Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 23:33:42 -0600
From: dnrock@rock.com
Subject: Arden's Saga 6

Arden's Saga
by:  dnrock(dnrock@rock.com)

This is a narrative.  It is a work of historical fiction.  The operative
word in that sentence is fiction.  It is a revision of my earlier story
Arden.  Sex between males, males and females, between females, of both
contemporaries and intergenerational is common.  I am sure, not common
enough for some and to common for others.  Some of the descriptions are
graphic, others not, still others are only statements of happening or just
illusions to occurrences.  The main characters are male and most of the sex
is between them.  Most of these characters are bisexual or think of
themselves as such.  If that offends or is illegal for the reader then it
is up to the reader to self censor.  You have been alerted, that is as far
toward censorship as this author is prepared to go.

The reader is reminded that historical fiction, when set in some past time
and space, adopts the conditions, sensibilities, morality and other
trappings of civilization that existed at that time and place.  Again this
is fiction, informed by historical scholarship.  The operative word here is
informed.  The author makes no claim to be a historian.

If the sexual nature is offensive or you are disqualified due to age or
location, don't read it.  You have been warned.  I hope you like what you
read and find the characters and their exploits/adventures interesting.  I
would also remind everyone that your financial support to Nifty is
appreciated and is needed to keep the stories flowing.  Please help if you
can.


6: Winds of War

1312, the 8th month, 30th day

Iason and I began our duties as pages and as all other boys in the castle,
our studies.  Unlike the other pages we continued to stay with our mentors
or in our own apartment.  Other than that we dressed, ate, socialized,
worked, did sports, military training and were educated with the others.
Our guardians spent their time in training and socializing with the other
Royal Guards, for those times they were not protecting us, which was when
in class or running messages.  They did help us and the other with military
training.  For the first few weeks we would not cary messages alone but
accompany one of the more experienced.  For me, almost all the castle
complex was new and needed to be learned.  Iason knew most of it, that
helped him a bit.  While we were functioning as pages we lost our guardians
and our titles.  Pages came in two groups, no distinction was made between.
One group were boys who would stay in that service and eventually become
messenger riders like Janus or be sent out as non military government
officials.  Others like Iason and I were to serve until 16, like the others
and then be moved to different functions.  We would have some princely
duties too on an as needed basis.

Many knights and military commanders spent at least six months as a page.
Not only did we need to learn the castle top to bottom but the city.  Our
training included much physical activity like running up and down long
stair ways and over long distances.  Our tutors taught us many methods of
improving our memories so we could easily remember names, faces locations
and long verbal messages.

Our Chamber Boy is Ikaros.  He has 15 years with brown curly hair and dark
eyes.  His lips are thick and red.  He is not very tall but has wide
shoulders and narrow hips.  His arms look powerful and he walks or moves
with great purpose but as silently as a cat.  He has a deep but soft voice.
Heron told us Ikaros was very fond of the girls and they fond of him.  That
he plays the syrinx as I do and is one of the best fencers in his group.


1312, the 9th month, 5th day

We learned today that the spies have been uncovered and additional plots
are afoot.  Uncle Iason told the council that he had received several
messages from our people abroad.  I take it we too have spies.  The three
spies will probably leave in the next few days since the ports and borders
will be closed by the 15th day.  Knowing who they are is a great boon to us
he announced, for we can feed them much false information to take along.

One of the knights wondered if these people had been successful in setting
up accomplices.  Karyakos just smiled and assured him they had.  That
suggested to me, those accomplices were trusted by him.  A dispatch from
the neighbouring Duchy, the one across the mountains through the only pass,
complaining that our proposed closure would cause great hardship to the
merchants of this place and the Bishop of that Duchy was unhappy being cut
off from our Bishop and Church.  I took this to be threats against us.
Several of the knights boldly proclaimed the snows of the pass would run
crimson with their blood should they be so foolish as to try.

