“Albetais left no heir. In an instant Paraysia had no direction. For centuries, the kingdom had passed from father to son; father to son. In the next, that course of power which had run as sure as the currents of the Great Waters was diverted.
“Orsak emerged from Albetais’s chamber onto the balcony overlooking the Great Courtyard and raised his sword, dripping with the King’s blood, high above his head. A crowd of common and royal soldiers cheered and called out his name. He held out a metal cup with the royal shield engraved on it and said to the crowd, ‘Here is the blood of the tyrant.’ They applauded and whistled. ‘Here is the source of King Albetais’s life which I have taken from him. He shall no longer press his boot down upon you.’ He then threw his head back and poured the blood onto his tongue, drinking it as ancient warriors drank the blood of their slain enemies. The crowd gasped, as did I, then all at once they cheered louder as he raised his arms in triumph—a bloody sword in one hand, an empty cup in the other.
"’I am your new King,’ he bellowed over their heads. His lips were bright red. It is an image I have never forgotten. ‘I shall restore Paraysia to the grand kingdom it once was. And I shall carry it into the future as the kingdom it was always meant to be.’
“It became clear to me then that whatever future Paraysia would have in Orsak’s hands I did not want to be part of it. And yet it was not until one year later that I walked away.”
Roimas shook his lowered head slowly before continuing.
“The soldiers praised him. The people celebrated him. Orsak stood beaming, soaked in the accolades. As for me, I could not be rid of the pain in my stomach as I stood beside him. Yet, I felt relief at the battle, and Albetais, having come to an end.
“Cries of victory and Orsak’s words spread quickly. They were carried on horseback to every village and on foot to every doorstep and the people rejoiced. Paraysia, its dukes and barons, farmers and fishermen, delighted in the new era that was to begin.
Roimas turned to face the forest. He pointed into the darkness within it and said, “Deep within the forest, past the stream that runs at the mountains’ feet, Galyan had made a shallow cave his home. He lived in solitude, away from human contact. He had kept an eye and ear on the happenings in the kingdom but had kept himself from interfering. For months he had sent a small bird called a goldbeak, no bigger than the palm of his hand, to the castle walls, once each week, to steal a glimpse of the kingdom. It was a two-day’s flight to the castle, and when each bird returned, it had a more interesting tale to tell than the one before it. Within a month’s passing since Orsak pronounced himself the new King, Galyan emerged from the forest. He strode into the Throne Room declaring with great gestures that the prophecy had been fulfilled—Orsak, a commoner’s son, would now rule Paraysia.
“Servants cheered his return, as did most knights. The nobles and soldiers, those who had quickly succumbed to Orsak’s commands, however, grimaced at his return and whispered among one another what a coward and traitor the wizard had been.
"’Where were you when the fighting began?’ one of the guards had shouted at Galyan as he entered through the castle’s gate. “You emerge just in time to reap the comforts of peace, do you not?’ growled another. He winced at the scorns but walked decidedly on his course to the King’s chamber.
“I blame them not. I, too, had felt their frustration at knowing the wizard was away from the clash between Albetais and the kingdom and had chosen not to play a part. Galyan would say that he hadn’t the right to stand in the way of prophecy. Still, he understood their rancor; they had fought, others had died, and now, when quiet had settled over the land, he returned, untouched by any of it. But, in fact, he had been touched; he had been scarred, just as they had been; only they were not aware of it.
“The foolishness of men’s wars perplexed Galyan. He wished he could have helped Orsak’s cause in some way, offer his assistance, but his hands and his magic were incapable of shedding human blood. Above all, although he possessed great power, Galyan could not use it to alter the fate of men. He had been banished from the kingdom, forced out into the forest by the son of the dearest friend he had ever known. He had lost what he knew his life to be; he had lost his purpose in the kingdom and his trust in the people whom he had spent over a century coming to know and love. One King had given his life worth, another had taken it away. And now, here he returned, hoping to gain the acceptance of yet another King who knew not his heart.
