by Lee Watts
Darius remained silent, but his scowl betrayed his heart. Caedmon gathered his strength, thundering his final word in a massive, unworldly voice.
"DOBAHCI!"
The word caused the very building to shake and windows to rattle as the sound resonated off the cathedral-type walls for an unusually long time. Caedmon turned, striding out of the chamber. After The Faithful Voice left, a guard went to Merrick and asked what dobahci means. Merrick hesitated, pondering the implication of the word before answering.
"The Hand… is removed."
As Caedmon left, the dwindling sun sent its end-day light through the narrow, tall windows of the palace. It was the only sense of warmth left in the once glowing edifice. Now, the coldness of night was descending on the Realm, and all Caedmon could do was wait for the light's promised return. He came no more to see Darius until the day of his death. Leaving the palace, Caedmon deeply mourned for his friend and vanished hopes.
Merrick passed through the vestibule, stopping outside the massive doors of the entrance. With the silhouette of his aged friend shrinking in the distance, the captain of the guard watched the sun set while thinking of days gone by, his old friend, and an old promise yet to be fulfilled.
***
A dark sphere of energy plummeted through the permanently gray skies of a distant and now lifeless world. Acidic rain from the poisoned atmosphere pelted the vacant remnants of once thriving cities. Descending into a crevasse, the sphere proceeded deep below the dead planet's surface. Molten rock illuminated a massive subterranean opening where a warlord of the Dridmor held court.
Coming to rest on a rocky outcropping, the dark sphere became smoke then coalesced into the horrific form of a Dridmor beast. Horns protruded from its gray skin, and dark rings encircled its eyes of pitch. Entering, the dark spirit beheld many of its kind already there. Seated at the far end of the room was the warlord. Two sets of horns protruded from its head. Two curved down as ram horns, while the other set jutted outward with the tips pointing upward. The newcomer waited to speak, fearing the displeasure of its superior should offense be taken.
"Speak, Cyketh," the monster commanded, his voice as the sound of many voices.
"It is done, Warlord," Cyketh reported. "The Hand is removed from Theera and its worlds. We may occupy them without hindrance at your order."
From his throne, the Overlord laughed deeply with wicked delights.
"At last," the enthroned creature cheered. "Roq-mordak will be pleased, but what of the Voice?"
"He has exiled himself," Cyketh gloated.
"And the Guardian?"
"Without The Hand, he is nothing. Overlord Koraden will take great delight in vanquishing him."
"Call the forsaken son into play. He will serve us well, and tell Koraden the time of his vengeance is at hand. Roq-mordak grows impatient. He will have the prophecy fulfilled, and the hordes loosed. I make you legatus, Cyketh. Take the Third Legion and seed the Realm worlds. I have waited long for them. Bring me word when they are ours. I will have my throne on Theera's palace by the time the gate is opened."
Cyketh, pleased with his ascension to legatus, bowed to his master, reformed into a sphere of dark energy and moved to carry out the commands. Departing the bleak atmosphere of the haunted planet, the thousands of Dridmor sprits comprising the Third Legion followed their new leader. Traversing the great void, they moved to infest the now spiritually defenseless Realm. The time of fulfillment was close at hand, and the worlds of the Theera-Enty were the key.
CHAPTER 9
"… be sure your sin will find you out." - Numbers 32:23
(Three years later)
I never liked him anyway, Queen Cheyenne thought as the Realm's ambassador to the Assembly of Worlds went on and on about his sudden retirement.
Darius gave obligatory words of appreciation about the man's service, but in truth was as glad to be rid of him as Cheyenne. Darius nodded absently as the ambassador continued his dissertation on the desired traits of his replacement to the Assembly and how his recommendation was a glowing example of each.
"In conclusion," the diplomat finally announced. Darius thought he had never heard sweeter words in his life, "our new ambassador should be someone with unwavering dedication and close ties to the throne. Allow me to present such a man. Your Majesties, members of the High Council, my nominee as Realm ambassador to the Assembly: Salazar Yorin of Enty."
