Stone Tower. Here she could espy the steeples and spires of the Singers' Academy; the great gold dome of the Fire Temple; and of course the myriad balconies, minarets and terraces which were the heart and soul of the city. They now lay basking contentedly in the mellow warmth of the morning sunlight, and Ravenna, crown Princess of the Archipelago, knew that all was well with the city which would one day serve as her capital.
From somewhere in the center of the city, a Horn was winded, deep, low and melodious. A harp answered, clear, sharp and jovial. A lute, gentle and soothing, added itself to the serenade; and from somewhere among the medley of instruments, Ravenna thought she detected the thin, reedy tenor of a pipe as well. The instruments played in sweet harmony, complementing one another, feeding one another until it seemed they had become one, and the music was much richer for it. Such was the noon-welcoming ceremony of Halim Huzol.
Turning her head Eastward, Ravenna now cast her gaze upon the grandest structure of them all, Skybury Arena- an odyssey in stone and the archipelago's pride and joy…
An errant sunray suddenly struck the golden dome of the Fire Temple, sending a blinding flash of light her way. Ravenna averted her eyes from the glare, and when she looked again, a ship was streaming towards into the harbour.
From the sudden commotion on the docks, Ravenna knew it was the Lagon Squad returning home from Diztot. She felt a sudden surge of excitement well up inside her. Like every inhabitant of the Archipelago, Lagon was a passion for her, and had she not been born Crown Princess, she too, like every other child in growing up in the islands would have dreamt of one day being selected for the Squad; to play in the great Lagon arenas of the faraway Nine Realms, or in the great Colosseum of Diztot where they said a hundred thousand men came to watch; and of course, to play in Skybury, home to the Archipelago' s own Lagon Squad.
Ever closer the ship drew to the dock, and abandoning her place by the window Ravenna hurried down the winding spiral staircase of the Stone Tower. Once outside, the cool morning air smelling of the sea and of rain wafted across her face and billowed her silver cloak.
Swiftly, Ravenna removed the thin silver circlet from her flowing brown hair, letting it cascade over her shoulders like the foamy silver spray at high tide. She had worn it ever since her thirteenth birthday a week agao, but now it would never do to be seen in it. For an hour she would be not the Crown Princess of the Archipelago, but an ordinary city girl welcoming the Squad home.
Her green eyes sparkling with excitement usually reserved for tales of dragons and of quests, Ravenna skipped lightly through the soft springy grass of the Palace gardens and exited the grounds through a forbidding, bleak iron gate.
As always, there was a hubbub in the dim, cool streets of Halim Huzol. Chariots passed back and forth on cobbled roads and halted carriages choked the city's arteries, blocking the passage of both man and beast. The pavements were crowded with shops hawking their wares, with fiddlers and From within the narrow, twisting alleyways, soft and alluring music came, at odds with the enveloping commotion. Melody contrasted with chaos, thought Ravenna, and serenade with cacophony. But such was Halim Huzol.
With a practiced ease borne out of months of experience, Ravenna threaded her way through the crowd. Exciting smells wafted from roadside taverns, but she did not stop. Jugglers and snake charmers were magnetizing a part of the crowd, but today they had no effect on her.
The dock was a swarming beehive of activity, yet today there was an element of symmetry to the usual random disorder. Almost imperceptibly, bodies leant towards the sea; slowly but surely feet were moving towards the pie; and all eyes were trained, as one upon the splendid three-masted crimson-sailed ship which, it seemed, rode upon emerald waves of expectation as it entered the harbor.
The oars stopped together, as the anchor dropped; and the commotion swelled to a crescendo. Then Sigurd, captain of the Squad appeared upon the deck.
The first thing Ravenna noticed was that he did not hold the Golden Horn of Victory. The second was the look of abject dejection upon his face.
A similar whisper seemed to run through the crowd, for there was a sudden hush as ever face turned to look at Sigurd.
The captain stared at them for a few more moments, his face working awfully. Then, in a strained and unnatural voice, he said, "Thank you for this… moving welcome. I regret, however, that I… we… the Squard is unworthy of such loyalty. We lost in the semi-final… to Diztot."
A stunned silence filled the air. A loss could be taken in stride- after all the Archipelago had seen few Victories since the glory days of Aloron more than half a century ago- but a loss to Diztot… and that too in Diztot…
After what seemed an eternity, a tepid clapping of hands filled the air, and died out almost immediately. The captain nodded, and disappeared below deck. Swiftly, the crowd began to thin.
"Blue scum!" The voice beside her was venomous in its intensity.
Ravenna turned her head. Beneath fierce, closely-knit eyebrows the speaker, a boy, was gazing at the sea towards East… towards the Archipelago… towards…
"Diztot?" she asked.
He turned to her, a look of surprise playing upon his youthful face. "Who else? History and tradition bid that Lagon Squad be independent of the State and the Crown. And to build their Squad from their own realm. But the Diztot Kingdom, with their power and their gold…" he shook his head. "They are destroying Lagon. Do you know that two of their members were born here, in the Archipelago? Blue scum!"
"True…" Ravenna felt herself being drawn into the argument against her will. "But do not forget that Diztot were responsible for breaking the stranglehold the Nine Realms had upon the Horn and the Wreath."
"It is true that they were the first to defy the might of the realms in a long, long time," he agreed grudgingly. "But now… they have held both the Wreath and the Horn for the past eight years."
He turned back, frowning at the Sea, and Ravenna asked, half taunting, half jesting, "So what are you going to do about it?"
He swung back to her, and there was such ferociousness in his gaze that Ravenna drew back, quite alarmed. "That you shall see," he said in almost a whisper, "On the third day of June, four years hence."
"On the…?" Ravenna gasped, as comprehension dawned. "The year that Skybury will host the Wreath/ And the day the Finale will be played?"
He nodded.
"But what can you, a mere spectator, hope to accomplish sitting somewhere in the Arena?" she asked plaintively.
He smiled grimly. "I intend to be far more than a mere spectator. You… what is your name?"
"R-Erine…" Ravenna forced the lie out at the last moment.
"Very well, Erine… remember the name- Valeron!" then he was gone, lost among the throng.
Ravenna stared after him for a moment, before turning from the sea, and towards home.