The House of Yeel

by Michael McCloskey

  “So you’re the mighty Yeel?” Kasil said, turning to Yeel.

  “Well, I am stronger than the typical…oh, um, mighty is perhaps an overstatement. Perhaps capable, or, oh, maybe clever. And inquisitive. Oh, I like that one. Yes, I rather prefer perhaps Yeel the Clever and Inquisitive.”

  “Modesty. Good. I like that in wizards. Now in my knights, I prefer a bit of egotism.”

  “Your knights? Are you a queen of some sort?” Yeel asked.

  “Master Kasil is a sword master,” Jymoor inserted, deflecting the question. “She’s renowned for her skill. Well, she was renowned…”

  “It’s been a while, I understand,” Master Kasil said. For the first time, her bubbly personality submerged. “Well, I’ll let you have your rest. You must be exhausted after such a harrowing fight! Of course those of us who were statues want nothing but to move around and enjoy our freedom a bit first.”

  Master Kasil walked away toward the other survivors. Jymoor bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to send Kasil away so quickly. Still, she’d now spoken to no less than three legendary figures in the span of a week.

  “There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Remember when we fought that one named Faverhind? I saw some sort of shadow in the green flame that danced in the air,” Jymoor said. “Like something alive.”

  “I don’t recall the most recent incident, but it sounds like his art. Yakinzin-rali, it’s called in his language. I don’t know if the common tongue has such a word. The magic he summoned would create for him a powerful fighting construct, seemingly alive as you said. I do remember that in the end I neutralized him, so presumably I got him before the process was complete.”

  “You’ve mentioned that you have certain memory issues. How is it that you know so much about some things and can’t remember anything about others?”

  “Ah, well, I remembered that long and hard. It will be many seasons before it could pass through my awareness. But I have only so much energy, after all. Surely sometimes you find yourself too tired to remember? Or is it truly as effortless for your kind as it seems?”

  “Well, I have to pay attention to remember something. I guess it gets tiring after a long lesson, like if I have been learning things for hours.”

  “Learning for hours? I’d say that you are quite my superior in that regard. I would be exhausted in a matter of minutes if required to remember new material for a long time. Of course, handling something in the short term is quite a different matter.”

  Jymoor nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps that explained some of Yeel’s odd behavior. Jymoor had been thinking of Yeel as an icon of wonder who left all mortals far behind in every way. But it seemed that even the mighty wizard had certain disadvantages. It made the man seem more human to her. Somewhere in her mind, a part of her dared to think that she might have a closer relationship with him than she ever dreamed possible.

  “I must find my rest,” Jymoor said. “It’s been a long and very scary day.” She took a step closer to Yeel.

  “Then I bid you good night,” he said. “I hope that your rest is long and restorative. With luck you may—”

  The sound of shouting interrupted Yeel’s farewell. Yeel moved toward the noise with a speed that Jymoor found surprising. The man’s tall frame didn’t reduce his agility.

  Jymoor followed Yeel toward the disturbance. She saw that two groups of soldiers were squaring off against each other in a nearby clearing of the garden. One group had three men with halberds, the other had four sword-armed soldiers.

  “These men are in support of the usurper Kalandrus! We are sworn to kill their kind!” said a sword-armed man.

  “Stop!” Jymoor said. “Kalandrus, did you say? Please lend me your ear. This revolution ran its course many years past! Kalandrus is dead and gone, and for that matter so are those who resisted his rule.”

  “Disorientation is common in situations of temporal dislocation,” Yeel added. “Your best hope is to forget your previous timeframe and learn the details of your current one. Try to assimilate yourselves into the current culture. Set aside your differences and strive for a more homogeneous structure.”

  “Who’re you?” one of the men demanded heatedly.

  “This is the great Yeel!” Jymoor burst out.

  “Yeel of the night of flames? Who saved the city from destruction?”

  “Ah, I remember that,” Yeel said.

