Dream of Empty Crowns (Chosen King Book 1)

Book summary

When young Gordon is unexpectedly named king, his life is turned upside down as he becomes the target of a deadly pursuit by the power-hungry Firstcouncillor Trunculin. With kingdom airships on his trail, Gordon must rely on allies like the healer Loren and warrior Aline to survive and protect his realm.

Excerpt from Dream of Empty Crowns

Chapter One - The Tower 

Gordon was falling from the airship, again.

He was on deck watching his kingdom’s soldiers fighting the man with the patch and the fierce warrior girl, her long blond hair swinging as she leapt onto a soldier. The clanging of longknives rang in his ears and he could actually smell the sweat and the metallic tinge of blood in the air. Almost glimpsing her face this time, something heavy hit him and Gordon was over the railing and falling. His body turned and he was now facing the vast armies below.

 Gordon’s eyes darted wildly over the massive sea of men crashing against each other. Fire was everywhere, surrounding them, washing over buildings and forests. Gordon flinched as the massive, strange airships exploded out of the sky around him. As the ground rushed toward him, Gordon looked away from the armies and saw the shadow, which appeared as big as the world, blotting out the sun, making everything else seem gray. It was almost like a man, with dark eyes.

It was laughing.

Gordon jerked awake, hoping he had not screamed like last time. He didn’t want to worry his uncle Loren in the next room. Gordon concentrated on slowing his breathing and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He decided against getting up and lighting the gas lamp on the wall. Instead, he lay in his dark bedroom with eyes wide open; trying to forget his dream and forcing his thoughts back to the beginning of the exciting day.

 Asa, Gordon and Skyler had decided years before to put their names in the tower together. They were all ten then. Now, they were thirteen and it was King Stathen’s last trial. Gordon and Asa were certain Skyler would be chosen; Skyler won at everything, he always seemed to know more about any subject, and everyone looked up to him in school.

Gordon’s uncle Loren told them to put their names in long before today, but they made a pact to do it together, and Asa always did everything late. The law said every thirteen year old had to put their name in, as long as it was before the choosing ceremony. On the road to the palace, Asa, thirteen and small for his age, swung his name board at his side. As usual, he was bare footed. Gordon scratched his thick brown hair and thought, my uncle’s right. I do need a haircut. Not wanting to drop his board, Gordon held it tight in his right hand. Skyler had carelessly slid his into a back pocket. Gordon smiled as he realized they looked like steps, Skyler half a foot taller than he was, and shorter Asa walking next to him, all in order of height.  

“So Asa, is the paint still wet?” asked Skyler.

Asa glanced quickly at his name and let it hang by his leg so the other boys couldn’t see. “Shut up, Sky. When did you paint yours?”

“About two moons ago, like I was supposed to,” replied Skyler, “How about you, Gord? When did you paint your name board?”

Gordon didn’t answer as he popped a sweet into his mouth.

“Gord?” Asa asked, concerned, “you okay?”

Gordon chewed for a moment. “I’m good. It’s just a little longer to get to the tower than I thought. I think I brought enough sweets and sour cakes, though. And I finished my name board a while ago.”

The road to the palace was alive with activity. The closer they got to the tower courtyard, the more crowds of people they saw. The roads had become markets. All along the road, there were pots of stews, and sweets, and traders selling three pointed banners. Gordon got out a coin and thought of buying more food, just in case. He decided against it, but smiled as he rubbed his finger over the triangle on one side. He flipped it over to see the profile of the famous firstcouncilor Trunculin on the other.

As the boys continued toward the tower, Gordon began flipping the coin carelessly. Asa made a grab for it and missed, just as a girl from school came up to them.

“Want to see my name?” Enricca had broken off from her group of friends to come over to the boys. She held up her name board to Skyler. Enricca had painted it with at least five different colors, with tiny triangles all around her name.

Truly impressed, Asa asked, “How long did that take you?”

“Probably forever,” offered Skyler, “That looks dumb. No one’s going to see it anyway.”

“Shut up, shoe boy. When I’m queen, I’m going to… throw you in a deep hole to rot. I’ll ban the name Skyler forever,” replied Enricca.

“Sure. Except there hasn’t been a queen chosen since before Salenn the Peacemaker, like a hundred years ago. Asa has a better chance than you,” replied Skyler.

