‘If you are to serve openly and willingly then first, I must give you honesty. If you are not to serve willingly then you cannot serve me at all’, Jacob said. The men now all gathered in front of him awed by his presence. For this was not some spoilt prince whose power came from his title, but a being who emulated power from an inner well. He had their complete attention. ‘The world is changing. The warriors, known as men-at-arms of the Brotherhood of the Order of Light, can no longer protect the people of this kingdom by protecting our northern border. There are many things I cannot explain to you at this time, and others you would have to take on faith alone, but you are all chosen, as I have been, chosen to protect me whilst I look to protect the people as the kings of old once did. There will be war. A war in scale to dwarf all other conflicts. The kingdom as we know it will die, but with its death we shall build a new kingdom, one that protects all.’
Brondolf spoke again, but with much more respect. ‘Your Highness, please forgive me, but I must speak truthfully. I have already given an oath that cannot be broken. It was made in the presence of the grandmaster and therefore God.’
‘There is no need for forgiveness Brondolf. To speak truth is a virtue I wished all men would share.’ Jacob turned his head and called to his friend Gulkin, who appeared out of the darkness with an elderly man leaning heavily upon his arm. ‘Grandmaster.’ Jacob bowed his head slightly as he addressed the elderly man. ‘These are the men I would have with me to guide and defend me upon my journey. Would you release them from their vows in the name of He who is Greatest?’
The hunched old man took a deep breath and stood erect. Strength appeared magically in his being, and his voice was much stronger and more vigorous than any would have suspected at first sight. ‘Your Highness, for the final time I am called Ederwine’, he cheerfully chided Jacob. ‘As for this former vow these men have taken, I do not release them.’ The gathering of men now looked openly confused. ‘I have taken this vow from them personally. They are to protect the people, protect the kingdom and obey their king.’ Ederwine, High Father to all the brothers, oath taker and the bridge between the blessed and their God, took his time as he looked deep into the eyes of all the men Robert had brought before him. ‘I have no need to release you from your vow for I denounce this king known as King Kane the Cruel in the name of He who is Greatest. You will kneel before the true leader of men and swear, upon your honour, that you will protect the people, the kingdom and the man before you, known as Jacob, regardless of his title. This is why He who is Greatest has led you here through me and my brothers.’
All but two of the men drew their swords and placed the point into the ground. As they kneeled, they placed both their hands around the hilt of their sword and bowed their heads awaiting Jacob to come to them and place his hands upon theirs as he took their oath. All but two. Two young men, identical twins with golden hair and blue eyes who now stood with defiance etched onto their handsome faces. ‘We cannot’, Henry and Richard both said, a look of disgust as they spat the words towards the prince.
Askia and Holak moved froward, drawing their swords. ‘You dare to speak without manner or respect towards your prince!’ Askia said, rage threatening to overwhelm him. Jacob raised a hand to stay the two brothers and drew his own blade, the steel scraping out of the scabbard as he pulled it slowly and purposely free. He pointed the blade towards the twins and said, ‘You will not willingly serve? Then I shall allow you to die as warriors. Draw your swords and take a moment to pray.’ Jacob advanced slowly, giving the pair he faced time to draw their own blades and prepare to fight him.
Richard addressed him again, ‘I shall fight you man to man, a fair fight for a fair hearted bookworm.’ He laughed. And his brother attacked. Henry had attempted to use Richard’s distraction to attack him from his unprotected shield arm. A monstrous overarm strike aimed at splitting Jacob’s unprotected head in two. But Jacob had pre-empted the feint and stepped nimbly to his right. Henry had overextended, his body bent in two as his steel struck the ground where Jacob had just been standing. Almost tripping, he had kept his balance but was left unprotected. Jacob with his inhuman strength brought his blade down savagely upon the back of his opponent, smashing into his flesh like ripe fruit it sprayed blood as Jacob’s sword went through rib bones and spinal cord.
