Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 18:17:21 -0800 (PST) From: Kris Gibbons Subject: SongSpell-25 This story is a work of fiction. It contains descriptions of violent behaviour between adults, references to violent behaviour between adults and children, and expressions of physical affection. If you find this type of story offensive, or if you are underage and it is illegal for you to read it, please exit now. All characters are fictional and in no way related to any persons living or deceased. Any such similarity is purely coincidental and uncanny. This work is copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written consent of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the provisions of their submission guidelines but it may not be copied or archived to any other site without the direct consent of the author. I can be contacted at Bookwyrm6@yahoo.com Copyright 2003 Kristopher R. Gibbons All rights reserved by the author. I want to thank Rob for his editing help, his keen eye, and his helpful suggestions. 25 The Abstract and Brief Chronicles Do you hear? Let them be well used, For they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time. Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2, Line 534 ff. Two days later, Kri-estaul received his first unexpected visitor. "My Lord, he does not insist on it, but most humbly hopes for your good will to be so demonstrated," Ierwbae reported. Kri-estaul frowned, mulish obstinacy writ in every line of his face. The flux had been a singular event, and he had begun eating gruel and drinking wine diluted with boiled water and honey. This advance in his own condition did not impress him, as he had learned in the under-grounds to treat his body as an adversary, prone to sudden betrayals. And he still had to take Aldul's potions, but no longer from Aldul's hand. "Kri-estaul, I mislike this. It is not safe. He may be harmless and well intentioned, but you cannot be certain." "Papa, he likes me. He asked to see me. He's your mama's friend, isn't he?" "Yes. Yes, he is." Evendal sat quietly, considering both his obligation and his responsibility toward his son's safety. "I shall retire to the next room, if I can satisfy myself as to his sense and humour. However, should I hear your heart beat out of kilter, he shall not know his next breath." "Papa, that is foolish." "Resign yourself to it." "I wish you wouldn't leave." "Good. I may choose not to." Evendal smiled to let his son know that while serious, he was not angry. He turned to Ierwbae. "Bid him enter and be welcome, but beg his escort to wait just inside the door." Ierwbae nodded to Falrija by the doorway, who disappeared only to return with the callers. "Gwl-lethry aghd Gilbrahalnir and his chamberlain Hawl-metthrh pire'Gwl-lethry." Obedient to the Royal will, the younger Hawl-metthrh remained by the entrance, but her eyes never left her charge. If possible, Gwl-lethry's eyes looked even more sunken. His pallor remained, this time markedly natural. The bow he performed came off respectful but without flourish. "Gwl-lethry," Evendal acknowledged, permitting the man speech. "Your Majesty." He bowed a second time. "Your Highness," A pause. No one knew quite what to do or say. Finally, Evendal had had enough. "Good Gwl-lethry, forgive the familiarity, but you look worse than when I released you from detention. Wherefore?" "Nerves, Your Majesty. And that is why I appreciate your graciousness in permitting me this audience." "After brief consideration, We realised We are indebted to you. And that you sought converse with Our son is itself worthy of exploration. But We ask you to elaborate on your too terse rejoinder." "Your Majesty, I found I could not maintain my customary disposition. It may seem a paltry incidental to you, but my life is precious to me and to the many that feed on me. Not knowing the colour or mettle of the Majesty so newly advanced has preyed much on my mind. I made desperate enquiry and found, in the main, two contradictory reports of your nature. In one you are a usurper most ruthless and unpredictable, without mercy or shame. A creature of frightening untested powers and warped intent, making a mockery of the memory of a once-loved House." Evendal ald'Menam grinned. "Of course We are. And We have a fair idea of which tongues wag in such a manner. And the other report?" "The greater numbers happily acknowledge you Menam's son and heir. Our deliverer and defender felicitously returned. And ascribe all assertions of ungovernable powers to the wonder of your golden gaze." "And what say you?" But Gwl-lethry would not be drawn into an indiscretion. "I have not garnered sufficient intelligence to profess an opinion, Your Majesty." "An opinion does not require information, but We shall not press." After another pause, Evendal added, "You have a request or question of Us." "Yes, Your Majesty. You surprised me in publishing a report on my mistaken detention. Detailing your error and culpability. Announcing me blameless." The manorlord yet hesitated. "You are troubled." "I do not understand what game you play." "The game of kingship, Gwl-lethry. The penultimate responsibility. It is as We told you: We are responsible for Our decisions. No one else is. And We unjustly detained you, with near-mortal consequences." Gwl-lethry stared into Evendal's luminous gaze. "There is nothing behind your words that is not within your words. Is there?" "No." "And you truly do not intend, plan, or sanction mischief or threat to me or mine." "I and We truly do not. We wish you all good; health and wholeness." Gwl-lethry shook his head in incomprehension, but the cant of his shoulders changed, relaxing. "As I, in verity and however futilely, wish for your son." He turned, after casting an enquiring look and receiving a nod in return, to Kri-estaul. "Your Highness, when I heard of your change of residence, I came as soon as I dared, fearing it signified..." he struggled for the appropriate words "a reckless resignation. That your health had turned ill and His Majesty wanted your last hours. I am happy to see that this is not so." "I am better," Kri-estaul responded. He glanced up at his father, as if searching for some idea what to say to this man. "I was not certain, but today my tummy feels better than it ever has. And I don't feel the pain in my acorns like I had." After his initial shock at the circumlocution, Gwl-lethry struggled against an almost hysterical mirth. "That is good to hear. Your