Asa said, “Hey!”

Gordon jumped in, “Come on, you know any thirteen year old can be chosen, even Asa.”

“Hey!” protested Asa again.

“Your name board looks nice, Enricca,” offered Gordon. 

Enricca smiled, “Thank you Gordon,” as she sneered at Skyler.

“Oooh, Gordon, why don’t you just kiss Queen Enricca, then?” mocked Skyler, pushing him toward Enricca.

“Stupid boys…” Enricca walked back to her pack of girls across the road, with a wry smile.

Gordon shook his head, confused, “Sky? I thought you liked Enricca.”

“Shut up,” was all he said, looking straight ahead. Gordon realized it was Enricca calling him ‘shoe-boy’ that had made him mad. Pointing out that Skyler’s father was a shoe maker always seemed to embarrass him. Gordon also knew that Skyler did like Enricca.

They could just see the top of the tower. There were lots of people everywhere they looked. It was loud, but with happy, friendly sounds, thought Gordon. Everyone seemed to feel they were a part of the same excitement, old and young alike. Gordon recognized many of the boys and girls his own age from his village. He spotted at least four boys and girls from his school, name boards in hand. As the three boys made their way closer to the tower, they saw the long line of thirteen year olds, all ready to climb the steps.

“Ugg. This is going to take forever,” moaned Skyler. “Why did you have to wait so long, Asa?”

Gordon jumped in before Asa had a chance to say anything, “Uncle Loren says the lines have been this long every day for a while. He says it’s the biggest choosing he’s ever seen.”

They all looked at the line in front of them.

Skyler shook his head, “How are there this many thirteen year olds in the kingdom?”

Gordon just smiled. The only thing that Skyler wasn’t good at was being patient.

They could feel the nervous energy and knew everyone was thinking the same thing. “What if one of us does get chosen? It could happen you know: King Skyler of the airships…” offered Gordon.

Skyler replied, “King Asa the awesome… and late for everything...”

Asa ignored Skyler’s jab and finished their ritual, “…King Gordon the Great.”

“Yeah, right, like a kid like us will ever be chosen king? I’ve heard it’s not really fair anyway,” said Skyler, “I’ve heard the rich councilors pay to have their kid’s name put in lots of times.”

“It has to be fair. Everyone puts their name in, in front of everyone. You can’t cheat. There are palace guards watching the tower, even at night,” offered Asa.

Gordon agreed, “That’s right. Besides, it’s happened before. King Rolenn and King Giber were village rats like us. They didn’t come from rich families.”

“Yeah, over a hundred years ago. Look at that tower. There must be fifty of us in line now, and kids from all over the kingdom have been putting their names in for two or three moons. There are probably thousands of names in there. Even if it is fair, the odds are pretty bad.”

Asa looked at his name board and shrugged, “Well, someone has to be chosen, right?”

They were through the entrance, and in the large palace courtyard. They were close enough to see a boy who had just rounded the last turn and was standing on the platform around the mouth of the tower, just standing there, leaning over the large tower opening.

“What’s he waiting for?” asked Asa, extending his neck to see over the crowds.

“I don’t know. Just toss it in already!” yelled Skyler impatiently, startling the person in front of them.

Gordon said, “He’s probably thinking how his life will change if he’s chosen. I mean, what if it actually happened?”

The boy finally tossed in his name board and began the walk down the stone tower steps. Gordon popped another sweet.

“You sure you’re okay Gord?” asked Skyler.

Gordon shot Skyler a warning glance, “I’m fine, Sky.”

“Has anyone with sweetblood illness ever been king?” asked Asa innocently.

Skyler said, “Shut up Asa, he doesn’t like to talk…”

Gordon said, “No. Sky, it’s okay. No Asa, a lot of people with the sweetblood don’t live very long. I’ve just been lucky.”

“That, and your uncle Loren was the firsthealer for the palace,” offered Skyler.

“Yeah, my uncle has saved my life a few times. But there is still no cure for… what I have,” changing the subject, Gordon asked, “Asa, what’s the first thing you would do if you’re chosen king?”

Asa thought for a second, “I would take the fleet of airships and drop fire on Extatumm.”

Skyler slapped his own name board across Asa’s shoulder.

“Oww!” shouted Asa.