  “Yes, this is he,” Jymoor said. “And he will brook no dissension! We are all on the same side now, us against the invaders who threaten the kingdom. It is, in many ways, the same civilization that you remember. Don’t you all wish to defend it?”

  The leader of the larger group opened his mouth, but stood for a moment as if he lost his train of thought. Jymoor noticed a strong scent rise on the air, a pleasant fragrance. She thought it must originate from one of the nearby groups of flowered plants.

  Finally the leader seemed to recover. He smiled. “Of course you’re right. They’re of the same glorious nation as we! I respect them for that…in fact, I love them for it!”

  The man threw down his sword and staggered forward to embrace the nearest soldier in the other group. Jymoor’s mouth fell open in shock.

  “I had no idea that my skills as a negotiator were so highly developed,” Jymoor said quietly, hoping that only Yeel would hear. She took a deep breath and smelled the wonderful aroma again, and a contagious smile found her own lips.

  “But on the other hand, this proud kingdom is a part of all of us…I can’t help but feel anything but deep caring for all of our citizens! And for you, my lord!”

  Jymoor wavered slightly, catching herself before falling to the ground. She experienced the feeling of motion and she giggled as euphoria overcame her. Vaguely she became aware of Yeel standing next to her, holding a bunch of bright red flowers. For a moment the image wavered, as if it were a mirage. Jymoor saw an image of the tentacled helper beast she had encountered back in Yeel’s palace. She blinked rapidly.

  “Ah, Yeel, our beloved protector Yeel!” swooned Jymoor. “Tell me, is that unbelievable smell coming from those tiny flowers? It is such a…peaceful, wonderful smell.”

  “Very perceptive, my friend. That is exactly what you smell…these vapors are quite calming, are they not? I distinctly remember that they sometimes have that effect on your kind. I have always found tribal squabbles to be fascinating, but I didn’t have the desire to learn more from a vantage point of such extreme proximity.”

  “Huh?” Jymoor smiled and tilted her head. She reached out and grabbed Yeel’s arm, holding herself up. She knew that everything would be fine.

  “Well the complex interactions between—”

  “No, I meant, why do you keep saying, ‘your kind’? I know you’re a recluse, a powerful wizard, but in a way we are all the same, are we not?” Jymoor decided it would be fun to sit, so she plopped down on the plush grass. “Setting aside a few memory oddities, of course,” she added.

  Yeel cleared his throat. “Of course. I’m sorry, I meant to say, those of your kingdom.”

  “Of course you did, Great Yeel,” Jymoor giggled, and collapsed back onto the ground, sound asleep.

  ***

  Yeel regarded the would-be combatants and decided that they would fare better without their weapons, at least in the short term. There were enough other armed refugees about, including the Crescent Knight, to ward off any attack by wild animals that might materialize overnight. Yeel collected the weapons and placed them in a pile obscured by some bushes.

  Next Yeel considered the value of the garden. The red flowers would be much more useful if properly processed from their raw form.

  “In fact, it may be that there are other valuable herbs in this place,” Yeel told himself.

  As night had fallen the humans had separated into several groups, each centered around a large fire. Avorn had organized a system of watches among the old soldiers who had been revived, and occasionally one of these patrols would walk nearby, althou
gh they always gave Yeel a wide berth.

  “Hmm, I’ll collect what I can here, and then head back to my laboratory later. I assume I have my roveport here somewhere?”

  Yeel felt about his packs and found the roveport at his belt.

  “Ah yes, there it is. Now, which of these plants might be valuable? They don’t seem to be marked…I may have to take samples of all of them!”

  Yeel worked his way through the grounds by the light of the moon. He collected cuttings from flowers here and there, also adding some berries and roots to his bags. At some point much later he looked up and saw Avorn facing him from across a bed of plants. The knight wore his pearly armor, gleaming in the moonlight.

  “Hello, Avorn. I’m surprised to see you up this late. Surely you aren’t harboring some interest in these roots and herbs yourself?”

  “I’ve come to finish my quest to the Far Coast,” Avorn said, tromping around the intervening foliage.

