by Gail Merritt
‘I will not see the morning,’ his breathing was so laboured that he gasped his words. ‘Are you afraid?’
‘I’m not afraid. Don’t talk of dying.’ I was struggling to overcome tears.
‘I am Green Mantle!’ His mind spoke to my mind, clear and steady as ever. ‘Allow me to judge when I am to die. I know the cycles of the world better than most. I have come to the end of mine. You are not here to argue or cry like a child. You are here to recieve the two gifts that I must give you. I ask again, are you afraid?’
In the stillness, I nodded and he pointed to a small box beside his cape. ‘My Heart-stone. It measures life and when the light within it dies, then I am gone. When we have completed our task, watch over it until it dims, then call them back.’ He waited for me to turn my head away from the box. ‘It is good you know fear for what you are about to receive is knowledge far beyond your years, even my years. It is the knowledge of Green Mantles since the time of Katherine.’
Our eyes met and my mind felt itself lurching down a long tunnel of colour filled with scents and sounds and emotions. He was passing the wisdom of countless ancestors, strange, sometimes incomprehensible understanding of plants and creatures. As the events of his life became mine, I felt his strength ebbing gently away. When it was completed, he fell back on his pillow and smiled.
He squeezed my hand. ‘Keep faith with those who depend on you. Keep faith with the ancient one, whose leaf should be your most prized possession and let your heart always be open.’
He pointed towards the stone. In the small box, a green rock glowed softly. ‘Travel your own journey, my dearest Green Mantle.’ With that, this gentle soul gave up his struggle and found peace. The Heart-stone glimmered and went cold. I sat with him for a long time and then left, clutching the small box.
The rest of the Souran were sitting in the great hall, huddled beside a glowing fire. They rose to their feet when the saw me, standing on the threshold, blinking, still clutching the precious box. Blue Mantle, his eyes red, came and guided me inside, relieving me of the Heart-stone. Black Mantle coughed to clear his throat and beckoned me to an empty chair.
‘This is yours,’ he said, handing me a heavy piece of material. I took it without looking, feeling the weight of the cloth in my arms.
Silver Mantle smiled sadly and took the cloth from me, shaking it out until it took its true form. Even in the candlelight I knew it was green. I felt lost and would have given anything, even the prized silver leaf to have my master live again. She placed the mantle on my shoulders. ‘We mourn our brother but we welcome you to the Souran, Green Mantle.’ She embraced me, holding me close to her as I began to sob.
16.
Ice from Blemar
Days turned into weeks as I learnt what it meant to be a member of the elite Souran. There was so much to learn. In a silent ceremony, the green heartstone and I were brought together. From that moment, it would measure the beating of my heart until it was time to pass it to my successor.
Silver Mantle still spent most of her time with the King, so it was left to Black Mantle to educate me in my new role. I saw very little of Ardin and this saddened me. Perhaps I was already on my path to becoming his Silver Mantle for when we met, his moods were dark and sullen, requiring me to sooth and calm him. Each day the news from the south grew worse and I knew that Ardin was eager to meet Llewid in battle. Each night became a torment as I dreamed more of Llewid, handsome, determined Llewid. Stalwart in his own quest and ready to show his appreciation of me as I stood beside him. The dreams terrified me and so vivid were they that sometimes, when I awoke, it was difficult to distinguish dream from reality.
Then, one morning, the mood of the Palace changed. A messenger arrived from the kingdom of Blemar. The King had never even heard of the place and neither had I. It seemed, from the blank looks about the room, neither had many others. To everyone’s delight, Silver Mantle used her arts to conjure a great map that filled the room. They gasped as the image rotated slowly so that everyone could clearly see Blemar, far to the north west, and covered with snow for much of the year. Silver Mantle grinned at me, a shared understanding of how simple it had been to create the magic. I felt proud to be in her confidence.