Richard came with vengeance in his heart and no thought or skill as he swung his sword again and again at Jacob who casually, almost mockingly, stepped back again and again in slight movements, each strike falling mere inches short. After a dozen slashes with his great-sword, Richard bellowed his frustration, ‘You traitorous bastard. You, Goblin turd. I’ll dance on your grave. I’ll piss on your corpse, I’ll...’ His voluminous curses were cut short as Jacob stepped inside his guard and took the man by his throat, lifting him from the ground as he choked the life from him. Richard dropped his sword, both hands grasping at Jacob’s one giant fist as it closed ever tighter, until with a last effort Jacob crushed Richard’s windpipe and cast him to the ground.
Oaths were taken in the presence of the grandmaster, the prince of the kingdom, and two dead men. Jacob remained stoic throughout, only speaking when a formal response was required, until in the growing grey of the false dawn Jacob took the final oath and said, ‘This man is Gulkin. He will see to your needs and your duties. You are dismissed.’ When he stood alone in the clearing with only Robert and Ederwine, he gestured to the men he had killed and softly said, ‘Was that really needed Robert? I feel sickened by my actions.’
‘It was’, Robert replied. ‘Men will love you, for your very nature makes it so. Yet, for men to follow you without question they must also fear you. Whilst my brothers and I searched for men who were worthy, we came across these two. They aspired to your uncle’s ways in cruelty and abuse. They have raped and killed, and so you gave them the death they deserved, and the men who will be closest to you are now well aware that you can kill.’
Chapter Seventeen
Murder
Cameos surveyed the tunnels with pride, handing a water skin to those that worked upon its creation. He then put a hand to its smooth clay surface. The tunnel had begun shortly after securing the ancient tome and its knowledge, and in the six months, since he himself had put the first pickaxe into the earth, the tunnel had grown to approximately forty miles. Twice the height of a grown Elf and with such a width that twenty of his warriors could march abreast, the tunnel was thought by many to be far too large for its purpose. But Cameos had effectively argued that although the primary purpose of the tunnel was to take the Elven army undetected under the territory of the Orc and into the very centre of the kingdom of Man to claim back the land they had been banished from, by then making the tunnel a permanent structure, able to endure through the centuries, they would always have the sanctuary that the Mother had bestowed upon them. Cameos looked forward to the days when this underground home would be a place for worship, a sacred home to the Mother and her blessings.
Every able-bodied Elf, regardless of age, status or gender, took their turn at working the soft clay and forming this great pathway to freedom. The digging never ceased, which was the source for his feelings of great pride today as he looked at his brethren working away with great effort. Tired, hungry and thirsty yet they laboured with every ounce of strength they possessed to play their part in the great plan.
After laying hands on the tome for the first time, the young chieftain had felt the power contained within. He felt sure they were indeed a gift, and the author was the Goddess herself, Mother to all life. He had read the words and felt Her divine presence alongside him as he read Her instructions. They must leave the sanctuary deep within Her blessed ground and return to their birthright the lands of abundance and beauty. He had often wondered, whilst his son and mate slept, why their kind had lingered, isolated as they stagnated within the ground. But where would they go? He had felt trapped when he gave his race’s future serious consideration, but now the Mother had reached out and given him
hope, and a great deal more: she had written instruction for all to see. They would tunnel into the very heart of a vast and plentiful land. Southward they would pass unseen under the land of the Orc, hidden under the earth like they had been for centuries. And they would go back to their ancestral lands dressed how their forebears had dressed for war. For the Mother had given them the means to take by force that which they sought; she had given them steel.
With the commencement of the work Cameos’ doubts had faded and then disappeared and with them the communication with the Mother. He worried not, for surely, he was undertaking her will and did not need her guidance as he acted, yet he missed her blessing. He went to each of the dozen elves that worked this shift and gave them congratulations and praise before starting the long run back through the tunnel towards the other activities he wanted to inspect today.