Highness and Your Majesty would not believe the reports circulating. One or two had Niem Dir attacking you and your Guard, suffering the loss of her sons and killing Your Highness in the conflict." Kri-estaul closed his eyes, cudgelling his memory. "She was here... I think. I don't recall her well, unless she was the one who got angry a lot." "Yes, Kri. That was she," Evendal confirmed, still agrin. "That sounds like choice entertainment, Gwl-lethry. In truth, We restored her surviving daughter to her, and acceded to her manipulation to make Us Lord of the Eastern Dark." Gwl-lethry could not hide his shock. "She gave over her autonomy?" "'Twas not her intent but it proved the sum of it, yes. So that she might be free of her persecutors. We, in turn, confirmed her in her fee as Our liegeman. She remains Warden, under Our observance." Evendal moved away from that subject. "We are surprised to see you so hard upon Our last meeting. What is toward?" The Lord of the Tinde'keb frowned. "I have already confessed my purposes. I... that is..." he did not continue. "Aldul is an eagle for vision," Evendal grinned ruefully. "We have utterly confounded you, have We not, Gwl-lethry? You feared to sleep. You feared even to rest. You anticipated your sudden death, a knife in the dark, an unexpected 'bandit' attack, sponsored by Us or Our subordinates." "Aye, Your Majesty," Gwl-lethry whispered, eyes all but protruding. Such a confession insulted the honour of this ruler, providing all the excuse for reincarceration and retribution Evendal could want. Evendal took no umbrage. "Our friend Aldul of Kwo-eda foresaw this. If We were to act in such a way, it would not be secret for long. We would then be kinless and friendless, for without hesitation Kri-estaul would either be back with his sister or a guest of the Archate, renouncing all remembrance of Us. Alekrond would be assaulting Our port, Sygkorrin would refuse Us Aldul's presence, and the Stone-haulers would permit no embassy. The Typika would be goading her students to works of subtle criticism of Us and Our Rule. Bruddbana would return to alehouse dwelling, and the Guard to its anarchical self-interest." "Your Majesty..." "Yes, We jest. But We also speak the truth. Gwl-lethry, else We wanted to destroy all We have fashioned, We would leave you in peace and safety. Apropos of that... Are you come for your hominium?" Gwl-lethry stared at Kri-estaul more than at Evendal. "Aye, Your Majesty." Evendal m'Alismogh left the quiet alone. When Gwl-lethry frowned again, the King broke the silence. "Come closer." When the lord of the Tinde'keb obeyed, Evendal grinned lightly. "Tarry a moment or more, Gwl-lethry. You came, ostensibly, to visit us both. As the visit was a surprise to Us, let Us make Our simple preparations. Stay with Kri-estaul, while We confer with Our Guard." He indicated a chair beside the bed, near the wall. "Sit and stay seated, while I step away." To the confoundment of both Gwl-lethry and an alarmed Kri-estaul, Evendal stood. "Papa?" The King pecked his son on the lips. "Relax, my son. Though I will not leave the room, I deem Gwl-lethry fit company for us both." "Your Majesty..." Gwl-lethry moved to take Evendal's arm, to halt his departure, then thought better of the gesture. "A moment, please. I learned most of what passed here a few days gone." "You speak of?" "Niem Dir's newly restored burden and sorrow." Lord Evendal signalled for Ierwbae. "Acquire however many Guard you need. Request Aldul, Heamon, and the Quillmaster, retrieve Eirath-harl, and ask the Mistress of the Oaks if she would send a witness for Tinde'keb's investiture." Ierwbae nodded and hurried out, replaced by Falrija. Evendal turned back to his guest. "Ah. Then Niem Dir is no beggar for friends, is she?" Gwl-lethry visibly hesitated. "Niem Dir and I once shared a like purpose and duty. My respect for her is dwarfed only by my love for... your own mother." Evendal grinned gently. "And it is on this duty and purpose that you would speak with me." He looked down at an alert Kri-estaul. "So, an audience with Our son was but the cloak in which you wrap your true intent?" The young man shook his head vigorously. "No, Your Majesty. No, Your Highness. Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I am gambling on your mansuetude, pity, and magnanimity. And I must have more to hope in than wild tales and the bitter hyperbole of my more bile-filled peers! They deserve better than the work camp or the under-grounds." The man's voice rose with each word, anxiety fuelling him. "Peace," Evendal interjected. "Calmly, good Gwl-lethry. 'They' who?" "But... did you not speak with Niem Dir? Did you not question her on...?" Gwl-lethry's stare turned incredulous, horrified. "Your Majesty, you do know that the Archate Orphanage is near empty, do you not?" The King hardly considered Gwl-lethry's seeming non sequitur, simply reflecting that such a circumstance would be short-lived with so many newly made widows and orphans. He then reminded himself that nine years had passed. "What? But what of the families decimated by Mausna?" "The Wise Counsellor considered them his wards, but not in order to release them to the King's Cinqet." "His damnable wall!" Gwl-lethry nodded. "Who speaks for the Stone-haulers?" "One called Jaserle," The lord of the Tinde'keb nodded again, regaining a measure of calm. "Good man. I remember him well, and his late wife." And just as quickly, Evendal knew where their conversation was moving. "You and the Warden of the Eastern Dark? With the consent of the Stone-haulers? What did you?" "When first the conscripts guessed their condition, that death alone would free them from their lot, they tried to rebel. But they had no unity; their attempts were fitful, with only rare successful escapes. The one concern they all shared was the survival of the children among them. But not as t'bo. Those I could communicate with were unanimous that, if their children escaped to the same estate into which Polgern had placed the parents and guardians, better they all die together. Not everyone said it so clearly or kindly, but none disagreed." "And they felt the same toward those so recently orphaned?" Gwl-lethry grinned, an expression without levity. "Only those who acknowledged the impossibility of their own escape. In the face of their own immediate peril, many felt little compassion for those who lost their families in a war that meant nothing to them." "Now that I can readily believe." "But the majority