Forest & Kingdom Balance

by Robert Reed Paul Thomas

  She felt a strange sensation when she entered her rooms, they were completely familiar, and yet felt like they belonged to a complete stranger. Bathed and redressed, she went to visit Evangeline.

  “Dionara!” Evangeline gave her a big hug.

  “Councilor Evangeline, it is so wonderful to finally meet you. I have a tale to tell you, and you have a few tales to tell me. The two women who have been together since Dionara’s birth, spent some time getting to know one another. Tears flowed on laughter’s wings as they reminisced long into the night. Only those two will know what words passed between them, with the possible exception of, “You dropped him!?!” Which was heard by half the castle.

  II

  Farmer, Trader, Spy

  Tressan, the sixth child born to a farm family in the Kingdom’s Second Valley, never was one to take common knowledge as fact. Whenever he was faced with a problem, he would just find a new and creative solution that fit his needs and moved on. By the time he reached his teens, it was common knowledge in the Second Valley that Tressan was a bit unusual. His reputation puzzled him because he felt that he merely looked at the world a little differently.

  As he approached the age of sixteen, his parents turned the family farm over to his oldest brother, and Tressan found himself a stranger in his own home. His solution was simple, he packed what little he had and left his family a note that said he was off to see the world and headed west.

  He had excellent trail skills. His favorite pastime growing up had been to wander alone in the virgin forests beyond the Second Valley. So as he left to seek adventure, he was confident in his ability to make his way to the coast, and doubted that he would run into any situation too tough to handle. A few days into his journey as he rested at midday, a woman’s voice spoke to him. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he literally jumped, but found no one.

  “I’m so sorry Tressan, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The voice said.

  “That’s all right, you didn’t startle me.” He assured her and continued to search as his heart raced. “Very little takes me by surprise.” He approached a fallen tree on a knoll and hopped over it, “Ha! There you are!” He said to a pile of leaves. “Where are you?” His words were more exasperation than question.

  “Well, apparently not there.” He experienced a wonderful sensation of happiness as her laughter joined with his. “I’m afraid I need to interrupt your journey, we need to speak.” She added.

  Over the next two days she only spoke to give him directions. On the second day he came upon a beautiful waterfall and a young woman seated beside the water. “Hello Tre, welcome to Angel Falls!” She said and gave him a hug. “Off to the coast, are you?”

  “Yes, how did you know?” He was a little confused, but he’s never let that stop him before. “I’m going to see the world and find adventure!”

  Catherine couldn’t help but smile at his bravado. “What if I told you that you’ve already found it?”

  “Here? This is the Kingdom, nothing ever happens here.” His skeptical look said it all.

  “That’s actually a good thing, but we’ll get back to that.” She took his hand and led him toward the shallows beside the falls. “Why don’t you come with me, adventure is just a few steps away.”

  Tre grinned. “I have never in my life turned down an invitation from beautiful woman,” the sixteen year old said, “and I’m certainly not going to start now.”

  “Just close your eyes and follow me.” Catherine smiled. She led him through the falls and on through the gate. “Open your eyes Tressan of the Second Valley.”

  He wasn’t disappointed.

  Once the shock had worn off Catherine introduced him to Dorian and the three went to sit under a tree in the meadow. Tre had nodded a few times when spoken to, but hadn’t uttered a word. The two took turns telling him the history of the Kingdom and what conditions were like on the coast, especially for the Mindow. Catherine showed him images in his mind of the Red Knight, war, and conditions in the Far Lands, then allowed him join her as she sent her awareness to the coast. When they returned, he finally spoke.

  “Oh.” He no longer had either the look of adventure he had at the falls, nor the expression of wonder he had at the gate. “You’re right, nothing is a good thing.”

  “Tre,” Dorian handed him some fruit from the basket, “we’d like your help. We of the Kingdom could be self sufficient, but we’d go without a lot of the essentials that make life worthwhile. So we go to the coast and trade for what we need in secret. No one knows were here, not the coast, the Mindow slaves, the Red Knight, or anyone in the Far Lands, and we need to keep it that way.”

  “Catherine tells me that you are just the sort of young man to help the Kingdom get what it needs without our secret getting out. You’re smart, self-reliant, you don’t shy away from adventure, and most importantly, you’re trustworthy.”

  “You don’t know me.” Tre wondered how Dorian could make such an appraisal. “What happens if I slip up and someone finds out about us?”

  “I know you Tressan, better than you know yourself.” Catherine whispered in his mind.

  “Oh ya, right, that.” He turned to Catherine with a grin. “How does that work again?”

  True to Catherine’s prediction, Tre had already adjusted to his new worldview by the end of the afternoon. He spent the night with Dorian in the bunkroom of a Forest supply building as he listened to stories of the Trader Corps.

  The next morning he met the Caretaker and took a tour of the village. While he was there he saw two women in conversation. The first woman exclaimed, “Oh! I forgot to bring the belt that needed mending.” She took off her clothes and handed them to her friend. “I’ll be right back.” Then she turned into a flash of light and a sparrow flew off.