With that, two figures entered from the back of the main hall, one stopping just inside the entryway while the other proceeded forward. The approaching figure, with a narrow nose, and cleft chin was in his late twenties. All heads turned as the young man confidently strode into the expansive hall. His features were strikingly similar to the king. There were whispers and exchanged glances among the Councilors as they recognized the shadow of Darius in the stranger's face.
In shock, Cheyenne stared at the young man recognizing his obvious relation to her husband. Eyes narrowed, she turned to Darius and though spoke no words, said quite a lot. After a long moment, Salazar broke the silence.
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me... Father?"
Darius' eyes darted to the back of the room where stood the woman who had entered with Salazar. From that distance, Darius couldn't distinguish her face, but he didn't need to, he knew who she was, and why she was there.
"Yes, Father," Salazar continued, "I accept I'm not the favored son, so all I ask is for the opportunity to serve the Realm as its humble representative at the Assembly of Worlds. I've apprenticed on the ambassador's staff and have an intimate appreciation for the Realm's role in interstellar affairs."
Confident, suave, and with the de facto support of those allied with his mother, the influential Duchess Mara Yorin, Salazar put on quite a show.
"Grant me this appointment, and I swear by the stars that the Realm will have the strongest of representation at the Assembly. But only with your permission and blessing of course… Father."
He bowed deeply, strategically placing the burden of the immensely awkward moment solely on the king's shoulders.
An uncomfortable silence permeated the room. A proverbial bomb had dropped. Ambushed by the carefully planned event, it was an agonizingly long and tense moment. If the Realm wasn't a constitutional monarchy, Darius could answer however he wanted and not worry about political impacts. But though his position was secure, he needed Council support to implement policy. Though the political factions opposing him would use any misspoken word to their advantage, his greater concern was the impact all of this would have on his wife, and so in turn, on him.
"Salazar Yorin…," the king began. Everyone was anxious to see if Darius would deny the man standing before him as a pretender or accept the seeming truth Salazar was his offspring, Cheyenne was chief among these. Darius paused a long while before continuing. Deciding to delay discussion of the scandalous topic, he simply focused on the appointment.
"This is a vital position for the Realm. I would be remiss to not consider the matter thoroughly first. I will announce the crown's decision at the midday session. Until then, the Council is in recess."
Everyone stood as the king rose. Darius withdrew to the room behind the royal platform, Cheyenne and Yilib following. With an icy look, the queen instructed Yilib to give them some time alone as she followed Darius into the room. In the main hall, Salazar turned to his mother who stood at the entry. Extremely pleased, she nodded her approval.
The door of the royal conference chamber was barely shut when Darius expected a tirade, but instead, in thinly veiled fury, she dared him to misspeak with two simple words.
"Go ahead."
Releasing a long breath, Darius leaned against the back of a chair in shock and shame from the revelation in the hall. He brought a hand up to cover his eyes slowly sliding the hand down his face.
"Before we met, I had a… relationship with Mara Yorin."
Though she'd never met the woman, Cheyenne's anger increased at hearing the name of the Du
chess. Mara's political goals constantly chafed at the Lyons. Darius continued.
"She was young and didn't yet have the power of the House of Yorin. I kept the relationship secret, but eventually, Caedmon came to me saying I was 'defying the will of the Elder.' I told him I'd stop, but I liked her company too much and continued seeing her. Caedmon came to me again… never could hide anything from him. That time I did break it off with Mara. She didn't take it well. A few weeks later she came and said she was pregnant. We talked about it and agreed she would abort the child. I thought she had, but… obviously not. I've not seen her again until today."
The queen was livid.
"I can't believe you would hide something like this from me! You have a son I didn't even know about!
"Even I didn't know about him until now!"
His excuse did little to lessen her mounting anger. She felt betrayed, embarrassed, lied to, and a knot of other emotions bubbling up in her.
