The Hidden Sun (Bariwon Chronicles Book 1)

by J. Lloyd Morgan

  Sherwyn turned back to the savant. “Speaking of your duties, they will be changing soon.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Magistrate Seanan is very sick. Anemone doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be with us. It’s time for him to step down from the Hierarchy of Magistrates. He wants you to take his place. He asked me to tell you.”

  Bertram nearly dropped the glass pyramid. “Me? But I’m not a magistrate—I’m a savant.”

  “Savants have become magistrates in the past. It isn’t unheard of,” Sherwyn said. “And I daresay you know the law better than anyone. Over the years, your insight on the Tome of Laws has been of great value. You’ve helped clear up issues that have become, well, muddy at times.”

  Bertram returned the prism to the shelf and shook his head. “I don’t think Councilor Abrecan will approve of this. I’ve heard that he wants Magistrate Caldre on the hierarchy.”

  Sherwyn smiled. “Councilor Abrecan doesn’t have to approve. The magistrates are independent from the royalty—you know that. In fact, Abrecan is the reason you were chosen.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.” Bertram sat down again on the tapestry.

  Sherwyn sat next to him. “You recall that twenty years ago, Abrecan tried to hold a Shoginoc to find a wife for Daimh. You stopped that. The next Shoginoc is less than a year from now. Seanan and I have been talking about it for some time. We both want you there to make sure that Abrecan doesn’t interfere. He needs to be removed from power.”

  “I’m not sure what I can do,” Bertram said, starting to chew on a fingernail.

  Sherwyn patted Bertram. “Just make sure the Tome of Laws is followed. It’s kept the peace for centuries when we’ve done as it says.”

  “Someone will need to replace me,” Bertram pointed out. “And I’ve not been impressed with the recent savants who have been selected.”

  Sherwyn chuckled. “I’ve thought of that too. I was asking around recently if anyone had a suggestion for a new savant, and I got quite an interesting response from one of the nobles.”

  ***

  Kelvin bit into the tart and was rewarded for his efforts. The tangy berries complimented the light, sugary glaze perfectly. “Delicious. Absolutely delicious,” he said, taking another bite.

  Nadia looked up from her sewing. “Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard, or you may knock the tart out of your hand.”

  Kelvin took another tart off the table and playfully ran it back and forth under Nadia’s nose. “It’s your fault I can make these at all. Had you not forced me to make these years ago, you’d still be the master of tarts. Don’t be jealous that I can make them better than you.”

  “You certainly cannot make them better than me!” Nadia said in mock anger.

  “Oh? Is that so? Prove me wrong then.” Kelvin took the tart away and held it protectively.

  Nadia wagged a finger at her husband. “Oh, no, no. I’m not falling for that trick again. You play on my pride, and to show you I’m better, I make up a whole new batch of tarts. You then sample the whole lot for ‘judging reasons.’”

  “Then you acknowledge that you can do no better, and I remain the champion!” Kelvin raised both hands above his head in triumph.

  Grabbing a rolled-up pair of newly darned socks, Nadia said, “I’ll show you who’s champion!” She went to throw the socks, but Kelvin ducked and made a beeline for the door as fast as his old legs would take him. He opened it and ran outside, hearing Nadia in pursuit. He had taken half a dozen steps when he spotted a horse and cart coming down the road to their farm. Squinting, he tried to make out who it was.

  He came to a stop just as he felt the socks hit him in the back of the head. Nadia came up beside him and said, “It looks like Rayne.”

  Kelvin blinked in confusion. “No, it doesn’t. There isn’t a cloud in the sky.”

  “No, I mean it looks like our grandson, Rayne.” She pointed to their visitor.

  “Oh, yes, I see him now. But where’s Rinan?”

  The older couple waited patiently. When their grandson got within shouting distance, Nadia called, “Hello, Rayne! This is a surprise. Where is your father?”

