The Hungering Saga Complete

by Heath Pfaff

  ". . . and what is the nature of this 'last act'?" Ethaniel pressed, his ire still obvious in the tone of his voice.

  "You'll find out at the announcement, with the others." I told him. I didn't want him to try and stop me, and there was a chance that he would, if he knew what I intended.

  A low growl issued from Ethaniel. "You shouldn't be keeping secrets. Things are dangerous enough as they are. You endanger us all with your carelessness." The old Knight threatened.

  "That is true. Things are dangerous, and what I have in mind will not change that one way or the other." I looked at Ethaniel, my eyes locking with his black eyes, shying clear of the gray, smoke and hostility-filled eyes above. "Have I not proven that I have at least some sense in all the time you've known me?"

  Ethaniel did not reply immediately. "I'm your advisor. You have an obligation to share your plans with me, otherwise I cannot advise." He finally snapped.

  "I have looked to you on most major decisions, Ethaniel, but this is something that I have to do. You don't have to approve of it, but you'll learn nothing more from me until I make the announcement." I held firm to my conviction. I was committed to my course of action, and would not allow my four-eyed advisor to dissuade me.

  Ethaniel's fists clenched at his sides. He seemed about to say something more, but then thought better of it. He turned and left the room, his cape snapping in his wake. The encounter had gone almost as badly as I'd feared it would, though perhaps not as badly as my imagination had conspired to make me believe. My head was still attached to my shoulders.

  "He scares me." I heard Laouna say, and I turned to see that she had gotten up from the bed and was standing just a few feet behind me. She wore a sword at her side, and her hand was on the hilt.

  "He's been an advisor to the king for a long time." I told her, making my voice as soothing as possible. "He's a good man, proven through years of service. You don't need to fear him." I told her, but the truth of that matter was that I feared Ethaniel as well. There was something dark about the old Knight, and it was a darkness that only seemed to grow by the week. Could it be so easily explained away as stress? I often wondered.

  Malice shook her head. "He's a monster."

  I forced a smile. I had heard that term used to describe me on many occasions. It had become almost a curse in my ears.

  "He is no more a monster than am I." I told her, but I was not certain I believed those words as strongly as I might have years before. Ethaniel had sent assassins after Silent, and he had told me I should have accepted Lheec's daughter despite her age and hesitance. Maybe he was a loyal king's man, but could his judgment be trusted? I wanted to believe that it could, but every time I looked into his smoky-gray eyes, and saw the rage and violence within them, I found myself questioning his motives.

  "You're not a monster. You're just sad." Malice's voice cut across my thoughts. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

  "Sad?" I asked, uncertain what she meant.

  "Sad." She repeated.

  "What makes you think that I'm sad?" I asked.

  She shrugged her reply. "Sometimes you just look sad. I don't know why. You don't smile a lot."

  I'd heard it said, that children had a different way of seeing the world, and that sometimes they picked up on subtle signals that adults, hardened to the world, did not see. I wondered if Malice had that same clarity of vision, or if she simply knew me well enough to see through the facade of cold indifference I tended to wear.

  "Sometimes I think I get too busy, and I forget that it's alright to smile." I told her, the words little more than an excuse for all the reasons I actually did not care to smile.

  Malice stepped forward and locked her left arm in the crook of my right arm. "You should smile as often as you can." The green-eyed girl, suddenly serious, told me. "It will make you feel better."

  I considered her for a moment, thinking on what she'd said. Was a smile the source of good humor, or was good humor the source of a smile? In an ideal world, I thought, maybe just smiling could bring happiness, but I had too many bad memories, and too many worries still ahead, to smile away my troubles. I forced the expression once more for Malice.

  She sighed. "I know when you're not really doing it." She said. "You're not good at faking it."

  I let the expression fade away. "I'll have to work on my fake smile then."

  Malice punched me in the shoulder with her free right hand, not hard, but hard enough to make me wince, at least in feigned discomfort.

  "That's not how it works. You have to really be happy." She said, irritated.

  "I guess I shall have to work on that instead." I said, in all seriousness.

  "Good." She responded. We walked out of the room together. Liet, and the other black cloak on duty, fell in behind us. It was time to leave.

  I stood in the middle of the procession of Black Patch Brigade and Knights. I knew the names of all the remaining Knights of Ethan, but the black cloaks far outnumbered them. There were nearly a thousand of the menacing, black-hooded figures in my retinue, all of them with their hard-set, dark eyes gleaming from beneath their hoods. Each of them was an individual explosion of violence contained by black thread. Would the magic that bound them to me loyally, last indefinitely? That was something I couldn't know for sure. I was no master in the arts of magic, but I feared for the worst. I wanted to give those wretched men back their humanity, but what humanity really remained in them? Their eyes, but for seldom few times, always burned with the powerful hatred, and terrible hunger of the Fell Beast to which they were bound. It was dark magic, indeed, that had crafted their bodies.