of voices, I mean those few able to smuggle messages out of the camp, begged that the same effort go toward rescuing the orphans. It was my own demand that if any orphans were to be included, then all orphans must be. No casting lots or judging one unfit or another undeserving. Surprisingly, Niem Dir agreed." "How did you manage? Horest kept detailed records and expected the same of his minions." "But his attention was all for the logistics of his wall, and his underlings were not prepared to do any more than was required of them. Until the camp... warden personally received some written directive that those under the age of majority were accounted the same status as the adult conscripts, no one wanted to expend the effort making a tally of them, their use-names, or their numbers." "That could not have allowed you much time." The lord of the Tinde'keb chuckled with genuine amusement. "You would be surprised, as I was. Horest was a... a mechanism. And obsessed with exactitude. This wall was the most ambitious stonework since the Kwo-edan canal. His numbers -- of manpower, of stones needed, of time required -- never agreed. Each time he calculated, the results differed too drastically for his satisfaction. In this we had no hand, but rather the perverse hand of Ir worked for us." "You would not be apprising Us of this unless you were successful." Gwl-lethry nodded. "And the Lady Sygkorrin told you nothing of this?" Evendal gaped. "She got involved?" "Of course! We could hardly evacuate all those minors else we wanted permanent residence in the under-grounds. As it was, Niem Dir came under constant covert attack due to her sovereignty. Had Polgern thought me less pliable than I seemed, or less simple, I would have been under siege by his Guard, and all our work undone." "What passed?" Gwl-lethry's face turned quickly sombre, a mask of gravity easily managed with its haggard look. "A great and terrible affliction. Perhaps the close concentration of all those people with different habits of cleanliness was to blame, but a disease struck the work camp. It assailed the younger population almost exclusively. The Temple had not seen anything like it since the Nikraan Advent." "Most likely, that is quite true," Evendal observed dryly. Gwl-lethry shook his head. "They did, in truth, suffer a few deaths of children, beside those from malnutrition and dehydration. Influenza, measles and chickenpox swept through the camp. In the face of such poor conditions, no one had any way of surviving the outbreaks. The Stone-haulers simply took advantage of their gaolers' disgust and fear of contagion. After the first few ravaged bodies, none of those responsible got too close to the presumed corpses that the Archate priests retrieved for isolated burning." "And were the Temple's number of underage dependents to suddenly increase, Horest and Polgern would know themselves outmanoeuvred and would retaliate," Evendal added, seeing one obvious danger in their task. "Yes. So Niem Dir made provision for them in her domain. Until her eldest learned of her subterfuge." "He must have learned very little, else word of all this would have come to me sooner." Ierwbae returned and nodded from the doorway, indicating success. As quietly as he could, he proceeded to arrange chairs along the wall and facing the beds. "Only that she harboured fugitives in goodly numbers, and where. He had no patience and felt no need to wait on more. When she realised her home had been compromised, Niem Dir had the orphans herded toward Alta. She had some of her merchandise boats, wide shallow-water vessels, waiting at a ford of the Kerilawyn River, to take the children back to where the Kerilawyn touches my own lands. The main of their escort, however, continued right up unto the borders of the Freelands, and then dispersed to find individual ways home." Both Evendal and Kri-estaul listened quietly, stunned by the audacity of the effort. "Would it not have been wiser to have them all continue on to Alta?" Gwl-lethry shook his head. "Reaching the Kerilawyn tested the limits of the younglings' strength and patience. Many were too young to grasp the danger that they were in, or the danger they posed for the others if some abandoned the assembly to eventually get 'found.' As it was, two children died of a fever brought on by their own bodies' exhaustion and the pace of the journey. A few were set upon by the wildlife: snakes, boar, and what one escort swore was a ralur. Their fear kept them from traipsing off but made them harder to deal with." "Neither the Temple nor the Dark informed me of this enterprise," Evendal commented, after Gwl-lethry had finished. His voice held both suspicion and affront. "But I should have perceived..." "What?" Kri-estaul asked. Evendal thought aloud. "With over half of the traditional workers for the docks and guilds and common labour-force dead, the kingdom had only two alternatives: the women and men who never went to Mausna, and the children. I'll wager that Polgern turned to the Orphanage for youth labour because most of the families in the Agora had already made their own children their principal providers. He dared not summarily claim those under age from modestly prosperous families; it would have destroyed an already beleaguered mainstay to our financial survival. And when fewer visitors and merchant ships came, warned away by our reputation for press-ganging and arbitrary detention, work positions dwindled, wages fell, and child workers willing to labour in the markets and manors for a pittance became even more vital." "What?" the child asked. "Yes," Gwl-lethry affirmed. "For safeguarding the orphans and the soon-to-be orphans, I could have been thrown into the under-grounds for crimes against the commonweal." "One or two matters remain unclear to Us," Evendal insisted. "We cannot believe that the Wise Counsellor and his Shadow-Beast honoured the boundaries and autonomy of any of the manorlords, or of the Dark for that matter. Surely your lands were explored and perused more than once." The Lord of the Tinde'keb turned laconic. "Yes" was all the answer he'd give. "Your Majesty, what would you regarding these children?" He sat stiffly, his tired face sagging under lines of sober tension. "That is your question? Let Us ask one in turn. What would you have Us do, Gwl-lethry? They have been the responsibility of your demesne. We see no reason why, provided they are well and well cared for, We need act at all. Except to confirm you in