It took Cameos a little over three hours before he entered through the entrance of the tunnel back into the main chambers. He drank deeply from a large water skin, handed to him by Thakern, who greeted his chieftain with his ever-present smile and much warmth. ‘My chief’, he said bowing his head respectfully. ‘All goes well with the tunnel?’
Cameos returned his smile. ‘Very, we are on target and the walls are strong. It goes well, my friend. You have something to discuss? I must be to the blacksmiths. They are yet to duplicate the tempering of steel as it is written in the tome. Without it we shall be no match for what awaits us on the other side of that tunnel.’
‘I am sorry, my chieftain, but your presence is needed elsewhere. There has been murder.’
Cameos stood in the gymnasium over the body of a young male Elf, his injuries horrific. Great gashes had been opened all over the Elf’s torso, leaving bone and organs exposed and intestines coiled around the floor. Cameos starred silently at the Elf, trying to recall his name, but the injuries to his face were far too severe. Multiple deep slashes to the face had left the flesh hanging off in ragged flaps. From forehead to neck the skull was revealed and all distinguishing features now hung grotesquely in shreds.
Cameos looked up and met Thakern’s gaze, which now held a deep sorrow instead of its normal humour.
‘What happened here Thakern?’ Cameos’ voice was quiet, his spirit visibly sagged at the horror not just the horror of what had happened to the victim but the fact that it must have been his own kind that carried out this savage attack.
‘I do not know’, his bondsman replied softly.
Cameos turned to his friend with anger. ‘You do not know! This hall is your domain is it not, Thakern, master of combat. Explain to me then how an Elf is butchered upon its floor like an animal.’
Thakern remained calm despite the anger in his master’s voice. ‘I have many duties to attend to my chieftain. I was not here when this crime was committed and there are none that have come forth with knowledge of it happening either. I have offered you council many times, my chieftain, over the last months, about the dangers of using these new weapons. The young warriors feel rage and power they are not accustomed to when holding sharpened steel in their hands. There have been many vicious fights whilst learning these new fighting techniques.’
Cameos took a piece of cloth from the corner and placed it over the bloodied and torn body, covering most of the horrific injuries. ‘This Elf was murdered, Thakern, and in your hall. I task you with the responsibility of bringing the criminal to justice. And do not let others see him in this manner, it would bring panic.’
‘I shall do all you ask of me, my chieftain.’ Thakern said with a bow. ‘But you must be prepared, for we are teaching our young to kill in this manner and we may find that some have a taste for it.’
Chapter Eighteen
Revolt
Jacob looked out the window at the slave pens in the distance, his heart heavy with the suffering he could only imagine. It had been three months since the summoning of the great lords to the castle, and less than a month after a vast encampment had been erected a mile to the north of the great keep. Jacob had visited once with his uncle and had felt sick to his core with the hopelessness he witnessed in the poor wretches’ eyes and the glee which he witnessed in his uncle’s. He brooded as he looked out of his window, his mind racing with different thoughts. Could he rescue the hundreds of young men locked in those pens, somehow storm the guards with his handful of trusted men and make good his escape? Would it make any difference? How could he stand by, idly, while he knew the suffering of his fellow man? Yet he knew he must do nothing. He had been told again and again that his duty was to keep himself alive and in a position of trust within the king’s graces, for the time to end the kingdom’s sickness was not due. The time for Jacob to rise to power and bring about the age of equality and justice was not here, and however hard it was for him to watch the suffering continue, he must remain steadfast in his resolve.