  The wind kicked up, and I drew my cloak about my shoulders more tightly. The fabric was magic. It could resist cutting to an extent, and kept the same comfortable temperature on the inside, but strong wind still made me want to clutch the fabric more tightly about me. I felt out of place dressed in my bright blue cloak. All around me were black figures, punctuated by the occasional shifting cloak of the Knights of Ethan. In their midst, I was like a beacon of brightness, drawing all eyes as we passed through the busy streets of Kreo.

  The people were assembling. The city criers had been out before us, and they had announced that I would be holding a public assembly in the city center before departing on my hunting trip. The eyes that sought me in the crowd all held barely contained hostility. No few of those common people, those subjects of the king, would gladly have seen me drawn from my crowd of protectors and murdered in the streets. An occasional rock sailed through the air, to be knocked aside by my black cloak protectors.

  As a Knight of Ethan I had been feared, and even hated by some, but as a king I was feared by none, and hated by all. Many people dreamed of becoming a king some day, and of having the power to make the changes they wanted, and to live a life of luxury. I, however, had my fill of royal life. There was little freedom as the king, and the life of luxury was little more than a gilded cage. I was watched constantly, and never free to do as I wished for a moment. In the years I had served the kingdom, I'd had not a single moment of real privacy. The nights in my room, and those spent with Snow, had been the closest I'd managed, and even then the black cloaks, my ever present guards, had been no further away than the span of a room, and the thickness of a door.

  It was strange, but I could look back on the time I'd spent traveling with Malice, running through the forests of the kingdom of men, with no one watching but the birds and the sky, and I envied those moments. Life had been hard, and we had been running for a purpose, but I'd had freedom. As the king, I was still driven by purpose, but freedom was lost. My life was not my own. Even once I left the lands of men, the Black Patch Brigade would remain. They were bound to me until I died, or until they died. That was a grim reality that I didn't wish to dwell upon. I was one monster, tied to hundreds.

  We cut a wide channel through the city streets on our way to the public square. The people, though curious and eager to throw insults and whatever else they might
have on their person, at the king, were still terrified of the Knights of Ethan, and the black cloaks. They gave us distance, if for no other reason than that they feared getting too close to one of my savage guards.

  I flexed the muscles in my back, feeling the weight of my new sword as the strap pressed against my flesh there. It was a comforting feeling. The blade was too long to be worn at my side in the normal fashion.

  Snow had been right. The reforged weapon was a thing of beauty, but one that retained the spirit of the blade it had been built from. The scabbard was a special construction as well. It was designed to allow the blade to slip from the side with ease, so that I could draw the weapon quickly in a time of need. There was a simple catch that I could spring with my drawing hand, and the blade would fall into my ready palm in an instant. The catch was designed so that it would take a precise effort from me to release it, so that my blade would not come lose at inopportune times. It was a very clever design, and one that Snow had assured me was entirely hers. She had no shortage of confidence in her work.

  I had been wearing the blade ever since I received it. It made my retainers uncomfortable, and drew stares, but it felt good to have a weapon on all the time again. For sitting and such, a simple pull of one of two straps shifted the blade from the center of my back, to either side. If I could just be rid of my blue cloak, I thought, I might finally feel more like my old self. Perhaps I should have been ashamed for feeling more comfortable while wearing a weapon, but I had spent most of my time as a young man fighting for my life, and thrust into situations where my survival was dependent upon being able to defend myself. A sword was an assurance that I would not have to face a foe unprepared. Perhaps, I thought, if politicians squared off in such a manor, decisions might be made more quickly and with less dishonesty. Steel never lies.

  We finally reached the city square. People were pilling in from all the side streets, filling the entire area. They created a wide channel for my men and me to pass through. There was a terrible tension in the air. I felt as though at any minute fighting might break out. I made my way towards the stone pedestal, an open stage that stood in the middle of the clearing. The large stone had been damaged in the Hungering attack, crumpled by one of their black drakes, but enough of it still stood that I could make my way to the top of it, and thus put myself higher than those assembled around me. More and more people poured into the public square, even as I took to the pedestal.

  In front of the masses of people of Kreo, I felt exposed. Their hate-filled eyes lashed my body like whips. Their hostility was like a wave upon which I must ride, or fall and succumb to the fury of their potent wrath. I looked around me, for I was surrounded by masses of people on all sides. I saw the eyes of the denizens of Kreo, but also the eyes of Ethaniel, and the other Knights of Ethan. Some few of them, too, I noticed, were hostile to me. Snow and Malice, those four eyes looked upon me not with hostility, but with curiosity. They gave me strength, or I took strength from them. I couldn't be certain.

  I held up my arm, hand stretched out wide, and silence passed through the crowd around me, spreading from those nearest me, and outward like a great wave through the assembly. I waited for quiet. As with any large crowd, it never grew absolute, but it became close enough. I began.