your offices and lands, if you will it." "Your Majesty is toying with me," Evendal frowned. "Kri-estaul can bear witness, Tinde'keb, that that is one behaviour you will never see from Us. We may test people, but We never act or speak from malice." When the manorlord hesitated, Evendal pursued. "Gwl-lethry aghd Gilbrahalnir, what is Our name?" The man opened his mouth to begin, and the King anticipated him. "Laying aside Our nobility and graces, what are We called?" Gwl-lethry stared the King in his burnished golden eyes and answered, "You are named Evendal ald'Menam y Wytthenroeg." "Why is it so hard for you to allow Us that lineage? We are not the son of Morruth, nor the son of Lukaad. If We knew of a way to honour you that your pride would accept, it would already be accomplished. If We thought you would stand for it We would have your subterfuge heralded throughout the City and the Woods, an accolade to your courage, your heart. "To the best of Our integrity and powers, We gave Niem Dir back her heart's desire: her land and what family she would claim and care for. Were it within the compass of Our authority, We would have restored her eldest daughter whole and unharrowed, but it is not. What would you? Is there naught We can aid you in?" "Your Majesty, I did not aid in the rescue of those children for the reward or honours I might garner." "You're not listening!" Kri-estaul blurted out. Just as suddenly, dismayed at his own forwardness, he hitched the counterpane past his shoulder and tried to hide. He did not understand all of the argument, but he knew his father wished to help this man, and the man kept balking. He could sense Gwl-lethry's fear, almost like a haze around the thin, fastidious man. And he could feel his father's frustration, a tension coursing from the hand that rested beside him. When Evendal stroked his hair, Kri-estaul flinched. Gwl-lethry halted the words waiting on the tip of his tongue, took in the demoralised child and the scowling father before him, and reconsidered. Unlike with the Lord Evendal ald'Menam, what rumours he had caught regarding Kri-estaul agd'Emmas-dawyl meh'Kohermarthen y Inosien yn Keh'my-ralur, pier'Evendalh, all had the odour of truth. Cute but kind with it, and the apple of the King's sunlike eye. No one doubted the child's identity, or what he had survived. He deserved any honour or accommodation that could be fashioned. "Forgive me, Your Highness. My apologies, Your Majesty. You are quite right. It is hard to credit how everything has changed. That we are no longer under siege from our own." Gwl-lethry took a deep breath, with deliberately exaggerated noise, striving to underscore a change in demeanour. Evendal declined his head in a gesture toward his son. "Will you accept my apology, my mortification for having rended your heart's ease? That was not my hope for this visit." Kri-estaul peeked to see how Evendal was responding when he heard no reply, and shuddered to learn that the courtier was not addressing his father. "Me?" Gwl-lethry nodded solemnly. "Yes, if you want." Seeing the boy's continued discomfort, Gwl-lethry turned his attention back to the King. "Your Majesty, at this time I cannot name a need of mine that others do not share. Nor could I stomach an acknowledgement, any making merry over an ordeal that stemmed from and caused such great pain and distress. It would feel more like punishment than reward." "How do you tend them? We presume you are, indeed, the shepherd for the flock." "I was given to understand that the Lady Sygkorrin briefed you on the particulars of my final disposition." "Only in your making Wytthenroeg your heir should your death precede hers. And her children inheritors should you survive her." "That was only the initial arrangement. Wytthenroeg, yes. But we had already arranged for her children to refuse procuratorship. Your Majesty, would you see fit to extend the grace of your audience to my companion, both you and your son?" "Most certainly. Ierwbae?" The Guard escorted the young woman, who lowered into a deep courtesy. When Evendal raised her up, she bowed her head and quickly moved to stand behind Gwl-lethry's chair. "Your Majesty, might I present and acquaint you with my daughter Hawl-metthrh?" "You may indeed. Be welcome before Us this day, Hawl-metthrh." The young woman, with an exotic mix of blonde hair accenting the Hramal pitch-brown, stared with frank anxiety into Evendal's glow before realising her gaffe and bowing her head in acknowledgement. "Your Highness, might I present and acquaint you with my daughter Hawl-metthrh?" Again, faced with a surprising sight, Hawl-metthrh paused; and though she recovered better than the first time, her delay had been obvious. Wide-eyed, an already unnerved Kri-estaul opened his mouth to respond, but no words emerged. His face reddened from the struggle to keep his emotions corralled. The silence extended until Evendal interceded. "Kri-estaul, look at me." As the child turned his head to obey, his control left him. "I told you! I told you! I'm ugly! Freakish! I shouldn't be living." Tears cascaded down his temples as he tugged at a pillow to cover his head. "Oh, no, little..." Hawl-metthrh began then stopped, fearful of further royal displeasure for breaching custom and speaking without sanction. Evendal held the pillow away. "Kri-estaul, look at me. No, don't hide, precious one. Never hide from me. Don't. Don't. Now, look closely. Look well. Take a breath. Good, and another. Now. Look. What do you see?" "I... I don't know." Kri-estaul didn't want to answer. "Do you see any regret?" The glow to Evendal's eyes increased. He lifted Kri-estaul's chin when dread and shame weighted it down. "Do you?" "No." The Prince was not about to let go of his doubts and pain so readily. "No. Do you see any disgust? Any?" For everyone else, Evendal's face became difficult to focus on. As one trapped, though no coercion held him, Kri-estaul continued to stare. After a moment in which he held his breath, the boy answered with a sobbing "No." "No. Nor will you." Now Evendal glanced toward the lord of the Tinde'keb, who nodded encouragement. "Ever. Now look to Gwl-lethry." Uncertain, embarrassed, Kri-estaul complied. "Look well, my Prince. What do you see?" Gwl-lethry asked, curious. The impassioned exchange had calmed him, reassured him as no royal protestations could have. The child blurted out, "You are afraid." That clearly surprised the distressed lord. "Of you?" "No. I don't know what you are afraid