  “Ah, no more negotiation is necessary, I assure you my friend. I’ve already resolved to help your people against the invaders. A daunting task to be sure, but I believe that through the application of—”

  “You don’t understand, Yeel. I didn’t come to the Far Coast to ask for your help. I came there to slay you.”

  “Is it a common human trait to interrupt the speaker? I have noticed a tendency in many of you to do that. And now you say you want to do me harm? Is there some connection between the interruptions and some kind of animosity that you—”

  “I am the fifth generation to wear this armor. And your meddling in our affairs has been described from father to son the whole time. You ruined my ancestor’s plan to become king. You saved a part of the city that had been purposefully sacrificed, for the better of all.” Avorn drew his sword and advanced on Yeel.

  “Ah, perhaps you could briefly smell these,” Yeel said, offering a bunch of red flowers.

  “That won’t work again, sorcerer. Your magic cannot affect me under the light of the moon,” the Crescent Knight growled. “Tonight you die!”

  The knight stepped forward and thrust with his longsword. Yeel retreated rapidly out of range of the blade. Avorn charged but then slipped on the slime of Yeel’s track.

  “What trickery is this? Come back here and fight!”

  “Oh, I shall fight I assure you. I’ll meet you in combat most fierce but momentarily,” Yeel said. He backed away rapidly, fishing out his malinthander and placing the idea of a sword in hand to his aggressor.

  “I didn’t even know you possessed a sword,” said Avorn. “This will be more pleasant than I thought.”

  “One moment, I ask of you, my fine opponent. I must simply remember one thing, then we may resume our adversarial activities,” Yeel said.

  Avorn growled and thrust again, but Yeel dodged to one side and leaped over a bunch of flowers with surprising grace. The Crescent Knight was not far behind, his augmented strength allowing him to keep up with Yeel’s retreat.

  “Patience, please. I tell you that I will be ready in but a moment,” Yeel urged. Avorn ignored him and pressed on.

  Yeel ran across an open area of grass, angling to one side. Avorn swiped at a foot with his sword, barely missing.

  “I’m sorry to delay, but I must remember…”

  Avorn burst forward again, his blade back to strike. Then he plummeted downward through a hole in the ground. He grunted as he struck a wall and then slammed down onto a stony dirt floor.

  Yeel slid forward and positioned some of his eye pods over the opening to see through it.

  “…where that hole is!” Yeel finished.

  Yeel peered down through the roots into the cavern. Avorn had rebounded from the walls of the hole and landed in a different spot than Jymoor. By a stroke of bad luck, the man had fallen onto a sharp boulder, hitting his unprotected head and killing him instantly.

  Yeel replaced his malinthander at his belt and peered down at Avorn’s body.

  “Most curious,” Yeel commented. “One can’t even save innocent lives without incurring animosity from others. I suppose that now I shall have to find another to take up the role of the Crescent Knight. Someone of upstanding moral fiber and with respect for science and knowledge. I know just the one for the job.”

  Chapter 8: A Knight Reborn

  Yeel led Jymoor into a side grove of the garden at first light. Jymoor watched the wizard, curious to see why he had so urgently called for her to follow. The scout caught sight of a set of shining armor plates stacked neatly in the overgrown grass.

  “What’s that, my lord?”

  “This is the artifact, the moon armor as you called it. I’m afraid that your hero has met with an unfortunate end. But that’s a secret that you and I shall keep, Jymoor. Something that only you and I will remember. And I did take great care to remember it.”

  “Dead? How? Why is it a secret?” said Jymoor.

  “Avorn suffered an unfortunate blow to the head. Watch your step around here, by the way, as you remember there are dangerous openings in the earth’s surface in this region.”

  “Terrible…I can’t believe he’s dead. My people will take this as a terrible blow.”

  “You said you wanted to save your people from the menace of the invaders. You must now play a greater part in this grand scheme of conflict between nations. Having the revered Crescent Knight at my side will help lend credibility to my efforts and rally support behind our plans to stop this invasion. As you say, hearing that the knight has fallen at this point, when things are most dire, would only demoralize your forces further. So you see, it is most clear that we must instead instate you as the next knight and perpetuate this legendary figure to advance our aims.”

