The Aebeling

by O'Neill, Michael

  ‘Who’s there – and what are you doing here uninvited?’ The voice wasn’t frightened. It was forthright and demanding. Conn stepped forward. She looked surprised. ‘You! How did you get in here? No one can enter a Cirice without permission…’

  Conn held up the key. ‘I have this … does that make a difference?’ He stepped forward into the room, closing the gap between him and the woman. ‘Beside, I was responsible for this place…’

  She bowed ever so slightly. ‘We are grateful for your assistance. We didn’t understand how a Priecuman could replace the haligdom –but you are not a normal Priecuman are you?’

  ‘I think I’m normal. So who are you and why were you following me?’

  It took a moment before she answered.

  ‘My name is Morna, and I am one of Badb’s Folgere. I have been sent by Badb to visit the Cirice and see why it was open again – and to see what kind of person was able to do it unaided by Folgere.’

  ‘Where did you come from?’ Conn asked.

  ‘I serve in the Cirice in Moetiak. I arrived in the dark last night.’

  ‘And you slept here?’

  ‘Yes; it has been most comfortable. Thank you again.’

  ‘I don’t understand why you have been hiding in the shadows – you could have come to see me at the Inn.’

  She shook her head. ‘No, I have come in secret. The Folgere can only come here if there is an Aebeling, and there is no Aebeling yet. Are you going to report me to the Metgiend?’

  Conn shook his head and smiled. ‘No, your secret is safe with me. So what have you learnt?’

  ‘I have discovered that Lykia has a Thane who is not Lykian – not even a Meshechian. He is spoken of in respect and awe – and not a little fear and awe, and seems to be involved in some way in nearly everything around the cotlif.’ She looked up and down at him. ‘All very curious.’

  Conn contemplated her curiosity and decided that there was nothing to be gained in explaining more. He had his own questions. ‘What can you tell me about your Gyden? All I know is their names and that there are four.’

  When he first arrived in Lykiak, the Cirice provided him with an annoying ring in his head. With the replacement of the Haligdom, that went to a heavy silence. Today it was completely different. It was like there was a third person in the room just out of sight.

  She looked confused. ‘Do you not have Gyden in your homeland?’

  Conn shook his head ‘Not ones like these…’

  ‘How very sad for you. To be so close to the Gyden is one of life’s greatest joys. I felt honored to be chosen as a Folgere. Here in the Cirice, I can feel her, talk to her, she is my friend, my lover, and guide. She sustains me.’

  The feeling that someone else was there bothered Conn and he suddenly remembered a game his mother and he used to play – where she would pretend to read his mind; telling him to stop her from doing so. Sometimes she would congratulate him and tell him how well he was doing and that she couldn’t read his mind any more. But it was just a game. Nonetheless, Conn concentrated and searched for the thing she told him that allowed him to open and shut his mind – whatever that meant. He remembered doing it to stop him mind exploding with adrenalin when he replaced the Haligdom.

  Reopening the door, he immediately felt the presence of something in his mind – followed by another flush of adrenalin. The rush made him shut it down again. He shook his head to clear it – and saw the shock on the woman’s face.

  Her response was sharp. ‘Can you feel Badb in your mind?’

  ‘I felt something – was it Badb??’

  She ignored his question; a look of confusion of her face. ‘Babh asks why you prevent her from looking into your mind.’

  Conn released the gate again and prepared, he felt the presence of a Gyden for the first time. The first thing she did was to admonish him.

  The voice rattled around his head, asking rhetorical questions. ‘Who are you? You are not one of mine and yet I can sense you. I don’t recognize you, but there is something strangely familiar about you.’

  Conn was a little shocked. Having someone speak in his head was not something he was used to – so he shut her out again.

  Moana admonished him. ‘Babh doesn’t like people shutting her out.’