  "As you all know by now, I will be leaving on a hunting trip for the next few months." A murmur of dissatisfaction swept through the audience at my words. They believed I had called the assembly just to announce what they had already known. "However," I spoke loudly, firmly, my voice carrying to the ends of the clearing and beyond. Silence fell once more. "I would not leave and have my people left in misery while I am gone. I know only too well that times have been difficult for the people of Kreo. I have heard your complaints, and I have thought long and hard on how I could best serve the people."

  "You could kill yourself and let a man take the crown!" Someone yelled from the throng, and a roll of uneasy laughter filled the clearing.

  I ignored the words, and stuck to my original purpose. "Today I am here to announce that, over the course of the next week, every citizen of Kreo will be entitled to a sum of gold, and a provision of the king's land, to be handed out at the castle." I paused for a moment, and heard a wave of awe pass through the crowed, followed by whispers, and a general confusion. "This gift will be given to every man, woman and child, but only once."

  "Upon being given your share, your right palm will be marked with a symbol that will not wash off for two weeks. If you attempt to cheat the system, I assure you the punishment will be swift and terrible." The cacophony of voices, which had silenced as I spoke, arose again. This time, however, there was a general sense of exuberant joy. Some people started to cheer, and then others joined. Suddenly, the hated king was very popular with the people. They did not care that giving out money in such a way would drive the kingdom to financial ruin, and that giving out all of the kingdom's land would lower the amount of food that could be produced for the public.

  What I had done, in one bold move, was destroy the self-sustaining economy of the country of men. The people of the kingdom, who did not understand the ramifications of my actions, were overjoyed. In truth, they only stood to benefit from my decision. It was Lord Lheec who would suffer. He would come into the kingdom only to find that its vaults were empty, and its lands divided and owned by the people. He would either have to take the lands back from the people, or cart in supplies from his own lands, thus depleting his own resources to uphold the entire economy. Either way, he would find himself in a precarious and unpopular position.

  "The gifting starts tomorrow at dawn, and will be carried out at the taxation office. There will be plenty of time for everyone to receive their due, so do not fret. No one will be left out." I called over the shouts and voices. Another round of cheering filled the air. My eyes gazed across the crowed, specifically across the eyes that watched me from my own party. Some of the Knights looked away as I attempted to gauge their reaction. Ethaniel met my gaze, and may have even cracked the slightest smile. I couldn't be certain, but I did not see any outward anger. That, at least, was a good sign. Snow's eyes sparkled with mischief as she realized exactly what I had done. Malice looked excited, though I doubted she fully understood the situation. I couldn't help but smile.

  I stepped down from the dais, and voices rose all around me. "King Noble! King Noble!" The people chanted. It was a good moment. Despite all that I had hated being a king, at that moment it felt good to wear the crown, and better yet to know that I was nearly done with it.

  The black cloaks and the Knights of Ethan, formed up around me as I made my way through the mass of people towards the exit of the city. We did not travel with war-sows or reave haulers, as I felt the animals would be too difficult to maintain on a long march. Bringing animals just meant that I would need to bring supplies for those animals. It was better to travel light. People pressed in all around us as we traveled, no longer throwing the occasional rock, or icy stare, but now throwing flowers, and well wishes for the hunt. It was remarkable to see how quickly the attitudes of the people could change.

  It had taken a good deal of effort to set everything up for my plan, and to assure that it was carried out fairly. Sums would be given out until there was no longer anyone who had not received a dividend. This would leave some money and land still available to be signed over. This land and money was to be divided among the staff of the castle. They would, in the end, get the largest share, but then they were responsible for assuring that the rest of my plan was properly carried out. In the end, everyone would be a little richer, and have a little more land to call their own. Well, everyone but Lord Lheec, who would find himself hard pressed to fund the repairs for the country, and to pay off all those owed money by the kingdom.

  "You're bankrupting the nation so that you can have one last jab at Lheec." A voice said, close to my left side. I recognized the tones immediately. It was Ethaniel.

  "I know, but I wasn't going to hand everything o
ver to him without doing something." I answered.

  "He'll hate you for this." Ethaniel said, his voice neither a reprimand nor an encouragement.

  "I thought he already hated me." I replied. Lheec had tried to kill me on many occasions. That seemed a strange thing to do to someone you didn't hate.

  Ethaniel shook his head. "No, he just needed you out of the way. After this, though, he will hate you. You might not be able to come back here."

  "That is the least of my problems. You know as well as I, that there is a significant chance that I will never have the opportunity to return here anyway. What we're doing is dangerous. We could die." I locked eyes with the old Knight. His jaw was set firm, and his face showed determination. I ignored the gray, hostile eyes that seemed to give off an entirely different state of being than the rest of Ethaniel's face.

  The old Knight said something then that I did not expect. His eyes seemed to focus somewhere far away as he spoke, the gray eyes, as well, seemed to lose their malignant fire.