  Rayne didn’t respond right away, but when he climbed off the cart, he spoke. “Grandmother, Grandfather, something terrible has happened.”

  They led him into the house, and after the three of them sat at the table, he told them what had transpired. After the initial shock wore off, Nadia broke into tears, while Kelvin became stiff and stoic.

  “Why were the guardians after him?” Rayne asked.

  Nadia and Kelvin exchanged a glance before either one of them spoke. “We don’t know,” Kelvin said. “Your father said he made some mistakes while he was a guardian. Perhaps…”

  “Well, do you at least know why he didn’t want anyone to know he was my father?” Rayne asked.

  Nadia wiped tears away with a handkerchief. “On his visits, it became clear that he wanted you to become the guardian he failed to be. Perhaps he didn’t want anyone to judge you or your abilities based on your parentage.”

  “But if I enter the Mortentaun, they’ll ask where I’m from. What do I say?”

  “You tell them the truth,” Kelvin said. “You are from Lebu. You may have grown up in Tevoil, but you live here now, with us.”

  Rayne leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “This all seems like a nightmare. I can’t believe he is gone.”

  Nadia stood up and embraced her grandson from behind. “We helped your father when he needed us, and we’ll help you. Don’t worry, Rayne—we’re here for you.”

  It was agreed upon that he would be given Rinan’s old room. The rest of the day was spent cleaning out the various items that had been put in the bedroom over time and moving Rayne’s things from the cart to the house. After Rayne had gone to bed for the night, Nadia said to her husband in a quiet voice, “I’m not sure I feel good about lying to Rayne. Maybe we should tell him about what Rinan did and about his real mother.” Kelvin shook his head. “We promised Rinan that we wouldn’t reveal that to Rayne. It’s for his protection. You know how badly Rinan wanted Rayne to become a guardian. Let’s honor our son’s last wish and do whatever we can to help. Knowing the truth at this point in time will only complicate things. Perhaps later, when the time is right, we’ll tell him.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Savant Bertram tried to distract himself by doing some transcribing, but his thoughts kept drifting back to what was going to happen later at court. Despite his misgivings, he had resigned himself to the fact that he would not be a savant much longer. He had read what the duties of a magistrate were, so he was familiar with what his daily tasks would be.

  What he wasn’t sure about was how many of his responsibilities would require him to deal directly with Councilor Abrecan. Over the years, Bertram had felt that Abrecan didn’t particularly like him. He mentioned this to Sherwyn once or twice, and the priest had told him not to worry—Abrecan treated most people that way. When Bertram had been asked to clarify some minor disagreements about the law, he had done so quickly and logically. Still, it seemed that more often than not, Bertram’s input seemed to upset the councilor.

  There had been no full-blown confrontations between him and Abrecan, aside from the discussion many years ago to determine when the next Shoginoc would be held, and even then, it wasn’t a heated argument. Not long after the death of Queen Eliana, there had been a few out-and-out arguments between Councilor Abrecan and various people in the castle. Bertram didn’t believe it to be a coincidence that the people who argued with Abrecan often ended up missing or convicted of crimes that were serious enough to have them executed or thrown in the dungeon for life.

  At the same time, Bertram always felt the duty to stand up for what was right—he just did so in a more tactful and less confrontational way. He avoided the councilor as much as possible, but he knew that would be more difficult from now on, and that is what made him the most nervous. Once he becam
e one of the Hierarchy of Magistrates, he would be even more visible in Abrecan’s eyes. He just hoped this new visibility didn’t cause him to disappear.

  ***

  “Have you been inside the castle before?” Alana asked Sunshine as they approached the gates.

  Sunshine nodded. “Yes, many years ago.”

  Alana snapped her fingers. “Oh, that’s right. Your father was given an award here for his work on the governor’s garden in Lewyol. I remember that. That was a number of years ago—you must have been small at the time.”

  “I was. However, I do remember it quite clearly.”

  Alana chuckled. “Chances are, things have changed quite a bit, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself.”