The ruler of this distant land and heard many travellers praising our King for his generosity of heart and requested a great favour from Magra. He had a child, a daughter, who was delicate, suffering ill health from the harsh climate of Blemar. All his physicians had agreed that she needed the warmth of the sun and the taste of fruits to heal her. Silver Mantle agreed that this was always beneficial for the frail. Before the messenger could deliver his scroll to the Kings’ hands, the King suggested that the girl be sent to Vellin as his guest immediately. She would be welcome to stay for as long as she wished. The messenger looked relieved. He had been travelling for many days, hoping for such an answer. The princess was much loved by his people and so sick that her father had already dispatched her in the hope that our King was as generous as his reputation made him. In order that she might cross the northern Meeds before the armies of Dereculd cut them off, she was already only three days away. This sent the Palace into a giddy panic
The three days sped by in a torrent of preparation. As Green Mantle, it was my task to fill the kingdom with blossom and fruits. This, in itself, was a difficult task for, as any schoolchild knows, if a tree has blossom, then it cannot bear fruit at the same time, neither was it the season for fruiting for many trees. I spent many hours at the top of the Talarin towers sending my mind out to the orchards and meadows, filling them with flowers and the riches of nature. I was grateful for the stored memories of my predecessors and their combined talents. If the Princess was looking out of her carriage as she travelled, then her eyes would be dazzled by the colour I was creating.
On the day of her arrival, I went down to the garden below my room to meet Ardin. To my surprise, it had changed. The roses were still there but very little else. A weeping fig tree filled the centre and the lawns were dotted with dwarf citrus and fruit trees.
‘Silver Mantle did it,’ Ardin told me. ‘She said you were already too busy, and my father had asked for it to be changed. It’s for the little girl. He thought she should have the fruit for her health.’
‘I think I preferred it as it was,’ I muttered sullenly while trying to appreciate Silver Mantle’s help.
‘My father wants me to show her the city and take care of her when she gets here.’ Ardin shrugged. ‘Not sure how I can be good company for a child.’
‘I’ll help you,’ I offered, ‘we could be her big brother and sister.’
‘Will you?’ He brightened. ‘I don’t see you now you’re Green Mantle and I miss you.’ He suddenly gripped my hands. ‘You know it’s hard for me to find the words to tell you how I feel, but over the last few weeks I’ve wanted to be with you all the time, and I miss you when you’re not with me. I know I can’t ask you to stop being Green Mantle but I’m afraid we’ll grow apart. You’ll be in the Talarin and I’ll be in the Palace, and that will be the pattern for the rest of our lives.’
I shivered. None of the Souran had a life outside the Talarin and the College of the Mantles, except for Silver Mantle whose life in the Palace brought its own misery, one that I knew I could never accept. I could never watch the one I loved share his life with another.
‘We will find a way.’ I wanted to sound more hopeful than I felt. Impulsively, I kissed his cheek. As I drew away, he pulled me back and put his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and a rainbow spread across my mind and, for all I know, halfway across the kingdom. My whole self sang, ‘Ardin!’ until I was deafened by the noise. I was amazed that he had not heard it, until we separated. I realised that he had heard ‘Megwin’ just as loudly. We grinned foolishly and sighed. I don’t know how long we looked at each other before the urge to kiss again came over us, but it did come, and again, and again. He held my face in his hands; he kissed my eyelids, my cheeks, the tip of my nose. It was like dr
owning in rose petals. All the sweetest music of the world played at once in my ears.
‘Are we in love?’ he asked, holding me away from him and grinning.
‘I think we must be.’ I replied. He took my hand and pulled me after him through the garden. ‘Where are you taking me?’
‘To tell my father,’ he yelled over his shoulder. We did not stop running until we reached the top of the grand staircase that led to the formal reception rooms. Below, there was crowd of people and it took my eyes a moment to recognise any of them. We were both breathless, laughing between our gasps for breath as we tripped down the steps to join them. The King looked up. He was surrounded by the Souran and there were other strangers present.
‘Perfect timing!’ he cried. ‘Princess Melia, this is my son, Prince Ardin and with him, his good friend, Green Mantle.’
