Saga of Serin
Death of Emperor Solomon
by Brendan McGrath

As he looked out over the grassy fields, Serin saw a tiny white speck against the blue sky. It was too small to be a cloud. As the white speck came closer, Serin saw that it was a carrier pigeon, headed towards Lorima.

Lorima was where Serin lived. It was situated on the north part of a small continent northwest of the Empire's capital, Northtown. It was ruled by King Jattar, who had governed the land well for the past forty years. He was now sixty.

Serin looked again at the carrier pigeon. In all his twenty five years he had never seen a pigeon fly with such speed. Serin knew that the writer of the message must have picked the fastest pigeon, meaning that the message was of utter importance.

The pigeon flew high over Serin's head, and as Serin turned around to see where it was headed, he saw that it was headed for the throne room of Lorima Castle itself. Most carrier pigeons always flew to the pigeon house, never to the castle. This message must have been very important.

Serin glanced back at the fields, at his horse, Star Eyes. The sun shone softly on her white, sleek hair. Serin ran to her, and mounted her, and they took off to Lorima.

Serin was always exhilarated by riding Star Eyes. The wind played with his long, dirty blonde hair, and flung his tan colored cape about. His light blue shirt inflated at the back on the right and the left, tugging at his foresty green vest, nearly undoing the leather stitches at the vest's front. His les, covered by tight brown pants, felt the beat of Star Eyes's heart as she raced faster and faster.

The great city of Lorima rose up in front of them like a giant tidal wave as they rode closer. Star Eyes galloped past the miller's house, with the windmill on the top. The grass gave in to the dusty path which led into city. The dust became scarce, as cobble stones took their pace. Serin slowed Star Eyes to a brisk trot, as they rode through the village. Clothes lines extended from one house to the other across the street. Merchants began to push their carts home, and the number of children in the streets dwindled to a handful as families went to dinner.

Up ahead the street widened, and opened up like the mouth of a river to the city square, from which roads branched out to all parts of the city, to different villages and towns. It was the hub of the city. One path, paved with silver, led north of the square to Lorima Castle. In the center of the Square was a fountain, from which water poured into a basin, the walls of which were constructed of large stones. And sitting on that little wall of the basin, playing with a squirrel, was Serin's love. Dressed in a plain violet dress with a white apron, her beauty still shone brighter than the stars. Her long green hair glistened in the sun.

"Serahna!" called Serin, as he dismounted Star Eyes and ran to her.

"Serin, my love!" called Sarahna. She ran to him, and they embraced.

Her touch was like a cool drink on a hot day to Serin. Sarahna thought of his touch as that of a blanket on a winter's night, to snuggle under.

"How was the hunt?" asked Sarahna, as she lay her cheek on his shoulder.

"My hunt is over, now that I have found you!" answered Serin. Sarahna laughed, as did Serin. She began to tickle him, and he did the same, and in a fit of laughter they fell into the fountain, with water splattering all over them.

"You two will never grow up, will you?" came a cheerful voice from behind. "Both twenty-five years old and acting as though you were ten years younger. Shameful!" But both Serin and Serahna could sense the laughter being hidden in that voice.

The two love birds turned to see Jema, their good friend, coming from the palace. Jema was dressed in royal blue clothes, with red lining. His reddish brown hair was rumpled after the hot day.

"Hello, Jema," greeted Sarahna.

"Good afternoon, Sarahna. Serin, the king wants to see all of the knights in the grand hall."

author's index main index