Jacob was brought out of his lamenting by the soft touch of Elysabeth, her hands snaking around his waist as she stood on tiptoes to kiss him upon his neck. In the weeks since her coming into Jacob’s care, they had become something Jacob did not fully understand. Their relationship, whilst guarded at the beginning, had developed with great speed into friendship, then desire, and now something more. He loved her deeply, that he knew with great certainty, yet she brought him more than the emotional gift of a lover’s embrace. She balanced him. Jacob now felt within him his animalistic side, all primal fury and strength, but under his command. He thought of it as armour, being able to don it at whim, and he knew it was not the lessons and meditation with Father Robert that allowed this new sense of control but rather the bond he had developed with his soul mate. Since connecting with Elysabeth he could pour the rage from himself like tipping a bucket of water, and just as easily end his fury. He looked down upon her sweet and innocent face, into eyes full of love, and wondered at the twist of fate that could lead to such happy feelings from such a horrible circumstance. For if her uncle had not subjected her to such a dire treatment of humiliation and degradation, if she had not felt those terrible feelings of fear about what awaited her as the king’s captive, then he would not now have her in his life. It was in that moment that Jacob realised the bare truth of it, the kingdom must continue in its suffering until the time for that suffering to end and Jacob must play his role.
A knock at the door broke the moment between the two young lovers. Elysabeth released Jacob from her grasp, as he gave permission for the door to be opened, and Jim came into the room and bowed before his prince. Now personal squire to Jacob, he was as close to the prince as anyone, although Jim’s tasks were to wait on the prince, serve him, clean for him and do a vast amount of mundane chores, he was also an advisor to the prince and Jacob saw him as a friend not a servant. Beth and Jim had also quickly become friends, not having the same barriers of wealth and privilege between them as Jim had with others in the castle.
‘Lord prince, the king summons you to be ready to ride with your staff and retainers.’
Jacob looked out of the window towards the slave pens and said, ‘Where do we ride?’
‘You are to accompany the king, Your Highness, on an exhibition to the south and,’ Jim stopped speaking, unable to find the words looking embarrassed as he continued, ‘the lady Elysabeth is ordered to remain here and continue her lessons.’
Jacob was silent as he studied Beth’s beautiful face, not lessened by the fear she displayed at being left in the castle by herself.
‘So be it’, he said finally. ‘The road will be long and hard.’ He placed a hand gently upon her face as he said, ‘You will be safe here, my love, and I shall return, though it saddens me to be parted from you. Jim, you will remain here as will Askia and Holak.’
‘Begging your forgiveness, Your Highness, but the king pointedly ordered that of your staff only the Lady Elysabeth should remain.’
Jacob interrupted the squire. ‘Yet you serve me, do you not squire?’
Jim nodded and uttered an apology but was again interrupted.<
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‘You will stay here Jim because I have great trust in you. You will see to the lady’s every need and see that she remains unmolested. Send for Askia and Holak and try to dig Father Robert from under his books and tell him I have need of his skill.’
Askia, Holak, Red Rob and Jim all sat round Jacob’s table whilst Beth served refreshments. Jacob re-entered the room after placing Gulkin and Brondolf to guard the doors and bar anyone from entrance. And after giving Beth a tender kiss upon her forehead and dismissing her to her bedroom, he sat down with his followers at the table.
‘The king has ordered me and my retainers to go with him to the south. He wants to ensure work has commenced on the great fleet and personally deliver those poor wretches to Lord Beringer’s shipwrights.’ He made a gesture with his hand towards the encampment to the north and then continued. ‘He has also ordered that all my staff attend me, and Beth remain at the castle to continue her studies. I fear he means to use my absence to cause her harm.’
Father Robert spoke.
‘It is true the king wishes you to suffer her loss. His twisted mind believes that bitterness and hatred are virtues of kingship, yet I do not think he would simply have her murdered. He needs you to despise her before that, to “re-educate” you as he sees it.’
‘Agreed’, Jacob replied. ‘So, I shall not leave her without protection, but I cannot so openly oppose the king’s whim. Therefore, it seems prudent that a few of my most trusted and most able men, due to no fault of their or mine own, have to remain here.’ Jacob looked to Red Rob with a slight smirk and softly said the words, ‘Wisteria seeds.’
‘Ah’, Father Robert said with a gentle nodding of his head. ‘You three will be in for a most unpleasant night in service to your prince but take comfort in the fact it will only last a short while.’
The Banner of the Broken Orc: The Call of the Darkness Saga: Book One Page 18