of. But you worry for Hawl-mettray." Kri-estaul had trouble saying the woman's name. "But what about you?" Gwl-lethry asked hurriedly. "Let me suggest, and you tell me if I am honest. You see sadness?" "Yes." "You see..." "You really do like me!" Kri-estaul interrupted. At this point Kri-estaul's misery had abated, subsumed by wonder. "Yes, I truly do. Now, can you look at Hawl-metthrh and tell me what you see?" "Do I have to?" Kri-estaul whined, fearful. Gwl-lethry grinned slightly. "I think so. I know what you will find, but you yourself need to do the finding, young Prince. Hawl-metthrh?" With even more trepidation, Kri-estaul looked into Hawl-metthrh's grey eyes, flinching at first contact. After two forced, sodden breaths, the child whispered, "You don't... you don't think I'm a freak? Useless?" "No, of course not." Her hand rushed to cover her mouth in dismay. "Forgive me, Your Majesty!" Evendal waved aside any concern over court manners. Reassured, Hawl-metthrh continued, "When I saw you for the first time I was amazed. My first thought was that you must be in a lot of pain. Are you?" "Just my tailbone. But Papa will move me more on my side soon. Uncle Aldul has these drinks. They taste nasty but they make the pain go away." Gwl-lethry smiled. "Your Majesty, may I present her to you as my choice for heir of the Tinde'keb?" "Most certainly! Are you prepared?" When Gwl-lethry nodded, Evendal signalled Ierwbae. The Guard took his cue. "Your Majesty, Aldul of the Archate and Paramenate Temples, Matron Drussilikh Quillmaster, scribal assistant Lialityne olm'Eruidin, Eirath-harl Heir to the Wardship of the Eastern Dark, and Aikathemi proxy for the Mistress of Oaks desire to attend you." "Bid them enter, be most welcome, and be seated." With proper gravity, Ierwbae obeyed. Aikathemi proved a young man with grey-hued brown hair and a wooden post in place of a left calf and foot. Eirath-harl, with Niar-lles shadowing, walked in with eyes wide and fearful, but sat down where Falrija indicated without word or hesitation. Drussilikh arrived carrying the tools of her profession. When all were seated, Ierwbae stepped up to his liege, bowed, and offered a cloth bundle. Evendal jammed it between himself and the side of his chair. The Guard then retreated to the door. After a pause of two steadying breaths, Gwl-lethry arose from his seat and pulled out a thin wooden baton strapped to his side. He knelt before Evendal and proffered the baton. The King of Osedys took up the offering, displaying a grip that had been carved in the form of some bird. After assuring that all had seen the staff surrendered to him, Evendal stood, turned about, and cast it into the active hearth on the other side of Kri-estaul's bed. The old festuca relinquished and Gwl-lethry's former oaths now void, Evendal sat down again. "Gwl-lethry aghd Gilbrahalnir, do you wish, without reserve, to become Our man?" "I wish it. Receive me, August Majesty, with my fief, which is subject to you. Of my own free will, I place myself at your service." Thus saying, Gwl-lethry clasped his hands and placed them between Evendal's. "I do receive you," Evendal affirmed. "Be a good and true vassal to me, and I shall be a generous and kind lord to you." As Evendal spoke, completing the homage, Hawl-metthrh knelt. Then, as Gwl-lethry stretched back his hand to place it on Hawl-metthrh's head, likewise Evendal leaned to his side to lay his hand on Kri-estaul's. "This I pledge by all that I value." "This I so pledge, by all that I value," Gwl-lethry echoed. Then did they exchange kisses, sealing the fealty. "Gwl-lethry agdh Gilbrahalnir, will you accept from Our hand the care of the Tinde'keb, in token of which We offer this sign?" Thus saying, Evendal drew a new baton from the cloth wrapping at his side and held it out. "As your man, I shall," Gwl-lethry avowed, taking up the baton and sealing the investiture. "So do We confirm you in your offices, Our man, and lord of the Tinde lands. Stand now before your peers, liegeman Gwl-lethry. Stand now beside your lord and father, Hawl-metthrh pire Gwl-lethry, as his heir, so acknowledged by Us," Evendal bade. Only with his Lord's assist was a weary Gwl-lethry able to rise and give the proper honours. "Welcome back into our lists a man of uncommon heart and valour. Our brother in faithfulness," Evendal declaimed. "If all of you would let Falrija guide you, Mistress Shulro has baked some delectations that you may accept as Our gratitude for responding to Our call. Enjoy them if you wish, and so mark the sweetness of the occasion." Drussilikh, disdaining the offered diversion but with a nod to Evendal, took her chair to the far side of Kri-estaul's bed and sat beside him. Aldul stood and waited for the King to acknowledge him. Evendal waved him over and pulled him into an embrace when he stared to bow. "Don't do that to me. Please!" Evendal hissed. "You're not a courtier, and I am not your King." Aldul smiled, the widest smile Evendal had ever witnessed on him. "Your Majesty. Evendal. You are still a king. Do not be so troubled, I was prepared to greet my friend after I honoured the King." Evendal ald'Menam flushed, aware he had, again, shown his ineptitude in social matters. "Have you need?" the Kwo-edan asked. "Not at the moment." "Then permit me to take advantage of Shulro's bounty, and I shall return after." "Of course. You ever have Our grace and favour." "Your Highness," Gwl-lethry enquired, "is your stomach hale enough to partake of such offerings? I could retrieve a few." Kri-estaul looked to Evendal who shook his head. "Not yet." "Hawl-metthrh, how long did you endure the Orphanage?" the King enquired. "Since I claimed seven years." "And you have over fourteen, now?" "I have sixteen years, Your Majesty, the last three under my lord Gwl-lethry's prodigal forbearance." Evendal smiled at the courtier, moving Gwl-lethry to respond. "Niem Dir and I took advantage of a hierarchy of command as already existed among the children, Your Majesty. One wherein Hawl-metthrh had found herself the head. She has long known her value in my sight, Your Majesty. I merely learned of her virtues rather than engendering them." "What say you, Hawl-metthrh? What of the adults given charge of you in the Orphanage? Had they no one of courage and perception to protect you as their commission required?" Looking back and forth from the King to her immediate lord constantly, Hawl-metthrh sought to provide as inoffensive an answer as she could. "One there