Thoughts and feelings flooded through her, and though renown for elegance and manners, her emotions overran her ordinary sensibilities, and she verbally lashed at him.
"Well, what are you going to do? What about Alexander? He's not the firstborn anymore, is he? What about when it's time to pass on the crown; who gets it? I will not have that woman's son sit on the throne instead of mine."
"Alright! Alright! Give me a chance to think. Listen, I know this is bad. I guess I should have mentioned about Mara to you."
"YOU GUESS? Darius, you better rethink a lot of things. You've hid things from your wife for our entire marriage, you have an heir we didn't even know about, and you allowed the Ramillie in the Realm when I thought it was a bad idea! The media's going to have a field day with all of this! We've got a mess on our hands."
She stopped suddenly; reconsidering her words she corrected herself.
"No, we don't have a mess, you do, and you're the one who's going to clean it up."
With eyes narrowed and lips pursed, Cheyenne finished speaking but still fumed. Overwhelmed, Darius knew anything he said, could and would be used against him. Breaking the uncomfortable silence, the back door of the chamber opened and in sauntered the jovial Alexander.
"And where have you been?" Cheyenne uncharacteristically scolded.
Sensing he had interrupted a tense moment, he cautiously answered.
"I was with some friends; uh… have I missed something?"
"Yes. It seems your father had a bit of a fling before we were married, and you have a half-brother named Salazar who just paid a visit in front of the entire High Council."
"Oh," Alexander gently replied, realizing the gravity of the situation. His eyes darted from one parent to the other.
"And now he wants the position of ambassador to the Assembly," Darius added in defeated monotone.
"Yes," Cheyenne snipped, "and I think we should give it to him."
"What?" blurted Darius and Alexander in unison.
"Why not?" she replied. "He's not going to simply disappear. This gives him a little something and gets him a long way from here. Besides, you're always complaining the Assembly doesn't take any real action anyway, so what's the harm?"
Alexander agreed.
"If he wants the job I say why not. As Caedmon often said-"
Hearing the name of the Faithful Voice infuriated Cyketh - the unseen Dridmor spirit in the room. Extending his ethereal arm, he placed his clawed hand on the king and let the hatred flow through him and into the mortal.
"Caedmon again?" Darius blared. "Didn't he teach you how to think for yourself? Everything with you is 'Caedmon said this' or 'The Codex says that.' An education is supposed to teach you how to think, not what to think. Seems you don't even have a will of your own. Where've you been anyway?"
"Where've I been? By the stars," exclaimed Alexander in exasperation. "You're treating me like a child. I'm twenty-three!"
"You were out with her again, weren't you?" Darius accused.
"Remember, it was you who insisted we get married one day, 'for the good of the Realm.' Well, she's doing the Realm economy good because she goes through money like water. Today she dragged me to every shopping district in Paran, and every time we see a reporter, she wants to do an interview. I swear all she thinks about is clothes, cameras, and where the next big event is. That's all there is to her. Isn't there something I'm needed for in the palace this afternoon?"
"I know Vivica, and you don't have a lot in common," Cheyenne admitted, "but this isn't a good day for you to be here... and you probably should try and avoid reporters for the next few days too."
"I'll try, but Vivica doesn't make it easy. If you need me, I'll be on Enty. There's some entertainment awards program tonight, and we're going to the after party with some celebrities," Alexander moaned.
"Which party?" Cheyenne asked.
"Probably all of them," he answered with a notable lack of enthusiasm.
With that, he turned and left the room.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," Darius huffed. "He acts like his life stinks. He's going to parties and has a gorgeous woman at his side who wants to spend all her time with him. What more could he want?"
"What he wants," Cheyenne scolded, "is to spend time with people who are more interested in something besides what the media is saying about them. What he wants is to be with a woman he loves not that self-centered, half-dressed, socialite you're making him marry."
"It's for the good of the Realm."