  Tre just stood there. Dorian laughed, “I forgot to tell you about that, sorry.” A short time later while he and Dorian were at the blacksmith discussing his metal needs, Tre jumped as a mountain lioness with a harness belt in her mouth ran past them. A flash of light and the woman was getting dressed again. She picked up the belt and the two friends came toward the smith.

  For his first assignment in the Trader Corps, he was told he had to go home, tell his parents that he only made it as far as the other side of the first valley, and took service with a forester. He would be gone for long stretches but would see them when he could. Tre didn’t consider his assignment a particularly exciting way to start his career. He perked up when he returned and was told he would be spending three years in the Forest for training.

  At age nineteen he set out with Dorian on his first trading run. It didn’t take very long for Tre’s intelligence and skills to become legendary among the traders. Although ‘trader’ really didn’t describe what he did. They couldn’t trade any goods from the Kingdom for fear that sooner or later someone would wonder where the goods had come from.

  The Caretaker had solved that problem when the Trader Corps was first established, he had pointed out several large veins of gold scattered around the mountains and helped the Kingdom to create coins identical to the coast’s. That was just the beginning of the close relationship the traders had with the Caretaker and the Sentinels. Traders spoke to and worked with the Forest more than the royal family. The traders did the work and took the risks while Forest had their back.

  The Caretaker and Catherine were Tre’s contacts for most of his trading career, but John had been born during Tre’s training, so whenever Tre was in the Forest, he always spent time with the gifted young man. He knew they would need a good relationship when John became a Sentinel.

  Tre was an old hand at the trading game with twelve years under his belt when Catherine contacted him. He was in the Northern Protectorate, they were making the best steel goods at that time and he had some special orders to fill.

  “Tre, I need to talk to you.” Catherine’s communication was strained.

  Tre knew immediately that something was very wrong. She had blo
cked all emotion. He looked around, and then rode to the side of the road. He sat against a tree and put his hat over his face. “What happened Catherine, and stop blocking your emotions, I’m a big boy, I can take it.”

  Despair and tragedy filled him, the pain and loss he felt from her was overwhelming. “Diana and Stefan were killed by agents of the Red Knight.” Another wave of pain and loss from Catherine overtook him. He didn’t have time for shock; he wanted to be there for Catherine as she had always been there for him.

  She was sitting at John’s bedside as she relayed the events to Tre. It took him awhile to convince her, but she finally allowed him to see the boy he had watched grow up. Tre was devastated. Then that rare quality of strength that Catherine had recognized in him so many years before, showed itself.

  “Catherine, how many traders are out, including me?” She told him five. “Please give them the message ‘Emergency One, thirty-five.’ Just say that only, they know that you will not contact them again. All right?”

  “I can’t just leave all of you alone, without support.” Her concern came through the grief.

  “You’re not leaving us alone, you’re leaving them to me. You know as well as I do that the code is a location. I will be there and I will get everyone home safe. Agreed?” Tre waited.

  “If I had a choice, I’d say no, but I don’t.” Catherine admitted.

  “Good. Is the message sent?”

  “I told them.” He felt the surrender in her thought.

  “Hey, stop that. You have been there for me, now I’ll be there for you. You take care of yourself. I’ll take care of the traders. No scanning for us, no worrying about us, I’ve got that covered. You and the Caretaker have always had each other to lean on. Now you both have more than even you two can handle. Here’s what I need from you. Talk to me, anytime, day or night. Scream at me, cry to me, pour your emotions into me, do anything but don’t hold it all in or you’ll never be the same. You saved my life fifteen years ago by not letting me go into a world I knew nothing about. Let me repay you in this small way. I can’t help you do what is ahead of you, but I can listen. Please.” Tre knew that Catherine had given of herself all her life. He hoped that she could accept as well.

  “Thank you.” The warmth of her thought helped them both deal with the grief.

  Tre rounded up the traders and they headed home. Catherine would contact him when she felt overwhelmed and allowed herself an outlet. Sometimes her emotions were like an avalanche of sadness; at other times she allowed the darker side we all have to express itself. Through it all Tre was there for her, and he did not show a single reaction, or tell a soul. No one but Tre and Catherine ever knew.

  Two years later they still had their hands, and minds, full. The Caretaker was manipulating the Red Knight’s war, spending time with Dionara, and giving John Sentinel training, while Catherine had to handle the Kingdom, the Forest, the traders, and all the sentinel duties. She had given up trying to keep track of the palace in Kingsport and it worried her. She had an idea and spoke to the Caretaker about it. He thought it was an excellent idea and Tre became Tressan of the Palace Guard.

  In times of sorrow and need, there will always be moments when laughter will lighten your heart, usually when you least expect it. Little did Catherine and the Caretaker suspect that when they assigned Tre this task; they were creating just such a moment for themselves, actually, many moments.

