He stopped by a young vixen just learning to wobble on all four paws, sniffing along the edge of the canal. He gave her a light bite on the back of the neck and, thinking that she was a bit too close for comfort, pulled her back from the current.
“Councillor Gremian!” Ursula said as she ran up beside him, a bushel of spring flowers sprouting up from a pack on her back. “Thank you!” Turning her attention to the little vixen trying to hide behind the councillor's thick robe, she continued, “Scarlett, dear, you gave me such a fright disappearing like that. Councillor, I turned my back for two seconds to buy some fresh flowers for today's ceremony and when I turned back she was gone. What am I going to do with her? She can barely walk and already she wants to swim and climb.”
“Well, perhaps we should reserve a place for her in the Royal Inari Guard. That is, if her father will have her. I'm off to collect him at this very moment. Only an hour now, isn't it?”
“Yes, Gremian, it's very exciting. A Royal Seal from the Founding of the Great Burrow not to be opened until this very day. How old is the Seal? Do we know?”
“It is hard to say because it pre-dates our system of dating! Our Hantsa guardian thinks it's at least two millennia, but I think it is even older than that. What has me so excited is not so much what it contains, but why today of all the days is the day it is to be opened. Are you going to bring Scarlett?” he asked, rubbing the pup on the top of her head with his paw.
“Do you think it is a good idea? She might disturb the proceedings. It is a very sacred occasion, is it not?”
“I think it is a great idea. Besides, this is a seal of the highest order made by the ancient king himself, and it does dictate that all members of the Samson family are to be present.”
“A few other families as well, if I remember correctly.”
“That's right. The Haelen family from the City Burrow, Daegal's family, the Gno, the Joie, whom you've met once before, and of course the newborn prince and the royal family. It is strange that the Flyhts are named as well, but we have long served the royal family. One of the perks of the job, I suppose. I am a very lucky fox.”
“Gremian, you and your family have earned it. Yours have served the royal family for centuries and are one of the those rare few who perfect what they have rather than fight to take more.”
“Well, I just can't imagine not having this job. I hope I never get a promotion! I must go, I will see you in the Royal Chapel in an hour. You little vixen,” he said eyeing the little fox, “mind your mother! I'll take you for a swim myself when you are a little older.”
After checking the antique timepiece hanging around his neck, he picked up his pace, exited the rotunda, and made a quick left through a pair of open wooden gates. He trotted into a side cavern pungent from the freshly cut green grass covering the floor from wall to wall. The smell was enticing and after the unusually busy day, he was briefly tempted to lie down under the bright warmth of the light above.
“No time, Gremian. Keep to your paws.”
He headed towards the centre of the cavern where the ground was torn and worn by centuries of Inari training. Flashes of red appeared and disappeared amongst a cloud of dust and when Gremian reached a low wooden fence he rested his forepaws on it allowing himself a moment to watch the lesson.
Growls and shouts came through from the dust, as well as yips from a clearly frustrated young fox.
Flailing through the air, a startled novice landed only a tail-length from Gremian, heaving and coughing on his back and too defeated to get up.
“Young Daegal? I'm surprised to see you here. I didn't think Urusula was going to let you out of her study.”
“I...kept...telling...her...that I can read....already...and that I want to be an Inari Guard. They don't need all that history stuff. Not like a scholar.”
“Indeed they do,” a voice boomed from a form just appearing out of the haze. “They need it more, Daegal.”
“Samson,” Gremian said, with a wide smile. “First off I want to apologise for not making your daughter's trotting ceremony. I hope you received the gift?”
“Gremian, there is no need to apologize. I just hope the King appreciates all you do for him and I think the hand-crafted pup armour was a very well considered present, given our daughter's nature. Thank you.”
Daegal listened to the exchange and started to sneak away under the fence, hoping to leave unnoticed.
“So, what about this one?” Gremian asked, placing a paw lightly on the escaping fox's tail.
“I think he should be careful what he wishes for!” Samson laughed. “But he shows promise, and that is why I convinced my wife to let him have a few goes in the ring. The Guard needs clever foxes, not just those skilled with a blade.”
“Indeed, my friend, and that is why you are the greatest master the guard has ever known.”
“As usual, you exaggerate. I hope you are not turning into a typical politician since taking over your father's position.”
Gremian cocked his head slightly at the sarcastic jibe, then smiled.
“Samson, you are a filthy mess and I won't let you in the Royal Chapel, decree or not, unless you have a bath. Is that honest enough for you?”
“Indeed, indeed,” Samson laughed. “Besides, are we still up for our monthly sparring session tonight?”
“You mean my monthly pummelling? Of course! I can't wait. Just because I've been run ragged all over the Burrow today doesn't mean I'm going to shirk our session. I've been doing it since I was a pup. Why stop now?”
The pair laughed, enjoying each other's company, as only long time friends can, neither of them harbouring the faintest worry of saying or doing the wrong thing.
“Can I go then, Samson...er I mean, Inari Master?”
“It's the baths for both of you!” Gremian shouted, turning to go. “I knew you'd lose track of time! We have less than an hour. Your attendance is required as well, Daegal. I assume your family received the summons?”
