Elijah

The town of Porto was situated around a small cove, and surrounded by hills which  guided a small stream through them.  Porto was encircled by a newly constructed wooden palisade mounted with a walkway and built up with mounds of earth to strengthen the foundation.  Outside of the walls refugees from the neighboring kingdom had constructed a mish-mash of hovels and lean-tos.  They weren’t much too look at, but they provided some shelter against storms and frost.

Above the town, on a hill to the east, was a military compound.  It was more a collection of barracks than an actual fort, with the buildings built next to one another and a courtyard in the middle. The back walls of each barracks extended up with the roof of the barracks acting as the walkway around the walls.  A gate was built into the west side of the fort, emphasizing its connection to the town.  The path leading from it to the town had increasingly widened, the grass disintegrating beneath the regular traffic between the two centers. Each day Cam would push the soldiers-in-training to run around the fort several times before heading through the line of tents to the fields between Porto and the compound for training and conditioning.  This firmed up the soil, which would make it more difficult for an enemy to burrow beneath the walls during a siege.

            Cam, a dwarf, was standing in a circle of men, young and old, shouting instructions on how to hold a shield and spear.  Over and over again he corrected the men; lifting the shoulders of an old man here, changing the angle of a spear for a tall gangly lad, and then doing it again when they tried to relax. The green soldiers had learned that Cam would make them practice all day, expecting them to master something before moving on. A few men were working with the dwarf in the center of the circle.  In frustration Cam strapped on a shield and snatched up a spear.  He faced two of the students, jabbed his spear at one, and used the shield to knock the other to the ground.  Then he stuck the spear between the legs of the first and swung it around, pushing him to the ground.

            In another field his son Cap and veteran soldiers of the Gabriel family worked groups of green archers in training with yew longbows.  A well-trained, practiced archer could shoot ten to twelve arrows a minute with accuracy.  The best of these troops was only capable of seven or eight shots a minute.  To improve the ability of the troops Cap had them run a lap around the field before taking their turn at the targets on the butts.  In war conditioned troops had a clear advantage.  Various youth from the town and surrounding crofts had gathered around the field trying to pick up some of the techniques taught  in anticipation of the day they would be big and strong enough to use a longbow.  The boys could hear Cap correct one of the archers saying, “A steady draw, smooth, don’t jerk your arm back.”

            Elijah and King Samuel, of Porto, stood observing the training, gauging the progress of the troops.  The pair turned and walked through the gate into the compound. Smoke slowly snaked its way out of a chimney, accompanied by the smell of fresh baked bread. An older woman, obviously a dwarf, stood in the doorway holding a basket with a red checkered cloth protruding from under the lid on one side.  She had gray hair and a lovely wrinkled face—obviously frequented by a smile. Her name was Claira.

A stunning woman, with an angel’s face, high cheek bones, a narrow nose, and a strong chin walked in Claira’s direction.  Her wavy black hair framed her face, floating with the passing breeze, suggesting that even the wind conformed to her grace.  She was holding the reins of a horse, and although dressed for riding there was no mistaking her perfect figure, she was easy on the eyes. With long strides she met Claira and they both smiled in greeting.  She slid onto the horse, and Claira handed her the basket. Quickly she turned the horse around and approached Elijah and the king as they entered the gate.

Elijah was large of stature, as was all the sons of Noah, with close cropped blond hair. He was clean shaven with strong arms and a full body.   He was of average looks, until his personality shined forth, then he was a remarkable man. He had a presence that steadied others, a natural ability to lead, and a calming influence even in dire circumstances.  After getting to know him others understood why Hadassah, one of the most stunningly beautiful women in the world would decide to love him.

Elijah greeted his wife, Hadassah with a question, “Shall we go for a ride?”  Hadassah didn’t like to be away from Elijah, she was afraid that if they were parted she might lose him like Emzara had lost Noah.  Emzara and Noah’s loved one another very deeply.  Noah had given his life so that Galahad and his sons could live, and Emzara pregnant with Hezekiah at the time had felt her loss at that moment in her heart and soul.  Emzara, with a scream of pain that wrenched the hearts of all those that heard it, had fallen to the earth sobbing in front of the manor on Clover Island.  For five years Emzara had withered away from her loss until she had died of a broken heart, no matter how hard her family had tried to fill the void in her heart with their own love.  Newly married Hadassah had scarred from witnessing Emzara’s pain, ever since not wanting to leave Elijah’s side.

Since coming to Porto, when Hadassah thought that Elijah needed a break from the demands others placed on him she would plan a visit to the orphanage, Knowing Claira would make sure that Elijah went with her.  Claira would never let her ride alone to the orphanage.  Claira had also heard Emzara’s cry, and knew how Hadassah felt, she went wherever Cam went.  Claira treated the Gabriel family as if they were her own grandchildren, feeling it her right to look out for them as only a grandmother could.  If Hadassah had not planned a trip to the orphanage Claira would have suggested it, except to sleep Elijah had not had a break from the problems of building an army out of refugees and farmers for a few days.  Although Cam and the retainers of the Gabriel family were in Porto to help him train and organize the new troops everyone looked to him to solve any problem minor or not that might come up.

Hadassah answered, “Just taking a treat to the orphanage, would you like to go along?”

Elijah looked around for his horse expecting to see it, “I’m sure Claira has my horse saddled around here somewhere?”  The expression on his face made the statement a question.

They both looked at Claira as she pointed to the gate, a young man led Elijah’s horse into the compound. Elijah took the reins from the young man, and mounted the horse saying to Samuel, “We can escort the holy father back with us.  It is time that Esau and Jade were made to face their future.  With the other kings coming tomorrow I want the problem of dealing with Esau out of the way.  If Obe shows up early keep him away from both of them.”

Samuel nodded his head in understanding and started for the kitchen.