“Orsak welcomed Galyan’s return warmly, so would an unknowing observer believe. The new king sat on his throne, still finding it oversized and uncomfortable—one could tell by the way he moved restlessly within it—when a young guard announced that Galyan, the wizard, had returned and was waiting to see him.
"’Galyan,’ Orsak said animatedly, ‘Usher him in.’ Galyan’s presence in his royal court provided a sense of legitimacy and nobility no war victory could and the King knew this. Galyan entered the Throne Room with me at his side.
"’Your Majesty,’ Galyan bowed deeply when he reached the throne and Orsak beamed. He seemed like a child commended for a task well done. ‘It is good to see the crown upon your head.’ Orsak thanked him, smiling, perhaps at the old wizard’s figurative speech; there was no physical crown sitting on his long, dark hair. ‘I have returned in celebration of your victory,’ Galyan said. ‘And I offer you my counsel, if you would have it.’
“'In my eyes,” Roimas said to Delcan, “Galyan has long been considered the conscience of this kingdom. It was good to see him back in the castle.” Roimas smiled as if he were back in that moment. “I wonder if Orsak could see that in my eyes that day. I wonder if he realized then that I had a devotion to Galyan that I would never have toward him. It was the old wizard who would keep Paraysia together, not the new king. I felt this then, even though I had not yet admitted it to myself. Perhaps the hate Orsak feels towards me flickered in his heart for the first time that day.
"Orsak accepted Galyan’s offer cheerfully enough. He stood beside the sorcerer and placed his arms around the small man’s shoulders; partly, to honor the friendship the old wizard and his father had once shared; mostly, to gain the support of traditionalists throughout the kingdom who would rejoice at seeing the great Marcius’s very own advisor ruling alongside the new King.
“It did not take long for Galyan to see instability in Orsak’s eyes; in fact, he had sensed it nearly as soon as he had stood before him in the Throne Room.
“The confidence with which Orsak sat in the throne, his legs crossed, his arms spread and resting on the sides of the giant chair, gave Galyan an uneasy feeling. The way the new king seemed young and small as he sat in that cradle of power, unafraid of what would be demanded of him. He had an immature and dangerous air about him—the sort of arrogance with which a child who had never shot an arrow from a bow pushed aside another boy just to be the one next to demonstrate how perfectly he would hit the mark, only to miss the target all together. Fire burned strongly within the young king’s heart; Galyan felt its warmth from across the room, but the fire was unattended. He was troubled by the notion that the shadow which had hovered over Albetais’s reign would also befall the new leader, pressing down upon that fire and pushing it out to the kingdom.”
Delcan had listened intently to Roimas’s words and yet not all made sense to him. “Father,” he said. “I do not understand how the kingdom has come to where we are. Even with his rage, Orsak still seemed like a more hopeful future than Albetais’s reign. Did he not?”
Roimas nodded knowingly. “That was our belief as well in those first days, months. The kingdom shrugged at the dark things Orsak put in front of it as we looked for the brighter ones we felt, we knew, would come.
“Paraysia prospered for nearly a year following Orsak’s self-crowning, all of its people optimistically intoxicated. Even the island’s soil seemed to cheer, bringing forth crops in great abundance. Trade was plentiful; the markets were never empty; and a lasting, overjoyed mood carri
ed the people forward. Commoners and nobles alike shared in good spirits; the kingdom produced more, and Paraysia’s good fortune blossomed.
“One year. For one single year, King Orsak stood proud of his triumphs, even as our wealth had resulted more from the people’s elation at being rid of Albetais. He wore his victory, the success of his new era of change, upon his breast like a prize; he displayed it in the way he stood and sat with his head aloft and his shoulders pulled back in pride.
“The prosperity faltered when a harsh winter arrived with winds unlike any the kingdom could remember and frigid weather that frosted the land. Through the months of increasing struggle, families survived by trading the few crops they had harvested, or any items they could spare, with those of nearby villages in exchange for what they needed; others offered their skills in exchange for food. With a hand extended to aid their neighbor, the people of Paraysia made it through the winter but the prosperity did not.