“They did, Councillor Gremian, and we were all a bit surprised.”
*
The select families within the Greater Burrow whose ancient names had been commanded to attend the opening had been held as a state secret until only a week earlier. Shaking his head, he still couldn't believe the diversity of the seemingly unrelated group. Prosperous merchants in the City Burrow, the Haelen family had no historical connections to the palace, and although the Joie family had only recently been honoured with a place at court, the relationship was a fairly new one. Strangest of all however, was the fact that the Gno family was prominent on this list. This was a family whose descendants had all been servants and members of staff in larger family homes. Gremian had done some research, but none had ever worked at the palace or been involved with the Royal Family, as far as he could discern. Daegal, the youngest Gno, had been presented to the palace by an employer who said his uncanny intelligence was wasted washing dishes and dusting shelves. He was tested and quickly sent to Ursula for schooling.
“So this little mysterious box is drawing us all together, it would seem,” Gremian said to himself, crossing over a steeply curved narrow bridge leading to his own family home.
He entered his chambers and found his robes had been placed on his bed in a disorganized mess. Frowning, he was surprised, given his staff's usual propensity for precision.
Then the pile shifted and he smiled again rolling his brown eyes.
“Well, it looks like some rats have gotten into my ceremonial robes! I best get a club and beat them out.”
In a shower of stoles, socks and wrappings, a little pup leapt from the bed and landed on her father.
“Did I scare you father. Did I? Did I?”
“Indeed you did! Didn't you hear? I thought you were a rat.”
“I know! I know! It is a good thing you didn't already have your club or I would be squashed!” The child stomped around the room making squishy sounds under the continuous laughter of Gremian.
“Now go up
stairs, my dear, it's supper time and we need to be at the palace very soon.”
*
A small parade of Royal Inari Guards and the families summoned by the ancient decree they were escorting, filtered through the Royal Rotunda a half hour later. A crowd started to build, to watch and follow the group as it meandered toward the palace. Samson was clean and dressed in his ceremonial Inari uniform, with a sleeping Scarlett suspended from an ornate hammock draped between him and an elegantly dressed Ursula.
Daegal was dressed in the simple armour of a novice, and his parents walked beside him each wearing an eager grin, clearly unable to contain themselves at the prospect of meeting the King and Queen.
“Did you think...?” Acca, his mother started.
“I did think..” Holt, his father, repeated for the tenth time.
“I never imagined.” She said.
“Neither did I. Never in my wildest imagination,” he said, raising his eyebrows and looking at the posh circumstances around him.
“Oh, we never thought...” she repeated.
“Never once, my dear.”
“That we would meet the King.”
“Or the Queen!”
“And their lovely new Princling,” they finally said in unison.
The family Haelen, however, looked nervous and clearly out of their element. City Burrow always deferred to the Royal Family but was mostly left to run its financial transactions itself. Here was a family that was used to dealing with influence through tangible things like money, food and clean water. The prospect of being surrounded by the intangible power of ordained royalty was a very new feeling for them. They pushed a small pram, filled by a vixen pup standing on her hind legs looking over the edge.
“Do you think they will have fireworks?” the small form asked, bouncing nearly out of the basket.
“Mercia, please sit down daughter, I don't want you falling and getting dirty before meeting the Royal Family! I hope we are dressed appropriately. Would you say we are, Councillor Gremian?” the vixen asked with a nervous sigh.
“You look lovely, Mrs. Haelen” he said with a smile. “The King doesn't stand on the formalisms of his position, to be honest, but he is still respectful of the old traditions.”
“As it is completely within his right to be,” Mr. Haelen added. “He has always been fair with the taxation of the City and the City has always been considerate to the needs of the Greater Burrow. Do you think the King notices this, Councillor Gremian?”
“Indeed, he does, but if you would like to ask him, I'm sure he would be only too pleased to answer any and all of your questions. He's just up these stairs,” Gremian responded, as they reached the steps of the palace.
“Certainly not. I would not bother his majesty,” Mr. Haelen said, momentarily terrified that Gremian would force a conversation between himself and his Royal Highness.
“My husband and I have only had the honour of meeting the Royal Family once before,” Mrs. Joie added, “and for Alodia this will be the first time, but our first, brief, impression was of a simple, modest couple eager to listen.
She was a middle-aged vixen, whose ornate purple and red robe floated just above her paws, riding on a ring of woven gold stitching.
“And they love children,” her husband chimed in, smiling at the Haelen family and their daughter.
Alodia was a young vixen, close in age to Daegal. A vixen passion for the history of the Great Burrow frequently found her digging deep in forgotten corners of the Royal Library or volunteering up to her knees in mud in one of the archaeological excavations. Audley, one of the most accomplished archaeologists of the Burrow, had unofficially taken her under his wing.
She secreted a glance in Daegal's direction and couldn't believe a young fox of such bulk could be as clever as everyone said. Sensing he was being scrutinized, Daegal met her gaze and they both quickly looked away, their hearts unexpectedly missing a beat.
