“Your love is an epic love story.” Beaudon looked almost in love himself as he stared at them.
“Oh, this is merely how we met,” Elakdon said. “It is mere months of our love.”
“We fight, trust me,” Randr said. “We can fight so the walls shake.”
Beaudon gaped. “But that’s what makes it epic. Your love survives it.”
Elakdon and Randr chuckled, still holding hands, and Elakdon felt Randr’s arm holding him just a bit tighter.
“We come from a time where we didn’t throw things out because they were broken or because they were no longer perfect,” Elakdon said. “We mended things. A love like ours only works because we work hard at making it work.”
“How do you do that when you fight?”
“We go to our separate places and stew. Then we think about how we met. Being a thousand years old, many things get lost in our memory, suppressed by what really matters, and I remember us meeting more clearly because that’s where I always go to rekindle my love for him. I list all the things about him that I respect, all the moments when he has helped me, loved me, stood by me, comforted me. I think about the times when we’ve fought, and I ended up being the one in the wrong, then I remember that he must love me very much to spend that much energy getting through my thick head.”
“And vice versa,” Randr said, grinning.
Elakdon looked at Randr. “Trivial things can ruin so much because our focus stays on the trivial. The unimportant can grow and fester until it’s all we see. We draw back to remove the trivial from sight, then focus on everything but that trivial little thing demanding our complete attention. And it’s not easy.”
Beaudon pulled into his own thoughts for a moment, and Elakdon wondered about them. With lovers as old and one as stubborn as Seldon, the young King had to have felt that sting already. Maybe that was what he thought about now? The smile that spread certainly revealed that he knew love.
“If you take anything away from my story, then I hope this is it. And that you may experience a long life of love with the ones who cradle your heart now.”
“Thank you. But your story holds so much more. Do you hate Christians?” Beaudon asked.
Elakdon looked at the young King, surprised at the question. Then again, no matter how good a storyteller someone was, certain aspects could never be fully conveyed as the receiver had only his own range of understanding. Taking the young King back more than one thousand years to a time where the mentality was so very different, of course he’d hear hate for Christianity.
“No, Beaudon, I don’t hate Christians. I don’t hate Christianity either. Back then, everything I knew was threatened, and the Christianity spreading back then was very different from what it is today. Today, there are Christians truly living up to altruism, dedicating their free time to ease suffering and pain for other people. And what do they do on the weekends?” Elakdon chuckled. “Drink, flirt, have premarital sex, watch porn, and go to Church.”
Beaudon laughed.
“The longer we live, the more changes we see. Some sneak in and just evolve with us. Like a cellphone. Others are monumental changes that will leave us short of breath from the feeling of watching everything around us burn and fall apart. Christianity’s move on my country felt like that. Then it assimilated everything we were, took our times to honor the gods and placed their God in the places of ours. Some of us resisted and has held onto the old ways, others just sang a different song and call it Christmas, but they still wait for Odin and Sleipner, they still eat Sæhrímir, and they still light a lot of candles to call back the sun. Our place in the world had to become the same. We withdrew because it was the only way to save what was left of us while also saving what was left for the humans.”
“You look…regretful.”
“I was born in the times when we went Viking. When we fought. I felt like I was defeated, and the shame burned in me for many hundreds of years.” Elakdon still felt it, though. In the pit of his stomach, it still tasted like defeat.
“You still do.”
Elakdon smiled at the young King. “You hold great insight already, Beaudon. Yes, I still feel defeated. I still dream of standing up to reclaim the times of old. But they never can be because Christianity didn’t just take over and annihilate everything. It crept in and changed and evolved. It’s deeply rooted in the world today, yet so much of my world seeped in with it and held on, and it was spread to here, too. So many of your customs have roots in mine. And we spread our ways as merchants and pirates, too, so…” Elakdon shrugged.
Beaudon’s gaze burned with intent, yet he didn’t look like he was ready to share his thoughts. “You are my first ally.”
“I am.”
“I don’t think I need to ask whether you will support us in surfacing again.”
“Oh!” It wasn’t the first time the Cub had brought that up, and as much as it scared Elakdon from knowing his role in protecting his people, then that bitter taste of defeat still bubbled inside of him. “For the right reason, you will have my sword.”
“And mine,” Randr said.
The hird responded in a deafening roar, and the young King jumped.
“That means they’re in,” Elakdon said, grinning.
“But Nol-Plydon is not.”
“Probably not. But who knows? As stagnant as our ways of life have been since, then even Royals can change.”
“Even?” Beaudon asked, looking up. “No, Ela, I think the Royals can cause change because we meet them all. We have the new Changelings and Minglers in our beds, sharing their thoughts and dreams, and with those comes our ability to move with time. It is the rest who grow stagnant in a world closed off to them, and they only meet it through the few breeders they grow close enough to talk to. The Cubi society is stagnant because those who run it are the ones who have the least look into everything else, and what bleeds in with the outside world didn’t change a lot before TV.”