My rib cage suddenly felt like a steel cage. We had all thought the fragile princess was a child. She was not. Almost as tall as Ardin, she towered above me, her long, golden hair curling gently over her thin shoulders as she extended a delicate arm. The hand that took Ardin’s was alabaster white, without a blemish. Her dainty features all smiled when her lips did, and her eyes sparkled. If I had been a young man, I would have been enthralled by her, as Ardin clearly was. Instead, I felt as if someone had covered me with ice, as if Melia had brought it from her frozen home and set it about my heart.
17.
Brak
Ardin was already telling her about the exciting things they might do together, still breathless but now from eagerness. Everyone else seemed very pleased. Melia’s entourage thankful that she had found favour with the King and his heir. The King was happy that the girl was safely delivered to his court. They followed His Majesty into the first reception room where refreshments had been prepared. No one seemed to notice that Green Mantle did not follow.
Stunned, I fled back to the garden, our garden, now transformed to please the glorious Melia. I already knew that I was jealous of everything that she was, and I hated her and myself for it. Long walks with the fox did not help. Dining at the Palace was particularly painful. She rightfully took my place beside Ardin but what was most unbearable was the way he seemed to prefer her company. We did spend time together but always with Melia. He never referred back to our earlier feelings for each other, never tried to speak alone with me. It was as if he had forgotten about it all. Now the alabaster Melia, with the soft voice and shining eyes, took up his time and filled his world. Very soon, I stopped accompanying them and avoided dining with them. No one seemed to notice, well, almost no one.
Black Mantle noticed and wanted to talk about it, but I shrank away from any help he might offer me. It became too much agony to even think about it, to wonder if he was telling Melia all the things that he had once said to me, as if I had been someone for him to practise on. My days grew gloomier and all the while my nights were filled with Llewid, his growing menace and my closeness to him in my dreams. I reasoned that it was my own mind’s way of dealing with my misery. For all the sorrow and neglect that Ardin subjected me to, my nights compensated with the ever attractive, ever attentive King of Dereculd. Llewid had become the love that I had lost.
I had not spoken with Silver Mantle for a long time but one morning she came up to my room with a tray of breakfast.
‘You never join me for breakfast anymore, so I have brought it to you.’ She set the tray down and drew a chair up to my bedside. ‘Besides, there is something that must be said, and it is best that you hear it from me.’ She poured a drink for both of us. ‘Prince Ardin and Princess Melia are betrothed.’ She lifted the glass to her lips and sipped, all the while watching my reaction. I was determined she would detect none. All the sorrow and the bitterness rose to my throat and I felt that I could neither speak, nor breathe. I cleared my mind of everything but the coldest of my anger and this gave me a strange control. She could detect nothing from within me.
‘I see,’ I managed, choosing some sliced apple to deflect her scrutiny. She was preparing a long and carefully rehearsed speech about the benefits to both kingdoms and the impossibility of lasting love between a prince and a Mantle, but I stopped her. Sometimes it was so easy to be inside her head. ‘I was going to seek you out today,’ I lied. ‘I will be leaving Vellin very soon. As Green Mantle, I need to be out in world, close to the earth and healing the wounds caused by Llewid’s army.’
‘I know you are miserable about Ardin, but you will see that it is for the best.’
‘No doubt.’ I hoped she felt the ice in my heart. I did not wait for her to say more but climbed out of bed. ‘I have much to prepare. I want to slip into the Central Meeds and try to reverse the damage there and my wonderful master gave me detailed instructions about how to prepare for such a journey.’ There, it was done, and it was said. She faced me slowly, trying to see into my mind but I was ready for her. I drew on images of Llewid from my dreams, alarming her, leaving her wondering what hold did Llewid have on me. It was foolish but I had been hurt and I wanted to hurt her. I regretted it immediately.
‘I sometimes have nightmares about the King of Dereculd, so I don’t want to run into him. Don’t worry!’ I touched her shoulder. ‘He won’t catch me, and I can do some good for the people he’s harmed.’