Uncle Iason asked one of the scholars to prepare a long and detailed
response.  "Make the following observations: 1.  We are and have always
been a truly sovereign people.  Something our neighbouring states can not
claim.  2.  The last time anyone, being the Roman Legions, attempted to
invade by that path, the cost was exorbitant for them.  3.  The trade
between us by that route is minimal and a 90 day suspension would not
greatly hinder what little existed.  4.  Since we are a secular state with
no official religion, what the Bishop or clergy of any religion thought,
was irrelevant to our mutual political relationship.  Since they supported
the Eastern Church and our Bishop reported to the Pope that reasoning
seemed soft.  5.  Since the time of Alexander, our two states have been
always at peace and respectful of our differences, as well as our
commonalities."

That night Iason and I took Ikaros to our bed.  We each took a turn in his
anus and he giving the other the most wonderful sucking at the same time.
I was just surprised that he showed no real interest in returning the
favour in our asses but took us in his mouth with great relish.


1312, the 9th month, 6th day

Today we began our military training in addition to everything else.  Book
lessons, page duties, exercise of our animals, serving our mentors wine and
so on.  We were given wooden swords and began learning what to do with
them.  Our class is almost 20, all 12 years like us.  After a brief
introduction by the fencing master we all worked with Royal Guards coaching
or instructing us.  Damao and Pyrros gave Iason and I special instructions.
I was most impressed with the metal of their weapons.  They told me it is
iron that was smelted in the Frankish lands and made into finished products
in the armoury behind the Castle.  They insisted the quality was equal to
the best Dimashq or Egyptian blades and had proven it in battles with the
North African pirates, who were soundly defeated in every attempt to
invade.

I will make an effort to inspect these armoires and foundries in the near
future.  Each day our mentors and several knights ride out to inspect the
military preparations for invasion.  I hope we will be able to go with them
in the future.  I wonder how real this threat of invasion is.  Had not our
people been peace loving and totally independent since the beginning of
recorded history and even before that.  Our ancestors are reported to have
migrated here from Ithaka not long after the time of Odysseus.  No one
knows for sure just when or exactly who.  We are proud to cary Ithaka, the
island symbolic of adventure and longing for homeland; the symbolic path to
education and self-knowledge, as a proud symbol.

Our tutors claim the great poems of Homer tell the story of our people with
just as much truth and voracity as the Christian or Islamic myths.  Unlike
them we do not claim they are anything but the stories of men, for men and
by men.  (Translators note (TN): The Greeks were the first people to place
man in the centre of things like art.  Their pantheon and the stories about
their gods were designed to illustrate how men should go about living and
how they could get along with each other in that living.)  The tutor also
claimed, all of us are part of one large clan, formed by the founding
families.  That is why we are all citizens, free men and have always been
so.


1312, the 9th month, 8th day:

The harbour of this city is the only one capable of ships larger than small
fishing boats.  I am told that a draft or the depth in the water a ship
has, when loaded, can not exceed one orgyia (1.85 m) in any except here.
The water in this harbour is very deep about 1 Gleghorn (30 m).

Today we did not attend classes or serve as pages, we rode with our mentors
to inspect the fortifications along the harbour.  I was glad to be astride
of Zephyros again for more than a bit of exercise.  I think we were an
impressive group setting out from the castle that morning.  Iason, Father,
Uncle Iason our 8 guards, the Ingegnere Generale and several Knights
including Prince Tertius and several of his men and their squires.

The Ingegnere Generale is Archimedes.  This is a very apt namesake for him.
LIke the original mathematician, astronomer and inventor, he to is very
adept at applying his study to the real world.  Our touter was encouraging
us to try and think like Aristoteles and the old Archimedes, in going out
and learning of the world by observing and testing it, instead of just
thinking.  Iason and I were most impressed by what we saw.  To be fair,
since everything is new to us, perhaps it was only so impressive because of
that.  To be fair to Archimedes, he has taken the natural conditions of our
land and designed strange looking machines that could only be of use upon
it.

Our harbour is at the end of a long narrow channel.  The entrance on the
seaward side is narrow and filled with rocks.  Only one opening can pass
ships larger than a small fishing boat.  The walls of the channel are very
steep and of strong, very hard rock.  The cliffs are high above, some 6
peltra (185.4 m) rising from nothing in a short distance reaching 4 peltra
and to 6 at the coast.  (see chapter end notes)

We rode along one side, along the crest of the deep valley.  I could see on
the other side installations not unlike the ones on this side.  When we got
to the highest point above the harbour entrance we could see out to sea,
along the coast to the north and south.  On the other side is also a
headland but it is a bit lower.  We could see sails out on the water a long
way off shore and some fishing boats much closer to the shore.  Most of
them had no sail or very small ones.

