The Vanishing Queen: The First Chronicle

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.

Pandemonium ensued. "It is an ill omen!" the people cried, wailing and wringing their hands in fear. And quite rightly, as never mind the superstitious implications of sinister powers at work and things being awry in the world, made manifest in nature's reversal, the river's flow change posed problems, as it was a practical nightmare.

The waterwheel at the mill stood implacably withstanding the gush, the harmonious harnessing of water power inverted, so there was no flour to make bread. Fishermen used to knowing the river, its ways, and the best fishing spots, found themselves ignorant and unschooled, if they were brave enough to go on or in the river at all. Some gave it a wide berth.

"It's unnatural," they would mutter. "Something wicked's done that. Darkness is coming."

Dogs whined, cats yowled and the birds fell silent.

Loaves and fishes. The staples of any decent society and now, the populace was finding themselves wanting. And there is nothing worse than a worried mob, who are hungry and dissatisfied. The gnawing sensation in the belly and the constant hammering of "This is not right! This is not right!" inside the brain of even the most feeble of people will cause upset.

Or indigestion and a headache, at least.

But what was to be done? How can you make a river flow the "right" way again and who or what is responsible for this? The people were puzzled but more than that, they disliked the change it presented for them.

There are only ever a few who desire the grating disparity that change brings. Is it always this way? Of course not but most, excuse the pun and an ill-judged one at that, like to go with the flow. Like sheep, they follow, bleating and trotting their way towards the pen where they can be corralled easily by that which presents itself as security but in essence is the big bad wolf.

They don't like it when things are different, philosophising about how "it just ain't right!"

The fact that the river had changed direction was indeed a sign of things not being right. But what is right? Is it the normal order, of what has been established? Because if it is, then the wrongness of the river's flow was an indication of wrongness being righted and all being right again in due course.

Confusing? Yes. But hopefully, all will become clear during the course of the story. Or not, as the case may be. Because as we will find, a river running the opposite way creates a lot of silt disturbance and not much is clear at all, and the bottom-feeders who are happy to patrol the riverbed when all is proceeding as it should, dislike the disturbance of their quiet, little world and rise to the surface in temper and irritation.

Read that as analogous or literal, the choice is yours. But there is no tribe called Bottom-Feeders in this tale although there may be cast members who share the same less than savoury traits.

However, you interpret it, their "unsettling" may have been what was intended. Rivers don't change direction on their own, you know. There has to have been some sort of intervention to create this perceived unease.

Was this linked to the Queen vanishing? And what of that occurrence? Was this something that needed to be worried about? Well, yes.

And no.

The Queen had been living in a state of wrong rightness for a long time and had decided to "shake things up a bit". She was ever the mistress of understatement. Some have described her as disillusioned; others as madcap but many were unaware of the shrewdness with which she saw things and her exemplary awareness of the proclivities of human nature, in particular, the attraction of power and its magnetic draw.

Irresistible to some, it would appear, and worth coveting and acquiring for oneself.

It was a timely decision, her "vanishing", well-executed, avoiding as it did her own execution. She decided that whilst living she could make a difference whereas "dead, I can only count on coming back to haunt people and I've never met a reliable ghost."

History may look on the Queen's vanishing as a cowardly escape but those that suppose that will not have read this. Why would they? With their small, narrow brains and their love of all things shiny?

Digression is the enemy of the good storyteller although not the immodest one. We will come to the Queen's enemies and their acolytes in time.

Let's focus on where we find ourselves now. Castlebeach, in the kingdom of Dinasta. Bewildered and perplexed at what is happening.

The small village of Castlebeach (where there is neither a castle nor a beach, its name being the only highly original thing about the place for its absurdity) is a wayward place, little visited. The news of the Queen's disappearance had not yet arrived, it being the days of yore where messages were sent by raven or person, both of whom can be easily distracted and waylaid with the right temptations: carrion, beer - you can guess which applies (corvids are such great drinkers).

Why has the tale's beginning been chosen to take place in such a nondescript and inauspicious place? Why so impatient? Enjoy the rigour of suspense for a little while as it plays with you, letting you dangle and bounce on its taut elastic and send its small frissons of anticipation through your weary form!

It is, after all, merely the first chapter of an epic, the very mention of which should make you envision a hefty tome full of heroes and magic and trials and redemptions and battles and encounters and strange creatures and prophecies and oh, the list goes on, epically extending your imagination into the realms of the fantastical.

But as boredom can also be a factor associated with epics, let's provide a hint or two to at least keep your interest.

Castlebeach is situated close to the home of a famous sorcerer, mage, influencer - whatever you want to call him, who may have been instrumental in some water rechannelling, shall we say?

The Queen is meeting with him. Soon.

And the Queen did not vanish as that implies that she is thwarted, undone, usurped and that is very much not the case. She is merely out of view to those who should believe her vanished. Cunning and time-buying is the astute reader's guess.

As you will see shortly, she is alive and well, although a bit cross and is currently resting under an enormous leafy oak, waiting as instructed for a certain someone to arrive.

But do not think that she is not in danger! As she is. She is away from the centre of it - for now. But like an ink spot, the darkness of power craved spreads, seeping into the very fibres of all it touches and leaving an indelible mark that is not easily rubbed or washed away.

Or repelled.

As stated, the villagers of Castlebeach know nothing of their Queen's disappearance. They will know nothing of her appearance either, as she will be heavily in disguise and they don't know what she looks like other than a head on a coin but that's neither here nor there. The disguise may be superfluous but in times where Darkness threatens, it pays to be careful.

Her power struggle is about to become the mainstay of the lives of certain villagers, all who will be revealed in due course, as and when they arrive on the page and are recorded here.

But whilst they know not why the river flows so, they are aware that it is influenced by something powerful, and indeed it is so, as it is she, the Queen, who is responsible in part for the ultimate distraction.

Its strangeness to Castlebeach is symbolic of Darkness approaching.

And indeed, they would be right. Darkness was indeed on the rise. But it was also indicative of Darkness being combatted too.

But before, we get into all of that sinister stuff, shall we head off and meet the Queen?