‘I will miss you.’ She hugged me with tears in her eyes.
I avoided Black Mantle and spent most of my morning discussing my plans with the fox and Gilbert. I wanted them to come with me, but I also wanted them to be aware of the dangers we might face. I was more honest with them about everything. They knew how I felt about Ardin and understood that I had to escape before my misery drove me to do something wicked. I told no one else of my plans. I did not even leave a farewell message for Ardin. I simply left a small note for Black Mantle explaining that it was time for the new Green Mantle to return to the wilderness, where she belonged. I had felt it for some time. It was not without truth.
As soon as we left Vellin, I felt better, free, myself again. I banished all thoughts of Ardin and set my mind to the true tasks of Green Mantle.
◆◆◆
Everywhere we went we found evidence of Llewid’s destruction, scorched fields, decimated forests and whole populations of creatures displaced or completed vanished. Herds of deer were migrating north to find pasture and the small animals followed as best they could. Only the rodents and scavengers found a place in Llewid’s realm. They flourished and I was glad for them. A Green Mantle shows no favouritism among living things while trying to maintain the balance of nature. I felt that I needed to do that more forcefully in view of the devastation and in one afternoon I gave a blackened woodland new life, restored several upland meadows and cleansed a river. I slept well that night.
Near the mouth of the Sarn river I met fishermen from the southern kingdoms. They told chilling stories of how Llewid dealt with those who opposed him. It was hard to believe that this was the same person who had filled my days with laughter during his stay in Vellin. On the seashore, with the curve of Rush Bay between us, I tried to reach out to his mind with my own, to sense his thoughts, but something dark and hungry touched my mind and I withdrew immediately. Had I come in contact with the mysterious brown witch, the self-styled Brown Mantle?
Llewid had left only a small garrison in the Northern Meeds and I found it easy to move from village to village. I slept away from humans but welcomed invitations from other creatures, although I had to decline the many offers of rest in rabbit warrens and badge sets. The fox was popular with his many relatives and was never short of food or companionship. There were still wolves in parts of the Meed wilderness and the news of my encounter with the auroch had spread, making us welcome in their territory and we were treated to generous hospitality. I knew from Green Mantle’s memories that these wolves were his dearest friends. They had a network of spies that any king would envy, and they could add much to my knowledge of Llewid and his plans. They had even seen the brown witch, although not close enough to se
e her face. They told me that she accompanied Llewid everywhere and often sat in judgement over enemies and prisoners. They said she protected him at night, wrapping a blanket of invisibility about them both as they slept. I thought of the irony. While Llewid and his witch slept, I was tormented by dreams of him.
While we were in the Meeds, Yared joined us, to protect us he said. This annoyed the fox who thought we could readily defend ourselves and Gilbert was fearful that Yared would make a meal of him while we slept. I persuaded them that it would be a gesture of goodwill to the wolves of Lore to accept his generous help. By the time we reached Gaheil, they both appreciated his ability to provide food, including sacks of oats dragged from nearby abandoned barns.
Gaheil was much changed. The buildings were blackened and showed scars of fierce fighting. Making every effort to return to their ordinary lives, the people struggled to raise a crop in fields churned to dry dust by Llewid’s cavalry and rivers polluted by bodies and rusting armour. Both the farmers, and the garrison left to govern them, were starving. I set to work at once. A wolf pack occasionally occupied the infamous caves, and this seemed like a perfect place to hide. I borrowed a spell of Black Mantle’s and created a slithering apparition to frighten away the curious. Quite soon new rumours about a monster in the caves were spreading across the countryside, elaborated many times in the surviving ale houses.
I began spreading my hands across the crumbling earth to bring life back to it. In places, I performed immediate wonders which brought joy to both myself and the local population. Fruit trees flourished and a crop of corn grew overnight. The peasants and the garrison worked together to harvest the crop. The healing and the cooperation had begun.