  ‘Probably because it doesn’t happen very often – but I’m not so fond of people in my head either. Gyden don’t talk much in Taransay.’ He opened up his mind again and let her explore. He told her to be respectful and he sensed her annoyance and surprise at being told what to do, but after a few moments, there was a change in attitude from the Gyden; it had changed from curiosity to pure lust – mixed with curiosity.

  Conn watched Moana face reflected this. He watched her stand, release the clips of her Chiton, and watch it fall to the ground. She stood naked, a full and delicious body on display.

  She walked forward and placed her hands on Conn’s shoulders; running them down his shoulders. She spoke slowly, sensuously. ‘Would you like to make an offering to Badb? She would like that.’

  What could he say? Her pert breasts were three inches in front of his face. ‘Well, I had nothing planned for the rest of the afternoon.’

  Having intercourse with a Gyden’s chosen was not something that Conn had ever done before; and he certainly enjoyed the intensity of the experience. His time with Ranait here was also very intense but nothing like the unbridled lust demonstrated by Moana and her Gyden. He understood immediately why the Folgere had such power over their flock – and why some women might get jealous.

  Sometime later he cradled a naked Moana in his arms; his desire not sated, but resting.

  ‘You were going to tell me about the Gyden?’ He asked as he kissed her neck.

  She sighed. ‘I will tell you a story that I was told when I was little girl, before I became a Folgere. It goes like this; before there was a world, there was a thought and it took the form of light. The thought decided that she was lonely, so it used what she found in the sky and made this world. She is our mother; she created the soils and the water and the air. But she was still not pleased with her creation so she created life – the plants, and insects and animals. She paused and watched and waited and after time, she found that some of the life forms that she had created had started to unbalance the world. She was not pleased. So she created one Gyden to protect the creatures she had created. That creature was man.’

  Man can be so annoying, he told Badb; much to her annoyance.

  Moana continued. ‘Gyden are the nurturer and protector of all life on the planet, the pulse that lives in the center of our world. But the Gyden found that it took too much time to take care of man alone; so she mated with one of the males – the most perfect and beautiful creature she could find. With him, she had four daughters and they are called Tabiti, Inanna, Badb and Lilith, and they became the four Gyden that we follow. They used the power they had gained from their mother, and the body that they gained from their father, to bring back order and balance to the world.’

  ‘They walked amongst the people?’

  ‘Yes, until their homes were destroyed and men had to flee to other lands. They could not follow; so over time the Gyden had become less like their father and more like their mother. To make it easier, Cirice were built, and the Haligdoms were created to allow us Folgere to connect to the Gyden. It is now our duty to protect the Cirice and communicate on behalf of the Gyden to her people.’

  The blue glow of the Haligdom pulsed and filled the room with a bright light. ‘How many Cirice are there?’ Conn asked.

  ‘There are many, but there should be four Cirice with four Haligdoms each, but now none are complete. Each had a heart stone and three others. The Cirice in Gatina was closed, the Cirice in Trokia has disappeared and the Haligdom that belongs in the Cirice in Silekia has gone missing. The only one left is the Cirice in Moetia, but that is not complete.’

  ‘What happened to the Cirice in Gatina?’

  ‘We do not know. Something ha
ppened during the time of the last Aebeling of Gatina. He led a rebellion of Priecuman nations that caused the rule of the Casere to end, and he became Healdend. The Cirice has been closed ever since.’

  ‘Did the Healdend close it? Like the one here in Lykiak?’

  She shook her head. ‘It is not possible for one man to close a Cirice. But something happened. Babh doesn’t have anything to say about it.’

  As her head lay on his chest, she looked in detail at the medallion that hung on his neck.

  She sat up quickly, ‘This is the medallion of the Feorhhyrde!! How is that possible?’

  Babh was also surprised. So the Gyden don’t know everything. Conn explained a little of his arrival in Meshech and his saving Caewyn, and the time he spent in Halani. He happened to mention that he understood the language of the Twacuman.