“As crops and labor were used to trade for other necessities, the kingdom itself did not profit from them and King Orsak worried that the castle’s vault would dry out. Proclaiming such misfortune a crisis, the King soon took power over all merchants; all goods and profits were to pass through the castle to ensure that the kingdom would not fall to ruin in the years to come. He threw his kingly cloak over the farms and placed himself as their sole overseer, certain he would usher once again the prosperous wave farmers had once enjoyed.
“It did not result in better days; rather, scarcity spread slowly throughout the kingdom. Men, families, no longer held the farms whose land their blood had fed. Nor the crops the farms produced. All the commoner once owned now lay in the King’s hand. All goods sold at the markets, or traded with neighboring kingdoms, carried King Orsak’s seal. And with every royal stamp, the fortunes made in the name of Paraysia, sat in piles in the King’s vault, deep beneath the castle.
“The kingdom’s pain grew around him and Orsak’s grip grew stronger. Challenging voices, few at first but growing daily, were silenced sharply with threatening persuasion at their emergence, then by forceful punishment as the voices grew in volume. Opposing expression did not simply fade—it was quite suddenly eliminated by an unforgiving barrier.
“I was taken back by the actions of the man who had once been my closest friend. I struggled to reach him and reverse his thinking. I pleaded with him at every encounter, trying to remind the King that more lenient actions and the release of the farms would better serve the kingdom. Gold and silver collected dust in his vault, serving no purpose as it sat in a darkened room. In response, he erupted with venomous anger I had not seen from him, demanding that I consider where my loyalties lay.
"’Beware your reign does not become the tyranny that was Albetais,’ I told him. He did not stand from his throne, only pointed at that heavy door that kept him apart from everyone else. As I pleaded in one ear, Galyan advised Orsak in the other against the perils of such rigid control. Both our attempts were futile and influenced him not at all.
"’You have great opportunity before you,’ Galyan told Orsak one evening as the King sat beside the giant window in his chamber. Galyan had come to visit him as he had done every evening for the previous two weeks. It was the way Marcius and he had once come to truly know each other—spending hours talking by the light of the moon or the hearth. ‘The kingdom’s future is a blank page and you hold the feather dripping with ink,’ he said. ‘Remember to use it humbly, in gentle strokes, not as a carving tool pressing hard on the paper.’
Instead of heeding his words, Orsak grew impatient and evermore hungry with supremacy. He waved the wizard’s words away with one hand while draining the kingdom’s spirit like a metal goblet of wine held in the other. The King quickly became weary of the old man’s unwarranted judgment and dizzying philosophy. And yet, Galyan did not cease his counsel, until Orsak drove him out of the kingdom once again.
“The conversation that pushed Galyan into the forest yet again is one that Galyan relayed to me more than once. For many years he felt that had he chosen his words more carefully, had he infused them with magic of one sort or another, things would have been different. I am doubtful that anything other than what has transpired in this kingdom’s history was meant to occur.
“The likeness of Orsak to Albetais was what drove the King to the precipice into which his heart has fallen. Galyan said to him, ‘There was no gain in having slain Albetais. Your revolution, your catalyst for change, could have been a triumph without the blood shed. Blood shed by men begets more blood. You were a fool and you are drowning this kingdom in your recklessness.’
“Orsak sprung to his feet. ‘It is not just unwise,’ he said, ‘it is nearly criminal, to criticize the actions and motives of a King, of your King. All I have done has been for the betterment of this kingdom.’
"Galyan responded that the people did not doubt his intentions, but they suspected his actions. ‘Your anger is too familiar to them,’ he said.
“At this, Orsak roared at Galyan, his eyebrows drawn in, his cheeks flushed, his already yellowing teeth grinding against one another. ‘The people are better than they ever have been. I have given them that, they know it. I am their King. And I am your King; address me no longer by name.’
"When Galyan tucked his hands into the wide sleeves of his cloak and whispered, ’You are mistaken,’ Orsak said nothing; his eyes were wide and bloodshot with fury. ’You gave Paraysia only the death of a tyrant King,’ Galyan continued. ‘That is all; the rest of it you rode like a child sitting upon the back of a runaway stallion. And now, you are giving them much of the same tyranny you once fought; this time the strings are wrapped around your fingers and you are the one doing the pulling.’"