Elakdon leaned back against Randr, contemplating Beaudon’s words. “I think you’re right. At least when it comes to your Kingdom. It has not had a Royal to hear the wishes of the new people the way I do in my Kingdom. We are less stagnant, but we are not evolving as much as we could be, either. For that, we would have to be a part of humanity again.”
“My Kingdom is at a tipping point, and it holds great power in the human world, both politically and economically. It should be here we rise first, but it should be covert.”
“Share your thoughts on that, young King,” Elakdon urged, thinking back to a time when the most cunning of warriors was the one most respected.
“I already implemented it.”
Elakdon felt the warrior in him stir along with dread and…did he feel mislead?
“My twelve beauties. My Minglers taking up positions of social power. Models, actors, the ones society today worships as gods and hail as opinionates. They spread the norm of loving outside the boundaries of gender, and they promote the ability to love more than one. They push marriage being a foundation built on love, not the possibility to procreate and to secure themselves financially. To set love free, marriage has to be more than convenience. More than a box to place two people for the security it can bring them in a society where that is more important than love.”
Elakdon nodded, smiling. “We push that in my Kingdom, too. Do you know how?”
“Maternity leave and a special children’s welfare check for single parents?”
“Yes! It also reduces violence against women, as they are no longer bound to a man by financial dependency. Yet, a woman alone with children still suffer the dogma of the old Christian ways where she would become the property of a man, so a single woman with children is a whore with unwanted tips. Not as much today as it has been, and the Cubi have helped empower women that way.”
“So our rise is only possible through securing equality?”
“Yes. We feed on both men and women, and when one is subjugated to the other, we are left with one part who
looks down on Succubi and thus cause negative energy, and one part who has trouble giving pure energy because that part of their body is to be used by men.”
“It’s not that bad!” Beaudon said.
“We are not merely talking my Kingdom or yours. We must look at all Kingdoms, and even though Nil-Baesdin’s Kingdom claims women are pearls to be protected, then they are only protected because men see them as weak and as property. Not all her regions are like that, of course, but some are very bad.”
Beaudon nodded in thought. “So you don’t hate people of faith, you hate what they do with it?”
“When they use a book claiming that love and altruism is the heart of their God to spread hate, condemnation, and subjugating half their own population, then yes.”
“And that is why we must learn to stand tall in shame in front of our people.”
Elakdon didn’t see the connection, and Beaudon apparently saw that on his face.
“To learn that we have the power to show the way.”
Elakdon cocked his head, admiring how far the young man had come. How much he’d grown.
The only question was when he’d be strong enough to stand in shame in front of his own people. He would one day. They all did. And Elakdon was proud to be the one to stand behind him and offer the silent strength to do so when that day came.
Until then, he would proudly stand behind the young King that would, if the gods were ready, take their people out of hiding.
Word list
Peord – runes used during blót
Blót – the ritual in which one communicates with the gods
Gode/Gydje – the man or woman conducting blót
Yggdrasil – The tree of life in Norse mythology is an ash tree whose roots and crown connect the nine realms.
Ting – the ruling bodies met at Ting to discuss all matters of the lands. To this day, the government in Denmark is called Folketing (folk = people, and it is representative of the people - democracy)
Aseir – god
Asynjir – goddess
Vættir – nature spirits who also protected areas (elf on a shelf comes from them and is called a “nisse”, yet there are many kinds)
Vegvisir – rune magic – a compass to secure safe travel in rough weather and that the wearer doesn’t get lost
Hird – A group of Viking warriors
Hávamál – a poem attributed to Odin, functioning as a collection of advice for living, proper conduct, and wisdom
Higinn and Muninn – Odin’s the Allfather’s ravens (Thought and Memory)
Hnefatafl – a strategic boardgame (you can find it as a google play app)
Árvark and Alsviðr – the two horses pulling the son across the sky. Their names mean early awake and very quick
Viking – a verb meaning a Norse man/woman going out to pirate
Jól – old Norse world for Yule. It is the tide that Christianity stole to make heathens stop blóting to Odin, also known as Father of Yule (now known as Father Christmas). Odin came in a sleigh pulled by Sleipner, his eight-legged horse (eight reindeer) with two black ravens (Santa’s helpers, but then Hugin and Munin—thought and memory) Santa lives on the North pole…Yeah, Santa is Odin, and he gave gifts. The Vætter are now “Elfs”. In Denmark, we still put out rice porridge to the house elfs to please them and protect us. Asatrue (of the old religion) share with them and honor them all year as they are the nature spirits of all we receive and thus must honor in return, or their generosity stops. (See the part where Vikings would take down the dragon head or back to shore)
Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld—Three sisters (of the Norns) are goddesses of fate. They spin the thread of life/fate
Customs
Naming one’s sword
Swearing by the goddess Vår. If you break that promise, your sword will turn against you in battle
Back the ship to shore or turn the “dragon’s head” to not scare away the “Vætter” protecting the lands. Only when going to battle did Vikings sail in with the dragon head pointing toward shore to spread terror
Skål. In popular translation, it means cheers. The custom comes from a time where people of power poisoned one another, and in the Viking age, that was no different. We drank from bowls back then, which in Danish is a SKÅL. The word skål was said while clanking the bowls together hard enough for the contents to swap, thus proving that no one was trying to poison each other. It was an act of trust.