was, Your Majesty. A good and kind man given to brainstorms without warning, and thus kept from the muster for Mausna. Had he not been given the assignment of labour in the Warren, more would have died and earlier. He... he did not survive the camp, Your Majesty, despite our sincerest efforts." "The Warren?" "So we called the Orphanage, Your Majesty. No disrespect meant." Evendal noticed a man keeping Ierwbae company by the door. All set to vent his wrath, the King had to choke and swallow on the words he had ready as he belatedly recognised Aikathemi, proxy for Pohul-halik. "None taken," Evendal rasped, still striving to relax his throat. "We imagine the tag was apt." The Guard had approached. "Yes, Ierwbae?" "Your Majesty, two matters. Aikathemi, Rowan Master of the Woodwose and deputy of Pohul-halik, requests the honour of meeting His Royal Highness as well as the grace of your congress." "And the second concern?" "Guard Mulienhas would present the fruits of their search for the three Guard of uncertain allegiance, implicated by Frichestah. The Lady Sygkorrin offers an identical entreaty." "Interesting. Have them tarry a while, and have their comforts seen to." Ierwbae nodded and bowed before retreating. "Your Majesty, as this is proving a fulsome hour for visitations, permit us to retire and return to make our felicitations at a better time." Evendal scowled and shook his head. "No. As pinnacle of Osedys, no better hour shall ever present itself. Relax, good Gwl-lethry and gentle Hawl-metthrh, and know that you are among people who wish you nothing but good. Were the weather kinder on distressed bones, we would be entertaining Pohul-halik herself, for she is much taken with my son's sweet nature and blunt manner. Such is her concern that she... Well, you shall see anon. But we were speaking of your rescue of our home's future. Continue, please." Gwl-lethry and Hawl-metthrh glanced at each other. "We do not know what you would have of us, Your Majesty." "Let me tell you what I have gleaned, from both your words and your silences, and you may correct my sense." Uncertain of the point of this exercise, Gwl-lethry cleared his throat uncomfortably. "As you will, Your Majesty." "That Hawl-metthrh is not your daughter by birth or blood is evident. That she has shackled your heart in the same manner Kri-estaul owns mine is not in doubt either. We see before Us the reason that Polgern's unannounced searches and invasions found nothing in the Tinde'keb and the Dark. Hawl-metthrh, We would speculate that before you dwelt in the Orphanage, you and many of your comrades played hoodman's-blind on that rock called the King's Cinqet." Hawl-metthrh's face reddened and she looked to the floor, again shy. "You would be correct in all particulars but the last, Your Majesty," Gwl-lethry confirmed. "The Orphanage itself provided the education, the craft that she employed to successfully hide her kith within my lands." Evendal grinned, accepting the correction. "Of course. The Orphanage is old, and its injustices are no doubt as ingrained and hidden as its benefits were trumpeted. "Some of the Tinde is wetland, but some is old rock and cavern. You and your delegates either used the advantages of the marshland, or fashioned grottoes like unto the caves, but covered, masked." "Yes, Your Majesty." "Both? Amazing! Your heir is cute and wise, Gwl-lethry. Our son had best keep alert around her. How many children are you claiming?" "Your Majesty?" "How many children survived?" "Three hundred and thirty-one, Your Majesty." Gwl-lethry clenched his jaw, his eyes dark and unblinking. "And I claim them all, Your Majesty. All." He waited, his lieutenant poised behind him. The King saw well the glint of belligerence in the manorlord's eye, the look of a man prepared to do battle. Hawl-metthrh displayed a like countenance. Evendal responded clemently. "That is good to know. But surely some have family among the surviving Stone-haulers." And Gwl-lethry deflated, releasing the fortifying breath he had taken. "I found upon my return from detention that my daughter, alarmed by my prolonged absence, had relinquished those with parents or adult relatives back into their care, lest they be captured on my lands. Inasmuch as the edict rendering the Stone-haulers t'bo was rescinded, the old rights and liberties of family again applied for them, without the Stone-haulers having to draw attention to their children's absence or reappearance. The children yet existed on no record but our own." "So, allowing for those that the Rosette claimed, you still provide for over three hundred orphans?" "No, Your Majesty." Hawl-metthrh piped up. The look in her still bellicose eye bespoke an aging anger. "We provide for over three hundred sons and daughters of Gwl-lethry agdh Gilbrahalnir." She inhaled sharply and then added, like one offering challenge, "Each and every one is secure in the knowledge of who their father is, and that he cares for their wellbeing, each and every one, without condition." It was Gwl-lethry's turn to blush, briefly at a loss for words. "Be at peace, Hawl-metthrh," Evendal chided. "As We said before, so long as We know them to be well and well cared for, they may remain Tinde'keb's. We would even set Our seal to such, should you need it." "You would?" Gwl-lethry breathed, astonished. "Good man, she may love and honour you. But Hawl-metthrh is the arm and voice of her charges first and foremost. That, also, was obvious at first greeting. Do you understand that you have altered, forever, the nature and use of your lands?" Gwl-lethry shrugged. "I had little choice, my lord." "We should have you say that before some of your more obsessive peers," Evendal muttered. "Do you desire such confirmation?" Gwl-lethry hesitated, again sharing glances with his daughter. "Your Majesty, would it be utterly outrageous to request a writ listing the names of my wards and confirming their status as my sons and daughters? With copies for each as they reach their majority?" "You're the father of three hundred children?" Kri-estaul asked, uncertain he heard correctly. "Yes, Your Highness." "Do you love them?" Kri-estaul scowled at the manorlord. "All of them?" After a pause, brought on by the child's sudden ferocity, Gwl-lethry nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. I do." Kri-estaul glanced up at his father. Evendal nodded his confirmation. "And you want Papa to give you something that will prove that these children are yours?" Again Gwl-lethry