  Yeel handed Jymoor the finely crafted helm. The armor’s lustrous white surface held hints of blue and pink whorls of color.

  “Me? Wear the moon armor? Ridiculous!”

  “It was many, many years ago that I last traveled in your lands, Jymoor. Nevertheless, understand that I have seen this artifact before. And it wasn’t on Avorn. You see, the Crescent Knight is whoever wears the armor. You can become the next Crescent Knight. In fact, this artifact was designed to be transferred from one generation to the next, and it actually adapts to each new bearer over time.”

  “Well, I, ah…”

  “The armor lends the wearer courage as well,” said Yeel. “It will mold you into the woman you must be to wield such a powerful artifact. Don’t fear, my friend, I know of what I speak.”

  Jymoor regarded the helm with a sense of awe.

  “But I’m but a scout, a low-born woman without any training in the knightly arts of war.”

  “I believe I can address that issue. You leave it to me, and I’m sure I can find a teacher for you, one who has remembered these arts you speak of. We have great resources at our disposal. It makes sense. I know myself. I would have accumulated a lot of useful friends and items.”

  “Then they would know that I’m not the real knight, and they would reveal our secret, destroying our plan of deception,” Jymoor said. “Female knights are very rare, no one would believe…”

  “Then that will only serve to make you more singular, more noteworthy. There are others we may enlist to our cause besides the people of your nation. Tonight we’ll go find one of them. Until then, just get used to the armor and take a role in leading the people back to your lands. You can do that, can’t you? After all, you know the way back well, as you are not only a skilled scout but also have traveled this way before.”

  “Lord Yeel, this is all a bit too much. I’m immensely flattered that you would consider me capable of this, but I…I’m not a hero like you. I’m not legendary.”

  Yeel stroked his strong chin and gazed at Jymoor for a moment. “Very well. Here is what we’ll do, my friend. You have only to put the armor onto your body. We’ll walk out together in the camp, and you’ll simply lead the way back to your lands. I’ll help shield you from any conversation so you won’t have to interact wit
h anyone directly. I can make some excuse, a sickness perhaps. There’ll be no need to converse so there will be no chance of anyone noticing that your voice has changed. You’ll have to do nothing but wear the armor. Then, tonight, we’ll visit the friends that I have spoken of. Things will change, you’ll see. It’s a brilliant plan, one that affords you a great deal of safety and a good probability of success.”

  Jymoor took a large breath of air. She held the helmet up in the growing light. Her hands shook slightly.

  “Very well, Great Yeel. I shall trust in you because I’ve seen amazing things since I met you. This will have to be another wondrous adventure.”

  “Excellent! Wonderful! You can accomplish this I assure you. You’ll see. No need to worry or—”

  “Yeel, if I’m truly to play the role of Crescent Knight, then I may have to….interrupt you from time to time as you digress, since the knight was known to do that…I hope you understand.”

  “Of course! Of course, I’m glad to see that you’re taking your new role so seriously, and indeed –”

  “Yeel. Please. Just help me put this on?”

  “Yes, of course. Er, um, yes, yes…talking less now. I can tell you prefer short and terse interactions. Though to tell you the truth, I find it quite difficult! Limiting communication can even be dangerous! Stifling the exchange of ideas can bring about great misunderstandings, you know.”

  Jymoor struggled with the plates, trying to deduce their positioning as Yeel handed them over. As the weight increased, Jymoor started to breathe faster, feeling the pressure pushing her feet deeper into the grassy earth.

  Jymoor grunted. “I thought you said that it would lend me strength,” she complained. She felt clumsy encased in the unfamiliar equipment.

  “Soon, Jymoor. You must don more of it before the effect can be noticed. Lock your shoulder guard into place and I’ll hand you the helm. That should be enough to gain the muscular enhancement. I believe the effect is even greater under the light of the moon.”