  ‘You speak Twacuman?’ Morna still shook her head in amazement. ‘There are many things that are unusual about you, Conn il Taransay – things that none of us understand. Some things about you are even extraordinary... perhaps another offering might clear things up?’ She leant forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him.

  It was afternoon when he left. He said he’d be back later if she wished. She shook her head. ‘I’d like that but I must be going. I cannot afford to be found and the longer I spend here, the greater the chance.’

  Conn nodded in understanding. ‘I’m sure that I will go to Moetiak sometime. Perhaps I will see you there when I visit.’

  ‘I hope so, Conn il Taransay. I have enjoyed – Badb has enjoyed – our time together – despite that things are no clearer than before. I do hope that there will be another time. Unfortunately I do not see the future.’

  ‘Farewell, Morna, until we meet again.’

  ‘Goodbye; and thank you.’ She kissed him gently. Conn walked to the gate, used his key and slipped out into the alley. He was due to catch up with Octa and the Metgiend for supper.

  CHAPTER 14

  Having watched the many boats head east with his cargo, Conn decided to accompany one of the boats down the river. It was research; he knew there were problems with transporting cargo by river and he wondered if building canals and lochs might solve some of them. He informed Octa of his plans.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ Octa was clearly not impressed. ‘You really mean to go by barge? You know we lost our last Aebeling on a similar folly.’

  Conn nodded. ‘I heard – but its fine when the water level is high. It is high at the moment.’

  ‘Well, I still think you are crazy. Going by horse is much safer.’

  ‘And slower.’

  On the day of his departure, Conn gathered his pack and headed from the Inn to the port. As he left the Inn, the Innkeeper called him back.

  ‘Thane – I almost forgot. There was a man in here yesterday – a Silekian – and he was looking for you. I told him that you were out and he said he would catch you tomorrow.’

  ‘I wonder what he wanted. You told him that I wasn’t going to be here?’

  ‘I did – I said that you would be on your way to Sabatah by then.’

  It struck Conn as unusual – anyone who wanted to speak to him usually waited. ‘Does he know how I am going?’

  ‘Probably – I may have mentioned it.’ He saw the sudden harshness to Conn’s face. ‘Thane, I’m sorry if I did anything wrong...’

  ‘No – it’s nothing.’ Conn considered the matter for a moment. ‘And are you sure he was Silekian? Not Rakian?’

  The Innkeeper shook his head. ‘I’m not sure – he was dressed like a Silekian, but it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart sometimes. His accent was definitely Silekian.’

  There were three domains within Rakiak that were formally Silekian so it was a common problem. With an increased sense of caution, Conn arrived at the dock and took passage on a river barge; crewed by four men, it was wide and flat, and carried just over twenty tons of cargo – all wheat from Haran. Putting away his pack, Conn busied himself helping the crew depart; and despite their protestations, he joined in on the oars and poles as the vessel made its way east.

  The trip would be at least three days in duration; spending the nights in any of the numerous Inns that littered the river banks on the way to Sabatah. It was mid-day on the second day before things turned eventful; quite suddenly things changed – the sky darkened and visibility dropped to yards in minutes, despite it being the middle of the day. It was no normal storm; the rain fell in buckets and filled the river with angry water. The barge rocked from side to side, and it took all hands on poles to avoid being dashed on the shore or the many rocks that littered the water course. Just as quickly, the rain stopped, and in that moment of time they headed for land, arriving at one of the smaller docks and Inns on the entire river.

  It was still very overcast and the rain was still falling as they bumped into the wharf; tying the boat to the dock.

  His mind off the boat, Conn turned around to inspect the deserted streets of the muddy river village; and almost immediately he had the sensation of a voice in his head again – just like when he was in the Cirice in Lykiak – it was definitely a Gyden – but it wasn’t Badb.

  Conn was still not comfortable with a Gyden in his head – and it was especially strange as it wasn’t talking to him. In fact, Conn was sure that it didn’t even know that he was listening. He didn’t feel inclined to address it personally.