Father told us these were our most seaward observation posts.  The solders
were on guard here all day and night, in all types of weather and had been
so for hundreds of years.  The observation platform is built of stone and
had a thatched roof.  Archimedes told us from the water this place looked
like the natural rock and as long as no light or highly reflective objects
were visible, no one would even know it exists.

The sleeping quarters, stable and so on were a little down hill from this
and could not be seen from the water.  As we looked along the coast to the
north I could see other observation posts and a road that connected them.
Each post had a stable so I assumed the riders connected them.  Archimedes
showed us a series of ingenious signalling devices made of polished copper.
They were modest sized bowls standing on edge.  He called them parabolas.
They were pointed, the bottom of the bowl, that is the centre of the
parabola, toward the stations.  Four were set up but one was covered, it
was the one pointing out to sea.  In addition to the main parabola were two
arms and pivot points with two smaller parabolas that could be pointed
toward the main bowl.  They could be adjusted to reflect the light of the
sun into the main bowl.  On another arm a small lamp could be lit and its
light reflected into the main bowl.  I assumed to be used at night.  Iason
thought on nights with the full moon to reflect, it could be used as well.

Archimedes told us that the great ancient Archimedes had used giant
parabolic mirrors to set the Roman fleet afire in a battle at Syrakuse
about 1500 years ago.  That's what the stories say.  He had experimented
with this but it would not work in our conditions, however it is effective,
if the sun is shining, in confusing and making it difficult to operate a
ship especially in a small harbour like ours.  As a signalling device it
was of great value.  By using a device that looks like a baker's paddle,
the light can be interrupted into short or long intervals and by combining
them, say two short and one long followed by a very long, to mean something
specific.  In addition, flags are used but only in the day time and clear
weather.  The mirrors can be used at night and as long as one can see the
light.

The heart of our defence is surprise or the unexpected, effectiveness and
skill.  We are a small nation and almost anyone who would attacks us will
have greater numbers.  We must be more clever.  Our coast is very rocky
with no suitable anchorage for ships of any size.  We have very little
coast line anyway.  When one looks at the map it is clear that impassible
mountains surround us with only the one harbour on the sea and one pass in
the east, that is only open to travel a few months of the year.

As we rode back toward the castle I could see numerous Catapults and other
like devices positioned along the cliffs on either side of the fjord.  Any
ship getting past the entrance would be subjected to almost continuous
harassment, of the deadliest sort.  Should they ever get into the wider
part of the harbour, close to the town, it will be up hill from the water
toward the defenders.  The castle is truly a mighty fortress with high and
thick walls.  The steep cliffs of the north mountains on that side, a fresh
water lake on the east and a salt marsh on the west which is impossible to
navigate across.  The south has a steep and deep river from the lake to the
sea with a draw bridge.  On the castle side are high and thick stone walls.
The town itself would be literally abandon, people going into the
hinterland or into the great castle complex.  Fresh water is from wells,
close to the lake but within the walls, much food is in storage.

Archimedes claims to have a number of secret and very powerful weapons just
looking for a real test.  I wondered about our navy but nothing was said,
except they are at sea.  We could see his great war machines were catapults
and like devices, that could throw large and heavy objects onto any ships
passing below.  The distance was such that the water area could be hit from
both sides.  I suspect a rain of fire and exploding things as well as large
rocks were in his mind.

At the narrowest points archers could shoot down directly and in the wider
areas upward to form an arc.  A rain of arrows could be launched.  We could
see some of the catapults launching large boulders into the water below.
The ingegneres were calibrating some kind of sighting device.  It was very
clever, taking into it the weight of the throw, the distance to the target,
the speed of the target, the strength and direction of the wind.  It worked
by moving a series of vertical spikes along different horizontal arms.  The
machine is positioned by moving it back along a rail with notches evenly
spaced and raising or lowering its front or throwing end.