  Sunshine followed Alana over the lowered drawbridge that crossed a wide moat. They walked under the raised portcullis and into a large chamber.

  The first thing that struck Sunshine was how ornately everything was decorated. The walls were lined with tapestries that all looked fairly new. Most of them contained images of men Sunshine figured to be Councilor Abrecan and King Daimh, from the clothes they wore and the crowns on their heads. At the end of the entrance chamber stood two large wooden doors, closed, with guardians on either side. An older, bald man wearing the robes of a priest stood at the doors and smiled as they approached.

  “Sunshine,” Alana said, “this is Sherwyn, the castle priest.”

  Sunshine curtseyed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Priest Sherwyn.”

  “And I, you.” Sherwyn nodded.

  “Now, Sunshine,” Alana said, “as we discussed, this will be a very important day. The court will be starting soon. The introductions of the new savants will happen toward the end, so we’ll sit patiently until it’s our turn.”

  “Understood,” Sunshine responded.

  “This should be quite interesting.” Sherwyn straightened the mantle draped around his neck. “Since you will be the first female savant the kingdom has ever had, I suspect this will cause quite a stir.”

  Sunshine felt very tiny when she walked into the hall. The roof must have been five stories high, with arched, stained-glass windows running its length. Banners displaying the colors and crests of the different districts lined the walls. A wide, red carpet ran from the doors to a raised platform at the other end. The platform, which was bigger than Sunshine remembered—couldn’t really be called a dais as much as a stage. In the very center, two large and elaborately crafted thrones sat on a raised section of the stage. On either side were two smaller thrones, lower than the others and back a pace or so. Even lower than that sat a large table off to the left, positioned at an angle so it faced both the thrones and the rest of the hall. Hanging thirty feet down from the ceiling behind the stage were two huge tapestries. The one on the left depicted a man who Sunshine guessed was Abrecan, from the graying hair, while the one on the right had to be the king. Both were posed proudly and held weapons in their hands.

  Alana and Sherwyn walked down the red carpet, with Sunshine a step behind. On either side of the carpet were rows of chairs and benches that looked like they could be moved to face either the stage or center of the hall.

  Despite the amount of people the room could hold, only the first several rows were occupied today. Sunshine deduced from their clothing that most were nobles. One section was full of people she guessed to be savants. Several of them were just a few years older than she, and one man actually looked younger.

  An older, sharp-nosed man with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail caught her eye next. He was staring at her with an all-too-familiar look. She wasn’t sure who he was, but there was something aside from the expression on his face that bothered her.

  Alana stopped at one of the benches near the front and motioned Sunshine to go in first and have a seat. Priest Sherwyn walked up to the stage, and after climbing some stairs off to the side, took a seat at the large table.

  After a few moments, Sunshine turned to Alana, who had sat down next to her, and whispered, “It really works.”

  “What really works?”

  Sunshine motioned to the hall and the large tapestries. “The setting. The ridiculously large tapestries, the gaudy, oversized thrones, all of it—it’s designed to intimidate.”

  Alana looked around and was quiet for a moment. “I’d never really thought of that, but it does make sense. The fact you figured that out just goes to show me I made the right choice in sponsoring you as a savant.”

  The door behind them opened again, and four men dressed in long black robes with padded shoulders walked toward the stage. They sat down at the table, leaving the chair closest to the thrones vacant.

  “The royalty is next,” Alana whispered, “although we may have to wait a little while. Abrecan likes to make a dramatic entrance.”

  Sunshine waited patiently with her hands folded in her lap. She reflected on how she was feeling at the moment. She wasn’t nervous, but she was definitely anxious about what was going on around her.

  When Alana had asked Sunshine if she would be interested in becoming a savant, only her father didn’t think the request was a joke. There had never been a female savant, but as they discussed it, her father pointed out that there had to be a first time for everything.