Roimas chuckled to himself then shook his head. “Galyan has never restrained himself in offering his judgment.” He walked to Delcan and once again sat beside him.
“Orsak said nothing for awhile. He and the ancient wizard glared at each other. Orsak likely reading the deep lines at the corners of Galyan’s eyes, seeing nothing but age and the past; Galyan focusing on the way candlelight danced in the center of Orsak’s eyes, seeing hate and fear and an anxious need for acceptance. Orsak finally responded in a low, hoarse voice. ‘Leave my presence,’ he said. ‘Take your pitiful magic and leave not just my sight but this kingdom, again. You have been banished before, Galyan; sit and ponder that past, consider the lessons it teaches you.’ And then he grinned. He looked away from Galyan as he reached for a bottle of wine on the table. He didn’t bother pouring the wine into his cup; he brought the bottle up to his lips and realized, just as he was about to pour the rest of the liquor into his mouth, that the magician was no longer in the room.
“Galyan was clearly disheartened," said Roimas as he rubbed his brow. "He fell under a dark cloud; he blamed himself for not having stayed in Paraysia and not having provided help in driving out Albetais. Had he done so, Galyan thought, Orsak would never had developed his fervor for power. He damned himself for not having done something, anything, before that vile taste became sweet in Orsak’s mouth."
Silent for a moment, Roimas fixed his eyes on the stars.
"Why didn’t he?" Delcan asked, watching his father, concerned at the way the man he so admired seemed so tired. "Why didn’t Galyan use his magic, cast King Orsak out of the kingdom?"
"We are all servants of providence," Roimas responded. "Including Galyan. He knew prophecy would be fulfilled, even if it crushed men underfoot on its way. Magic may offer glimpses of what is to come, but it cannot make the course any shorter or prevent the pains that course may inflict."
Delcan nodded solemnly and waited for Roimas to continue his narrative; it was a tale he knew Roimas would tell only once, and he would let him tell it to the end.
When the next spell of silence had spread like a blood stain, Roimas turned to his son. Delcan saw pain dance like flames in his father’s eyes.
"Two days after the King’s banishment of Galyan, Orsak was to marr
y a nobleman’s daughter, Cyndia. He had chosen her only a week prior and the white veil she wore on her face did not hide well the young lady’s dislike of him. The final stones on the wall that would surround the kingdom ever since, were set in place minutes before Orsak’s wedding.
“The marriage was nothing more than part of King Orsak’s capricious demand to have a son. His vision of Paraysia’s future would begin with the passing of his legacy to the next heir—a new royal blood line. The wedding was held at the castle’s courtyard, draped in excess. Only noblemen and noble ladies came to witness the event; no commoners had been allowed entrance into the castle walls since Orsak had become King. Ribbons of gold decorated the Great Courtyard and the knights of the King’s court stood in formal dress along the stone stairs that led to the Great Ballroom’s doors. Galyan approached Orsak just as the large, double doors were to be pulled open and the King was to step down onto the courtyard with his bride to be.
"’This wedding must not take place,’ Galyan said in his usually grave voice, taking the King by surprise. Orsak turned, glancing at me with a sigh as if bored at having a frequent pest pulling at his leg.
"’You should have left the kingdom two days ago,’ Orsak said, letting go of Cyndia’s hand. ‘You have driven my patience too far already, old man. Do you wish to discover how much further you can push me?’
“Galyan knew what lay in Orsak’s dark heart and pointing a wrinkled finger at him, said, ‘You are taking the heart of this woman prisoner in the same manner in which you are holding prisoner this kingdom. Release her. Then, release us all.’
“Orsak laughed his heavy laugh and shook his head. ‘Come and witness the festivities if you like,’ he said. ‘After the wedding you will be put to death.’
“Galyan’s eyes did not falter. ‘I was mistaken,’ he said to Orsak, causing him to smile. It was the smile the devil himself wore as he watched the apple being picked from the Tree Of Knowledge. ‘Yes, old man. You were.’
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