After our bath, Iason and I took Ikaros to our bed again.  This was a most
pleasurable experience for all of us.  Ikaros is not overly fond of fucking
us but he is most pleased to be fucked.  He had prepared a large vessel of
warm water for us and assisted in helping to reach those spots we could not
easily reach ourselves.  Iason and I would have gladly helped each other
but Ikaros insisted it was his job.  We made short work of this task.  By
the time we dried our bodies he was on his hands and knees in our
bedchamber presenting the nicest small round ass to us.  His buttocks are
very small and his hips as well as his waist.  His shoulders appear quite
large when in this position and the smile on his face when he looked back
on us was most appealing.  Ikaros even at 15 is smooth and hairless except
for his head.  His scrotum is large and is his penis but his legs and body
seem to have no bulging muscles.  He is however a very strong and skilled
swordsman.  He practices with us and our guardians to keep up his skills.

Iason went to his head first so I moved up to his rear.  Ikaros' mouth
gaped open and engulfed Iason's erection, who placed his hands on the boy's
head to direct him.  I coated my erection with olive oil and pressed some
into his anus.  He took me as easily as if it was my own hand although
exerting considerably more pressure.  I could see Iason in the warm glow of
the afternoon light.  His long think legs terminating in small almost
invisible buttocks his hips slowly moving in time with Ikaros' head.  My
buttocks are fuller then either of them and very round.  All three of us
have small hips and narrow waists.  I pushed an pulled as did Iason while
Ikaros murmured in pleasure.  We all collapsed on the floor spent and
giggling like girls.  It is sad for us as his sword, the one between his
legs is not available to us.

After a brief respite Ikaros got up and presented us with new kilts and
special tunics that he had fashioned.  The kilts had many more pleats than
normal and were made of fine wool.  One unique feature was an inner lining
made of Egyptian cotton which was shorter than the outer wool layer.  He
giggled and told us the lining would protect our tender parts and the extra
pleats would make it easier for our mentors to feel our delights.  Somehow
Ikaros restrained himself from laughing but when Iason and I began he soon
joined in.  Our new tunics were narrower around the middle and showed off
our physique instead of hanging like little tents from our shoulders.
Being a warm climate, in the valley and by the sea, we do not need long
robes or hose and head covers, except to keep the sun away, was not our
custom.  I am told more northern peoples have much longer robes.

Longer robes, tights, leather britches and often hoods are important for
those who live in the mountains, and leather stockings for when we ride.  I
noticed most of the scholars and many older men had long robes but us
younger men, with nicely shaped legs and fit bodies, are a pleasure to look
at and we are not shy to show our assets.  The knights and solders often
have working uniforms.  They tend to be loose fitting for freedom of
movement.  We are not a rich land and are not greatly pretentious.  Clean,
mended, utilitarian and revealing are more to our style.  Women and girls
are a whole different matter, of course.  For us men dressing to impress
others is just not important.

I am told that in some lands only nobles can ware certain kinds of
textiles.  Not here, costly things like silk are only imported for the
ladies.  Only the knights and some of the more successful merchants can
afford them.  Mostly we dress in simple styles of utility.  Few have
Jewellery either.  Some like Uncle Iason and the knights have large signet
rings.  Some have medallions of office or profession.  The pages, guards
and us princes have insignias on our uniforms.  The pages also have little,
round, black, hats of office, with a chin strap.

.................................

(Translators note: I take this description, which I have greatly shortened,
to be a fjord.  Either these people did not have a an equal term or it was
not known to Arden.  The Greeks did have terms which would have shortened
his description considerably and could be translated as fjord.  Some must
not have been in his vocabulary.  He is only 12 and hales from an inland
farming and coal mining community.  Perhaps not.

The name Koalhurst is not a Greek name at all.  The area has coal deposits
or mines, although he has not yet mentioned them.  I do have the advantage
of having read much forward of this date and he does mention coal being
gathered near his village.  Given the name I suspect Welsh or other
Anglo-Saxon miners were brought in at some point to assist in exploitation.
Another topic he has not addressed.  Hard rock mines such as gold and
silver along with quarries were well known to these people and their
ancestors.  Coal is not widely found south of Thessaloniki and was probably
not much mined there in early times.  Coal was not widely used as a fuel
much before 500 CE.  Some records of coal being used by Greek smiths 1000
years before exist, they called it "fossil substances".  The coal near
Thessaloniki is lignite, i.e. of low rank and probably still clearly shows
it was made up of plant materials.)