Open and inviting from all directions, the Royal Palace was built to be a gathering place of foxes from all the Burrows. It was meant to be a focal point of justice, fairness and the reasoned rule of royalty.
Mosaics covered much of the surface of the inner décor, while some of the smaller rooms had paintings hanging proudly from the high ceilings.
The entrance corridor began with a small ancient mosaic of Able and from this, as the visitor walked along, hung the portrait of every monarch since the founding of the Greater Burrow. Servants came and went under the constant gaze of the royal family.
Passing through many doors, and under a number of lances held by Inari guards, they finally reached a tall oak door inlayed with the royal seal in gold.
Gremian led the procession and stopped before going in.
“Okay, listen everyone, there is no precedent for this sort of thing. We are simply opening an ancient box on the decreed day, with a number of foxes who have been commanded to be here. There is no ceremony. There is no ritual. So, relax! This isn't a state function! It is merely a group of foxes coming together to open a present from the past. On that note, are we ready to go in?”
Samson and Ursula smiled and tried not to laugh following his little motivational speech.
Each fox nodded, but Gremian could see his words did little to diminish the tension spread amongst the group. Daegal seemed the only fox other than himself who was completely at ease.
With a light push the door opened smoothly and silently. The guests' eyes were naturally drawn up to the topmost point of the Royal Chapel, with its image of Able and the swirl of his progeny radiating out across the arches. More mosaics. A large and ornate metal sphere stood chained near the back wall. Able's fist. The ancient relic which could be both a weapon and the source of incredible energy to renew the Light. A simple stone dais sat in the centre of the room and on top of it was a medium sized box of naturally aged wood, its glazed red seal sparkling in the light of the many orbs floating above sconces set regularly around the walls.
Everyone was wide-eyed, but not by the surroundings. They had all come to stare at the pair standing casually on either side of the font, the basket filled with the form of a sleeping pup at their paws. Towering behind them was the tall form of the Guardian of London, the old Hantsa Haggerty, who had long protected and represented the Royal Family from the other London on the surface.
“Welcome. You are all welcome,” the Queen of the Greater Burrow of London said, looking at the guests sheepishly entering. “I am Beomia and this is my husband Durwin. Please, come, sit.”
“Many of us are here as strangers but I hope when we depart this great room we depart as friends.” the King said, looking to his wife and following her gaze towards the approach of the foxes. “It is time, Gremian, is it not?”
“It is, your Majesty. The day has reached its zenith.”
“Then let's gather and sit in a circle so that we all can see what lies within.”
Stunned by the casual nature of the royal presence, the group did as he said, leaving the Royal Family on their paws in the centre.
“As you may or may not know,” Beomia began, “this box was sealed by our descendants long ago, under the strictest decree not to be opened. I read from the box itself, 'Upon the first moon following the birth of Roe Able, twentieth descendant of the Light'. After this it lists these very families which are in this room, ordering them to be in attendance. Needless to say the mystery of this box has long enthralled the royal family. Did we name our child Roe because of the name on the box or is the name on the box there because of our child? The mysteries of the Art are many and varied but we hope today will help to solve this riddle.”
“I thank you all for being here,” Durwin said, taking the box gently from its place on the stand.
A chime came from a pretty clock made of twelve bells hanging near the entrance to the chapel, followed, quickly afterwards, by the boom of bells from the main palace clock tower and the countless other clocks scattered across the Burrow.
With a che
eky excited smile the King looked quickly at each guest, then leaned over and broke the ancient seal, pieces of which crumbled onto the floor, turned to shards of red glass, then clear liquid, then disappeared. It was an old seal but still the type used by the palace seal maker today.
With a deep nervous breath Durwin let out a laugh and presented the box to his wife to open. She took a tentative paw, herself looking mesmerized by the mystery of what it contained, then prised the top open with a dry squeal.
Setting the box on the ground, the group forgot their embarrassment and all crowded around to see what was inside.
At first it looked like it was filled with a solid block of wood, then the King reached in and pulled out three books, setting them down individually in front of the group.
They were bound in very different styles and of clearly different ages. The book which had been on top was made at a time when printing was highly advanced, with ornately decorated wooden boards. The second was white and made of a soft leather spine, while the third was black and made from a stiff oily hide.
The King read out the title of each in the order they came out of the box, the first printed in gilt lettering, the second lined carefully in blue and the third hammered into the black leather with a metal stamp.
“'Able Asunder,' 'The Finding of Able' and 'The Diary of Able'.
From the bottom of the box the Queen pulled out a single piece of parchment, filled with gracefully claw-written text.
She passed a look across the assembled group, took a breath, and began to read.
'To the Children of the Burrow,
We do not know what the future holds or if what we have done to heal the Light and the life of the Foxes of the Light has been the right thing to do. We think it is. We think it was always meant to end this way, to begin this way, and that the cure would bring to life those we have never forgotten and have always loved.
You may find this account strange, and you may find it hard to believe, but contained within these many pages are the lives of those collected in this room, at this very moment, and that of their children who have come and yet are still to come. We have come to the end to cure the beginning.
The Progeny of Able (The Burrow of London Series Book 1) Page 35