“And start a war with the only other kingdom with airships? You dolt! The two councils have to approve a war anyway. Dumb…” said Skyler.

“No one has airships but us.” Asa tried to hit Skyler with his name plate, but he knocked it out of Asa’s hand instead. “Hey, don’t. The paint will smear,” said Asa.

“Ha! You did just paint it this morning!” Skyler laughed.

“Shut up, Sky.” Asa said.

“Alright, Sky. What would you do as king?” asked Gordon.

The three boys laid out their fantastical kingdoms as each thirteen-year-old climbed the tower and threw in their name. It took over an hour until they reached the tower. Asa and Skyler went first. They both came down, exclaiming how big the hole was and how many names they saw. Then it was Gordon’s turn.

As Gordon climbed, he passed the small doors that were built into the sides of the tower. Each one had a number and a lock on it, to be chosen at random on the day of the choosing. Each step brought a new thought. He didn’t know how to tell his friends that he was glad he would never be king. He couldn’t imagine how anyone his age could make those hard decisions. What does it feel like to be looked up to by millions of people? The whole idea was overwhelming.

Gordon pushed his thought aside as he reached the landing at the edge of the hole. As he stood over the massive opening, it reminded him of a large lake, this one filled with names instead of water. He smiled as he threw in his name. After seeing all of the thousands of name boards, Gordon knew he had nothing to worry about. His name board dropped into the lake of names.

The line of thirteen-year-olds looked even longer now as Gordon came down and rejoined his friends. At the bottom step, a girl brushed past him. She was clearly older than Gordon. Maybe she’s here with a younger brother or sister, he thought. She looked into his eyes for just a second. Her eyes were deep blue and a wisp of blond hair fell across her forehead. It only lasted for that brief moment, but he thought of it frequently on the way home. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t tell Asa or Skyler about it.

The boys made their way home in high spirits, talking of everything that would happen at the choosing ceremony in a few days. Gordon was thirsty and made his way home. It was getting dark, but he was within sight of his house. He saw the lamp lighter at the gas lamps along his street. He saw movement to his right as the shadows fled from the light of the lamps. A man was standing by the wall. The man’s hood was up, so Gordon couldn’t see his face. The man didn’t speak to him, and Gordon looked away, hurrying to his house.

The streets in his village were safe, but better not to get too close to mysterious strangers at night. He wasn’t sure if the man was looking at him or not. Strangely, he thought of the girl again. Her blue eyes. Gordon thought, I wonder why people are staring at me today as he went through the front door of his Uncle Loren’s house. 

Chapter Two - Falling

“Gordon?” called Uncle Loren.

“It’s me; it took a lot longer than I thought,” answered Gordon.

“I’ll say. I was going to send out a hunting dog to fetch you,” Uncle Loren came around the corner from the kitchen, “I told you the tower would be overrun by other thirteen year olds. Hungry?”

Gordon said, “Thirsty mostly. I took enough food, sweets and sour cakes just in case, but not enough water.”

Loren looked over Gordon, with the concern Gordon had grown up with. “Let me look at you.” Loren took Gordon’s face in his hands, looked in his eyes, and then took his hand, “Hands numb at all? Any tingling?”

“No, they’re fine.” He often got annoyed with how much his uncle checked him over every day, but he loved that he cared so much.

“Here, you know what to do,” Loren said, handing him a small metal pot.

Gordon sighed, “Now? Can’t it wait?”

“You know I have to test it. Either that or I take some blood,” insisted Loren.

“It’s okay, I need to go anyway,” Gordon said as he went into the next room and relieved himself into the pot and brought it back to Loren.

“I can smell a little sweet from here, I’ll go test it. Food’s almost ready.”

“Food smells good,” Gordon offered as his stomach began to rumble.

“I got some good stag meat and circle bread,” Uncle Loren left for his work room and Gordon went to the kitchen pump. He pumped the handle at the metal lined sink, and held his cup under the spout until he had finished two cups of water.

“It’s too sweet, nearly two hundred parts. Here’s some sour cake. Better let that work until you have any more food,” Loren handed Gordon a small, round purple cake, which Gordon finished with another cup of water.

Later, they ate the delicious stew and had the fresh bread. Gordon told him of the day’s events and how much his friends wanted to be king, “I’m just glad I won’t ever be chosen. Maybe I’ll be the king’s healer one day like you were.”