When having guests over, the commoners (karls) would offer their guests beer, and they’d all drink it from the same bowl (common bowl, fælles skål). “Fællesskål” is still done, even in public where you don’t know anyone, and to this day, it is looked down upon if you say/respond to a skål and put your glass/bottle down without drinking from it. And not just sipping it! A hearty gulp is called for or you are expressing displeasure with the one saying skål, and, if you are given a drink, you indicate ungratefulness about what you have been served.
There are four social classes in the Viking age, all fathered by the god Heimdal. Thrall, literally meaning slave, was the lowest class. Heimdal’s children of this class were named Crooked, Ugly, etc. One was either born a thrall, or a freeman could sell himself into slavery to rid himself of debt. A thrall could buy his/her own freedom with money earned on crafts they made and sold on markets.
A Karl literally means a freeman. These first children of Heimdal were named fisherman, farmer, blacksmith, craftsman, boatsman etc.
Earl. These of Heimdal’s children were named Handsome, Smart, Craft, etc. One was so smart and so strong that he grew to become King, which is that highest of the social classes. One was never stuck in one class like the cast system of India, but everybody could rise and fall as deserved.
Cubi Word list
Tami-Nol—Mother of Royal Incubus
Rado-Nol—Father of Royal Incubus
Cub opek Nol—sibling of Royal Incubus
Ilkil-Nol—left-hand of the King (Ilkil-Nil left-hand of the Queen) takes care of all affairs with other Kingdoms and human nations NOT shared with that Kingdom.
Lokil-Nol—right-hand of the King (Lokil-Nil right-hand of the Queen) takes care of all affairs within the Kingdom and shared land with the humans.
Sitting Kings and Queens of Daniel’s time
Nol-Elakdon—King of the North
Nol-Feydon—King of the South (South Asia and Australia)
Nol-Plydon—King of High (northern part of the east and a bit of Asia. Mainly Russia)
Nol-Beaudon—King of the West (North America)
Nil-Sundin—Queen of the East (southern part to Nol-Plydon and some of the Middle East)
Nil-Baesdin—Queen of Media (Mid Europe and northern Africa, some of the Middle East)
Author Bio
Meraki P. Lyhne is a Danish author who mainly writes contemporary paranormal MM and MMM, some with a HEA, some with a HFN, and some with white-knuckling cliffhangers. Some of it is sweet, some of it is hot, some of it tethers on the dark.
Chronicles of an Earned
#1 Anchored in Stone
#2 Two Sides of a Coin
#3 Marked by Shadow
#4 Saving Starfish
#5 Blood of the Past
#6 Gargoyle Rising
#7 Seedlings of Lilith
#8 First Son of the Mound
This series is ongoing
The Cubi
#1 Untouchable Beauty
#2 Claimed Beauty
#3 Rising Beauty
#4 Fountain of Beauty
#5 Natural Beauty
#6 History of Beauty
This series is ongoing
Ore 5
#1 Roughnecks & Butterflies
#2 Ledgers & Rentboys
#3 Mercs & Strippers
This series is complete
Meraki P. Dark is, as the last name suggests, the dark side of Meraki P. Lyhne.
Where Meraki P. Lyhne will play with anything from fluffy slow-burns with HEA and go to the border
of dub-con, letting his characters deliver a striped ass, Meraki P. Dark will explore the depraved minds during non-con, and he’ll play with whatever fetish catches his attention.
It is the human psyche and its abilities to stretch or break that will be explored to its fullest. There will always be a plot—no one is tortured unless the character finds a good reason for it within the plot. There is room for love and tender moments, too, but they have to work hard for it!
Other books by
Meraki P. Dark
Lil Harvest
#1 The Endowment
#2 The Mandate (coming soon)
#3 The Apprentice Vol. 1 (coming soon)
#4 The Apprentice Vol. 2 (coming soon)
This series is ongoing
Stand-alone novels
Hybrid Incubator
The Price of Paradise (Coming Soon)
HP Caledon
Thinking there was only so much room for future worlds and chatty characters inside a person’s skull, HP Caledon decided to write some of it down to get some peace and quiet and be able to live in the present moment. Fat good that did—it just made room for more chatty characters! So, with coffee ad libitum and the occasional glass of red wine at the ready he has come to enjoy the run of characters and never-ending creativeness that this brought with it.
When not writing, he reads, trains Crossfit, studies all aspects of life and people, and enjoys more coffee.
HP Caledon is in his late thirties, Danish, and a blacksmith by trade.
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