nodded. "Something that reassures them as well as..." "Why not use an emblem?" Kri-estaul asked. "What? How do you mean?" Evendal smiled at the idea. "Yes. Much like the name trinkets for when a child is born into a family. Is your family sigil not a bird? A robin?" "Yes." "Then with just over three hundred children, surely they know each other and would thus be able to keep others from claiming kinship and abusing your badge." Gwl-lethry gave Evendal a speculative look. "A ring, perhaps. Yes." "The writ shall be yours, before a sennight has passed. Along with notice that those bearing your badge are under the Throne's shadow, and your sons and daughters, with all resultant rights and liberties." Gwl-lethry stood and bowed. "My thanks, Your Majesty and Your Highness," "Stay awhile, good Gwl-lethry. You also, Hawl-metthrh. Acquaint yourselves with Our son and heir and We shall go to smooth some roughened bark." So saying, Evendal stood and approached Aikathemi, who bowed and awaited acknowledgement. "We are relieved that Pohul-halik knew better than to brave the bitter cold and sent her sturdy colleague in her stead. You are most welcome for your own sake as well as for serving her needs, Aikathemi." The man's answer came out in an odd, strangled bass, low in register but light in tone. "You are most gracious in your welcome and your words, Majesty. I brought my Mistress's good will, good wishes for your son's better health, and a gifting or two that might help him pass the time of his confinement." Evendal was not surprised at the offer. "Good Aikathemi, I recall with great joy your lessons on the habits and needs of the trees native to our lands. It warms my heart that you, like your trees, yet endured the foul weathers past." The grey-toned man grinned suddenly. "You made yourself unforgettable to me before the Desolation of Mausna, Majesty, by escorting me through the periphery of Kh'Anderif. Those wild hyacinth! The cuttings we retrieved survived, Your Majesty. You helped restore a bit of beauty many thought lost in the past." The man looked away. "I hated to think that you had been reduced to a memory, like that hyacinth had been." "I am anxious, Master Aikathemi, for you to meet my son. He is weak in body as yet, but strong in heart and quick of mind." The smile disappeared as suddenly as it arrived. "You honour me, Majesty. Herself has given me an earful and more about your son and how to treat with him." Evendal grinned as he walked Aikathemi back toward the three gathered around the bed. "Aikathemi Rowan of the Woodwose and deputy of Pohul-halik, I present Matron Drussilikh Quillmaster of the Scriveners, Gwl-lethry agdh Gilbrahalnir Lord of the Tinde'keb, and his daughter Hawl-metthrh pire Gwl-lethry." "Health and wholeness to you all." "Kri-estaul agd'Emmas-dawyl meh'Kohermarthen, pier'Evendalh, may We present Aikathemi aldh'Ebarran, Rowan of the Woodwose and deputation from Pohul-halik." "She is well?" Kri-estaul asked, anxious. "The Mistress is well, and wanted to visit in her own person, but the damp and chill render such a prospect an ordeal." "Kri-estaul would be grieved had she decided otherwise." "Yes, I would. But I miss her." Without his usual reserve, Kri-estaul openly examined the odd man, his friend's helper. Evendal wondered at his son's spontaneous attachment to a woman he had met only once. Then he recalled their visit and the force of her age and personality. Had the Mistress of Oaks, the Sylvan Pontifex, taken exception to Evendal's methods, the King suspected none of the other craft masters would have responded to him. Many of the commoners and gentry thought the woman's titles affectation, not imagining their accuracy, or that the scope of her authority rivalled Evendal m'Alismogh's own. "Herself hoped that you might, and think of her fondly. In anticipation of which she had me bring a few items for your amusement." And moving slowly for the benefit of Hielbrae and the other Guard, Aikathemi reached into a fold of his bark-grey robe and extracted a smooth wooden apple. With a bow he handed the bauble to Kri-estaul, who looked to Evendal for permission before grasping the toy. "See the line that runs across it? Grip each side and turn." Kri-estaul obeyed, and the ball proved a container for an oversized walnut of some red-toned wood. "You may note that this one also has a seam." The walnut housed a maple wing, which in turn held a fig's syconium, which held an oversized acorn that contained cherry pips. Each object, dyed and smooth, bore the irregular darkening that signified much handling. "Each item is made from its tree's own wood." "Whose thought was this specific loan?" Evendal asked. "Not a loan, Your Majesty, unless His Highness finds some fault with it." "What?" Kri-estaul turned his head to be certain he was not being teased. "No, Master Aikathemi. They are beautiful! I think I remember seeing this one." He held out the maple-seed carving. "But what are these?" He dropped the maple and pointed to the second container and the smallest ones, now nestled among the bedding. "That is the likeness of a walnut. You will not see a lot of those in this region. And those small seeds are the pips in cherries; you'll see those come the warmer seasons. The renderings are as precise as Pohul-halik could make them. As is this." So saying, Aikathemi held out an amazingly detailed figurine of a horse made of unstained blond wood a span and a half tall, caparisoned, with the head turned slightly to its left and ears pricked as though intrigued by a noise. Kri-estaul just stared at it, entranced. "Will you not accept this?" Aikathemi asked, playfully misinterpreting Kri-estaul's stillness. "It was the last such carving she herself did attempt before joint-pain stole that pleasure from her." "I am afraid I would damage it were it kept close by me," Kri-estaul confessed. "It's grand. You both are so kind..." Never one for emotional display, Aikathemi interrupted. "But I have one more, my own work, of sturdier make and subject. I adjure you, Your Highness, keep this one with you, close where you can always reach it." The Prince looked up, confused by the strange speech pattern Aikathemi suddenly sported. The hair on the back of Evendal's neck and forearms stood up as the Rowan Master reached a final time into his tunic folds and withdrew a third carving. A ralur rested couchant on a platform. The wood was black, and not stained that colour. The rounded ears, long hind legs and wide forelegs on the work proclaimed to the viewer that the artist had seen and studied the genuine animal. An abrasion stamped across the tip of the muzzle gave the nose a grey cast and beryl-like insets for eyes glimmered with the semblance of vitality. "What is it?" Kri-estaul breathed. Evendal m'Alismogh ald'Menam frowned, and turned his amber glow from the art to the artisan. "A ralur. Now We are most disturbed." Aikathemi faced Evendal, eyes wide, direct, and unflinching. "Do you doubt my goodwill, Majesty?" He lowered the carving as he spoke. Heedless of the challenge played out over him, Kri-estaul brought his hand up to the snout of the leopardlike form and paused, uncertain if taking it while the adults argued would seem greedy. "The nose feels odd. Ouch!" "What happened, Kri?" Kri-estaul turned his hand over and looked. Two spots of blood had formed on the web of his thumb. "I must have rubbed against its muzzle the wrong way." Aikathemi grinned affectionately. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it simply kissed you in the only way such beasts can." "I hope it does not do that often," Evendal remarked pointedly. "There has ever been only one way to find out, Majesty. Would you put your hand to the ralur's maw?" "Whatever my child's wellbeing requires," the King affirmed, as he grabbed the small statue and examined its head. "To help ensure Your Highness's continued health is the purpose of my visit and gifts, make no mistake." Aikathemi's earnestness shone out clearly. Evendal tempered his suspicion, accepting the truth of his eyes and ears. "I hold you to your intention, and trust in your wiser ways, friend Master." "They are of marvellous workmanship," Gwl-lethry tendered. "Of great subtlety." "Yes," Evendal conceded with weighty certainty. "That is certainly true." "I do not intend to tax Your Highness. Herself wanted to know your condition and wanted to assure Your Highness of her continued love and regard for you." "What say you, sweetling?" "Would it be too much trouble for you to return? I apologise, I truly do. I just feel so tired." For no reason he could fathom, Evendal found himself admitting to the Gwl-lethry and Aikathemi, "Kri-estaul's sleep is often troubled by bad dreams, stray memories exaggerated. It wears upon him." "The Birch Pontifex deemed that might be a concern. Few understand the deep and dark as well as she, or its power over the pliable. With your permission, Majesty, I would speak more plainly of particulars that would doubtless bore the Heir Presumptive." Intrigued, Evendal m'Alismogh waved his acquiescence and walked, with Guard and Gwl-lethry accompanying, to the chairs Ierwbae had set up. "The horse and rider are of willow wood," Aikathemi began. "What rider?" Gwl-lethry interjected. Evendal quickly gestured for silence. The Rowan Master continued, "With all its virtues awakened and engaged. Of course were the evocation on the horse untempered, unmitigated, His Highness would become a drooling oaf with little sense or memory but for his few weeks aboveground. The horse's function, aside from the pleasure it may give His Highness, is to counter the nightmares he has been riding. To ease his heart. His knowing this may hinder its effectiveness, as he might expect more from it than it can immediately provide. In moderating its vitality, its effect is likewise rendered gradual. The ralur contains willow along with other woods and natural stains." "And its function?" Evendal promptly asked. "Traditional." "What? We have no traditions implicating ralur." Aikathemi visibly hesitated. "Majesty. You know me. How do you remember me, think of me?" "As a quiet, gentle man, passionate and wise in your craft and vocation. Kind but not effusive or demonstrative. Young in semblance but old in haviour." "I appreciate your bluntness," Aikathemi grinned, as ever, a brief display. "I remember you as promising in your youth what you seem to have fulfilled in your majority. I remember His Highness as well, though he would not recall me, so young was he. I grieved to hear of his 'disappearance,' and rejoiced at your discovery of him. The ralur is my own gift, sanctioned by Herself, but yet my own responsibility. It is simply a halidom such as I wish I had given him when first we met. He now may never need what it might affect, but indulge my too tardy well-wishing, I beg of you." "Does the Typika know of this item?" Gwl-lethry thought to ask. Aikathemi blushed, to Evendal's confusion. "She would know it, and probably call me overprotective. But it is just..." "Peace, friend." Evendal could not endure the frustration that twisted Aikathemi's features as he strove to explain himself. "We did not mean to turn your generosity into a torment. An act of love should never be discounted or diminished." "Did I say something wrong?" Kri-estaul asked from behind Evendal. The King quickly returned to bolster his son. "No, my boy. I needed a word with Aikathemi, some assurance that the ralur would not bite you again." "It is so detailed. Look, it has claws on hind legs and forelegs, and the wood of its chest is lighter than the rest of it. And the horse! I always wanted to ride. To ride a horse." For several breaths, no one spoke. Aikathemi took up the gauntlet. "Herself told me she did once imagine she rode this gelding, racing the wind to many destinations, when the Healers prohibited her returning to the saddle. It comforted her for a time. Perhaps it can do the same for you, until you are in better health." "Is it wise to suggest that he might ride in the future? To encourage such fancies?" Evendal voiced his misgivings. The Rowan Master and Gwl-lethry stared in surprise at their King. "Why not? It is hardly impossible, nor terribly involved to arrange," Gwl-lethry replied. "Straps and counterweights can provide one means," Aikathemi advised. "And the right horse, properly trained, can likewise accomplish the same goal. "If thoughts matter at all, youngling, know that my mind and heart had but one united purpose and reason in crafting the ralur: to advance your safety and well-being." "I don't have anything to give you, though." Kri-estaul protested. "Maybe when you come back?" "For you to get well and stay well, Your Highness, would be my dearest desire at this time. If I may ask your leave?" "Yes." "Granted," Evendal answered. "Leave and return as you may. We confess Our desire for a chance to share some... more idle converse." With a bow and a quick grin, Aikathemi thumped out, careful of his balance.