"Yes, that's what you keep saying, but when Vivica is queen, I'm not sure how good it's going to turn out for the Realm. Now, I'm going to let you sit here and figure out what you're going to do about your other son."
She exited in a huff, leaving Darius alone and miserable. Sighing deeply, the king stared at the floor, but with his mind's eye saw a time long past.
Why can't things be like they were in the beginning? It was simpler then. Everything was clear, but now…
His mind recalled words of Caedmon... the path of the Elder changes not. If there art obstacles keeping us from seeing His path, 'tis us who put them there.
Lost in thought, Darius toiled with his problems. Though his old counselor was gone, the king knew what Caedmon would have him do. The Faithful Voice would want him to go back in the great hall, publicly humble himself by admitting his errors and declare a return to the principles of the Narrow Way.
Cyketh knew he must act to prevent this because such a move could derail the Dridmor's entire plan. He shuddered to think the horrific torments he would suffer if this prize was lost. Acting quickly, Cyketh spoke to Darius, his words playing out as thoughts in the mortal's mind.
You can't do that, Cyketh hissed. If you go in there and tell everyone your mistakes, you'll look weak and it will lessen your position. You are king, and the king mustn't lose face. You can handle this yourself.
Cyketh paused a moment as Darius mulled the thoughts. Reading the king's expression, the dark spirit knew he was making progress. Darius just needed a little more of a push.
If you deny Salazar it will offend the Enty councilors and play right into Mara's hand. You need to consolidate your position, not isolate yourself.
Time passed agonizingly for the king as the Dridmor whispered to him in thoughts of anger, pride, and depression. As it continued, Darius remembered the warning of Caedmon when he told him of Mara's supposed aborted pregnancy. There is forgiveness, but consequences. Only now did Darius fully understand. He passed the time wrestling with his thoughts, regrets, and choice of a new ambassador.
In the main foyer of the palace, Vivica Canton stood leaning against one of the massive pillars awaiting her fiancée. The shapely twenty-one-year-old repeatedly received admiring glances from the exiting Councilmen, which she enjoyed. Her long blond hair, bright top, and short skirt stood in stark contrast to the sea of gray heads and long dark cloth.
"Lovely Lady Vivica."
She turned to the voice, hesitating a moment as she tried putting a name with the some
what familiar face, but couldn't.
"Salazar Yorin," he announced, proudly introducing himself with a bow. "I wanted to come and greet my brother's betrothed."
In the traditional obeisance, he took her hand and kissed the back of it.
"Brother? I thought Alexander was an only child."
Salazar smiled. "No, it seems our dear king had a bit of a wild side in his youth, as my mother attests, and I evidence."
"Oh. What brings you to the palace?"
"Important business of the Realm, My Lady."
"How important?"
"I've been nominated as the Realm's new ambassador to the Assembly of Worlds on the moon of Shinar."
"The moon of Shinar?" she laughed. "Isn't that the hunk of rock in the middle of nowhere that no one is willing to claim?"
"Assembly headquarters is an outpost in neutral territory, my lady."
She didn't really like him using the term My Lady, but let it go.
"Of course, it is," she relented with only the thinnest feign of sincerity.
"Actually, My Lady," he added while stepping closer and placing a hand on the pillar over her shoulder. "I was hoping you might accompany Lord Canton on a voyage there sometime. I'm sure you would find it an interesting and… pleasurable experience."
"Really?" she replied mockingly.
"Oh, yes. The Ramillie ambassador puts on the most wonderful parties. Their culture is millennia ahead of our own, and they have some remarkable technologies I'm sure you would enjoy. I'd love to give you a tour sometime."
"I don't think I'd find anything there that interests me," she said with a smirk.
"I'm sure we could find something that attracts your attention. Nothing is more attractive than power, My Lady, and the real power is in the Assembly."
"Power I like, Salazar, but you don't seem to have any. Tell you what, why don't you come back when you do."
As Alexander approached, he noticed he was again interrupting something.
"Everything alright?" he asked.