  In no time at all Tre made connections all over the palace. His reports held all the dirty little secrets and intrigue that make a palace, a palace. Everything from information shared in secret meetings at the highest levels to the scullery gossip, and not a bit of it relevant to Forest or Kingdom, but it didn’t matter. After awhile Catherine and the Caretaker would set aside time for themselves once a week and take Tre’s report together. By the time he was through dishing the dirt on all the happenings at the palace, Catherine and the Caretaker were laughing so hard their jaws hurt. Healing sometimes comes from the most unexpected places, and Tre’s first rule in life might have helped it along a bit. Rule #1: Never let anything as minor as the truth ruin a good story.

  III

  General Information

  Continents & Oceans:

  The world’s land mass is divided between two continents, a single super continent that stretches from pole to pole which takes up about a third of the globe, and a second, smaller continent on the far side of the world. The smaller continent’s southern most point crosses the equator and runs north into the temperate zone.

  Ocean currents are circular and weak, and tend to be associated with ocean basins. The basin currents corkscrew the circulation of warm water from the equator migrating to the poles. The trade winds tend to be light and variable.

  Paladin was the first to discover the “S” route that utilized the circular currents to propel his ships to the far side of the world. He was fortunate to find one of the few islands mid-ocean that was substantial enough to support a full ecosystem so that he could restock his provisions.

  The New Lands continent is difficult to reach, explore, and settle. There is a mountain range running its full length north and south ending in island chains at either end. There are arable lands on the west coast between the mountains and the sea mainly mid continent. The east coast and interior are largely unexplored. There have been several attempts to sail along the coastline to set up settlements on the east coast and to explore the interior. None have found any large scale success. There have been, and still may be, small settlements on the east coast that have been cut off from the main population centers of the west. These settlements if any, would be subject to the east coast’s severe and unpredictable weather, as well as the rough, inhospitable landscape that those who have returned from the east have reported.

  Climate:

  The climate on the super continent has the full range of variations, though the extremes are not severe, and while the tropics at their warmest are hot, it is not unbearable. It stays predominantly mild far into the temperate zone, however the seasons are evident in the mid to upper temperate zone and beyond. The mild climate also applies to the west coast of the New Lands continent. At latitudes on the super continent where winter becomes life threatening, permanent settlements are sparse.

  The east coast of the New Lands continent however suffers the consequences of the continent’s interference with global weather patterns. This instability has created a weather worn coast and a large area inland that varies from hellish deserts, to water soaked marshes, to pockets of utopian paradise. Just about every variation is represented until the eastern face of the western mountain range is reached.

  Gender and Status Roles:

  Traditional gender roles are not required by societal norms. It is not unusual to have women as warriors, or for men to take up childcare and domestic work. It is just as usual to have a queen, as it is a king, and for daughters to inherit as well as sons. Circumstances are determined more by situation than gender.

  While gender roles are taken by choice, in a non-industrialized society with a lack of stability, the traditional roles tend to be the majority. This helps both the individual and the society to weather the conflicts and uncertainties of life in the Red Knight’s world.

  The equality of the genders leads to several aspects that are taken for granted. For instance in the warm, mild climate, nudity is not equated to sex and certainly not equated to an invitation. A woman’s choices, as well as her body, are hers to do with as she decides. While there will always be men who feel the can impose their will on women, if they do, they can usually be grouped into two categories, either “lonely” or “deceased.”

  Status has far more to do with one person imposing their will on another than gender. As a slave you are subject anyone’s whim. Farmers, tradesmen, tradeswomen, warriors, merchants, and all those not of the aristocracy have the rights of King’s Law, unless a member of the aristocracy chooses not to recognize King’s Law when ignoring it is to their benef
it. For those in the aristocracy, life is a constant struggle for ascension to greater status and power.

  Tea, or Morning Drink (Originally called Widow’s Tea):

  Widow’s Tea is found growing wild in most areas of the super continent. It is also grown as a domestic crop. When its leaves are brewed, it makes a slightly sweet hot beverage with a pleasant flavor. It was brought to the New Lands and is both raised as a crop and sown wild wherever humans settle.

  It is a mild stimulant almost universally consumed. It has no effect on men other than as a morning ‘pick me up.’ However for women it has the added bonus of slightly changing a woman’s body chemistry in a way that will prohibit conception without affecting her natural rhythm. Early in humanity’s history, the plant was considered poisonous, most likely due to the fact that tribes who imbibed it regularly died out due to lack of offspring.

  Over time its poisonous reputation was easily debunked by would be poisoners who discovered that not only did their intended victim not die, they could very well have thanked the poisoner and complimented them on the drink.

  From very early in society’s development, Widow’s Tea put the choice of pregnancy in women’s hands. As a result society has evolved to assume that pregnancy is naturally a woman’s choice and always has been. The effect of the tea is short lived. It is generally believed that the tea no longer has an effect after approximately a week without it. Conception can then take place naturally dependent on a woman’s individual cycle. It is not unusual for women to throw Widow’s Tea seeds into the wind when they arrive in a new area. After all, you never know when there may be a need, or an opportunity!

  IV

  Time Line:

  (YK = Year of The Knight)

  YK 562

  FAR LANDS: King Jarod of the Western Province becomes the first to successfully trap the Red Knight in a drug induced stupor. Tied to a rack in the king’s dungeon, the Knight is kept alive but senseless as Jarod begins his conquest of the known world.