  If it wasn’t talking to him; who was it talking to? He knew that whoever it was, they were in the Inn, and he headed there through the mud and grime. The Inn was packed and it wasn’t the best of Lykian society – obviously all the unwanted from Lykiak had ended up here, and despite their surly nature, they parted as his large frame headed to the bar. Conn immediately recognized the barkeep – the former owner of the “Boar’s Head”.

  ‘Whadda you… oh… it’s you? What in the Gyden’s name are you doing here? You get caught in that weird storm?’

  Shaking the water off his cape, Conn nodded. ‘I thought you’d moved up in the world.’

  He leaned forward. ‘I did – this place makes more money than I can deal with. Wanna borrow some?’

  Conn laughed and he looked around at the crowd. His head was still covered with a cape and despite his size being bigger than normal; no one knew yet who he was.

  ‘Any strangers in town?’

  ‘You mean more strange than you?’ He nodded and pointed over to the back left of the long hall. ‘Arrived last night – and they are Feorrancund as well. I have never seen their kind before – one of the Gatinans seemed to recognize them – said they were Ancuman – and I didn’t think we allowed Ancuman in Meshech...’

  ‘We don’t…’

  Conn looked around the room. The voice in his head was silent but it lurked. It seemed pleased with itself. It seemed proud of the storm – and why would it be proud of a storm? Conn grabbed his pitcher of ale, the hunk of stale bread, and a bowl of fish stew, and headed for a side table. The residents of the table quickly left when Conn fronted and said icily.

  ‘I reserved this table – why are you sitting at it?’

  Seated, Conn took off his cloak and draped it on the bench – he hated being rude but he needed the spot to see what was happening. His gambeson of purple and his blonde hair distinguished him as the very famous Thane of Hama, and the knowledge fled around the room. Almost as quickly the noise in his head responded. Now Conn knew then what the visitors were after – him. It also told him – though it did it unknowingly – that there were four assailants in the room.

  Conn continued to eat his dinner. He knew he was in no immediate danger as he could feel the four moving around the room. They seem connected in some way to the Gyden and he to her. He was almost finished when he saw the first of them push his way through the crowd and he heard him draw his sword.

  Conn looked up at his assailant – his first look at an Ancuman – and his immediate reaction was that he was African – Central African to be precise – but obviou
sly that was not possible. He was tall, slim, heavily muscled and with a heavy leather lamellar armor under light chain mail. He was as tall as the Twacuman but his skin was darker and face was rounder. He was however, shorter and lighter framed than Conn.

  The other three pushed through to surround him and the crowd fled – they could see what was about to happen, and they didn’t want to be anywhere the long blades. Besides, four against one was hardly going to last long. Conn continued to eat his curry; it could be his last meal so he wasn’t going to hurry.

  Of the four, two were female – very attractive ones as well. One was perhaps in her teens while the other was late twenties – it was hard to be sure. Both men were older than the girls. From their positioning, Conn presumed that they fought as pairs, which was not something that Conn had experienced before. If it was outside, this would be a very difficult bout against their long swords. Inside was slightly easier. He stood and moved to stand.

  ‘Nice storm wasn’t it – something to be very proud of, I would think.’ The voice in his head was immediately confused. ‘And to think you have come all this way for me – so very thoughtful of you.’ More confusion – it was having difficulty understanding its loss of surprise. ‘Are you able to tell me why someone has decided to have me killed?’

  They looked at each other. The eldest male spoke. ‘You are interfering where you don’t belong.’

  ‘And here I was thinking the same about you. Ancuman – and you are Ancuman aren’t you? – travelling into Lykia to kill a Lykian Thane. It is you that doesn’t belong.’

  He laughed harshly. ‘I look at you and see that it is you that don’t belong anywhere, Feorrancund. You are no Lykian. I don’t even know what you are. Meshech belongs to the Ancuman – it always did. You and the Priecuman are the trespassers.’ He smiled sadistically. ‘After today there will be one less Feorrancund.’