  Sunshine knew she would miss her family, but the opportunity to come to the castle and have access to its vast library was too appealing. She knew she would be expected to teach and perform other duties, but she would also have time to read.

  One thing she knew was that her time in the castle would definitely be more interesting than life in Lewyol.

  ***

  Councilor Abrecan reached up to make sure his crown was straight. Satisfied, he was about to motion for the guardians to open the doors and let him into the main hall when he heard someone approaching from behind.

  “Greetings, Father,” King Daimh said. “Now that I’m here, we can enter.”

  Turning to face his son, Abrecan narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here, Daimh?”

  “What do you mean? Is court not being held today?”

  “Yes, but you never attend court,” Abrecan said.

  The king smiled. “Ah, but today is different. Word has it the new tapestries have been completed, as well as my new throne. Also, I heard that something important is going to happen. I want to be here so people can see me in my new throne in front of my new tapestry when the important news is given. I’ve invited the minstrels to attend so they can write a song about it.”

  Abrecan frowned. “Where did you hear such a rumor?”

  Waving a hand dismissively, Daimh said, “Oh, I don’t remember —a guardian or servant, probably.”

  “But didn’t you and Nicole have plans today to view the latest play the minstrels are performing?” Abrecan moved between Daimh and the doors that led to the main hall.

  Daimh sighed. “Oh, yes, and I’m sure it will be magnificent! It’s about how I saved your life when Councilor Kenrik was killed. But once I heard that something important was going to happen today, I told the minstrels to put off the performance until tomorrow.”

  “I’m sure court will bore you, Son. I’m sure Nicole can find something for you two to do.”

  Daimh rolled his eyes. “Doubtful. And after all these years of failing to bear me any children, I don’t think she’s capable of doing so. I’ve grown fond of her, and I can’t imagine being with anyone else, even if she is overly sensitive about what people think of her. She actually fainted this morning when she found a gray hair. She’d be with me now if the nursemaids were not attending her.”

  Folding his arms, Abrecan said, “Daimh, there is no need for you to come to court. I can take care of any issues that arise.”

  “Oh, yes, I’ll let you deal with any of the unpleasant details.” Daimh admired his reflection in the polished armor of one of the guardians. “I’m not here for that. I’m here so my subjects can see their king. It will be a special honor for them. Now let’s go in. I’m tired of waiti
ng.”

  ***

  The blaring of trumpets sounded from behind and to the right of the stage. Sunshine watched as two large doors were opened and in strutted two men, both wearing crowns and carrying scepters. The older of the two went first and took a seat in the left-most throne, which Sunshine guessed should be for the queen. The younger and taller man followed after, and stood looking carefully at the throne on the right for a moment before he sat down with a large grin on his face.

  “I proclaim this court to start!” King Daimh announced, flashing his dimples.

  Everyone sat quietly for a moment, seemingly unsure how to react to the king’s statement.

  “As you can see,” Abrecan said, “the king has decided to treat you all by attending court today. Priest Sherwyn, if you would.” And with that, Abrecan motioned to the table on the left.

  Priest Sherwyn stood and said in a loud, clear voice, “Court will now begin. We recognize that Magistrate Seanan is absent due to illness. We will first hear reports from the various districts and from the captain of the guardians. After that, any new castle savants will be presented, followed by a special announcement from the magistrates.”

  Sunshine listened as the representatives from the different districts gave brief reports. When the representative from Lewyol stood, Sunshine found herself curious as to what would be said about her home district.

  “There are no major concerns to present to the court,” the representative said. “However, to follow up from a previous report, Guardians Zubin, Thomas, and Thomas are still missing. Their replacements have arrived and have assumed their duties.”

  Sunshine felt a chill run down her back. She hadn’t been into town since her run-in with the guardians. Her father thought it best she not go for a while. She’d heard that the guardians who harassed her were replaced, but she didn’t know why. She couldn’t help but think it had something to do with Rayne. She had not seen or heard from him, and she wondered how he was doing.