TRONDHEIM SAGEN: Earth Shattering

by Andreas Hennen

  The Commander shouted, "Fire!"

  An infinite number of darts fell on the traitorous soldiers, surprising them as they stood in line waiting for a word from their true Sovereign.

  Only when all were languishing on the ground did the arrows cease to fly. Armillus, not wanting to look, shook his head and turned his back on the massacre. He commented to his three guests:

  "We live in rough and restless times. In the west, the seed of treason is cultivated. Instead of uprooting it, which would be right, it is covered in gold and allowed to proliferate as long as it is silent."

  The Armillus stopped. He stared again at Godwin with a strange, indecipherable gaze, but the words on his lips seemed friendly:

  "Lord of the South, I will now accompany you to the royal baths, where you can cleanse yourself or, if that is not possible, we will clean you. Immediately afterwards Delia will treat your wound so that it heals in the best possible way. Then you will sit at our table to discuss these sad events among us." He paused for a moment, breathing deeply as if to drive away thoughts that were too great even for a King. He commented disheartened: "Only bad news remains to be discussed. Marriages will never be talked about again within my walls."

  Chapter 7

  Daughter of the North

  The four Kings walked between the two gates of the back wall of the Tartaros and entered a narrow corridor made of light stone. The stone was bare and rough, illuminated by a simple row of torches at the height of an average man. Each torch was carried in the arms of a wrought iron angel. The angels were fixed to the wall by their feet and wings. The King of Kitan was at the head of a row of dark and gloomy men followed his guests in funereal silence and then by the escorts who were on guard. After all, Godwin had just duelled with the Crown prince who was fighting for his life. His father seemed to be treating the event all too lightly.

  "High, are you sure in view of the latest events that this is the right decision? At this moment the father of the boy might prefer to be at his son's bedside," Godwin whispered, into the God-Slayer's ear.

  "Of course, if you had restrained yourself from impaling the son of our host with your sword, the situation would be very different!" commented the Lord of the East.

  "You're partly right, I wasn't going to go so far, but I just lost control, believing I had been deprived of an eye," Godwin defended himself, upset by such an accusation.

  "What is done is done! Now let's not get upset and waste any possible opportunities," answered High, He could hardly conceal his concern at seeing one door after another, a corner and then another turn.

  After a short time, perceived by the guests as the turning of an entire season, the three warriors and their escorts arrived in a stately room with floors of red marble. Monumental columns of smooth, glossy, finished green stone in a simple cylindrical shape, four in all, climbed slender towards the dome. The beautifully decorated vault with golden stars in a green sky welcomed guests into the special throne room. It was a large room in the shape of a Greek cross with four green pillars, placed in the centre, where the arms of the cross intersected. These had the task of supporting the five domes of the roof. The four side domes were smaller, while the fifth at the centre of the building was of majestic proportions.

  In front of the entrance, a structure made of red stone, with two curved stairways, was the high throne of green stone on columns. The royal seat was decorated all around with four golden bas-reliefs, depicting the deeds of the first masters of the Tartaros. Behind it there was a magnificent, wide low window, decorated with the mythical story of the founder and creator of the Steel Ring, flooding the room with multi-coloured light. The sun's rays, even if weak and sometimes concealed by clouds, filtered through the window, creating a kaleidoscope of colours on the glossy floor.

  At the foot of the throne, between the stairs and columns that supported it, many simple stone arches with rough, square details served as dwelling places for the deceased Kings. Four very large candelabra hung from the tops of the central arches, giving the necessary light on grey days.

  In front of the stairs two guards, in the usual shimmering armour, made their salutes, straightening their spears, but the Lord of the castle did not reply. Perhaps he did not even notice the gesture. His mind was busy elsewhere and he had no desire for ceremonies or for stories to be told of momentous events that had taken place in the splendid halls of the fortress.

  Armillus pushed a door of precious gilded wood, cleverly carved with images of interwoven angels. He quickly and silently took to the stairs behind it. Even the group of soldiers remained silent and thoughtful. There was nothing to suggest to High, Holaf and Godwin that they were not welcome guests, but neither were they offered warm greetings. Doubts and fears crept into the minds and hearts of the warriors, to the point where High, who knew the good Armillus, asked:

  "My dear Armillus, we are allies and feel for you in your pain. Are you sure you would not like some time alone at such a moment?"

  "Nonsense, my friend, if I had been tougher with Horos, he would now have received a proposal for marriage instead of hovering between life and death," Armillus pushed open another door, also gilded and decorated, and continued speaking: "The villain had countless opportunities to save himself. The only person who didn't realize that His Majesty Godwin was playing was Horos!" The good Armillus stopped again, shaking his head and blaming himself severely of what had happened on the parade square.

  "My friend, think of yourself as the only person to blame for such misfortune! Your one and only fault, if you can say it is that, is that you were a good father, so dedicated to your own son that you set yourself begging to two strangers on his behalf, prostrating yourself before them with your heart in your hand," Holaf said, offering this very rare touch of courtesy.

  In all this talk, Godwin bleeding and uncomfortable would have much preferred not to have stopped at the Tartaros and not to have taken revenge for the young girls who had been ruined by the desecrator. But he couldn't repent for what he had done.

  In a duel, knights fought for their lives, honour and glory, and what had just happened had been a duel in every respect. It wasn't for him to surrender, but for his inexperienced opponent. Taking into consideration the offenses he suffered and the cursed attempt to stab him to death from behind, the Lord of the South did not consider the result of the fight as unfair. Most of all, the great King of the Sepulchre of the Gods was annoyed by the trick played on him. A thin blade had been stabbed through the eye slit of his armour. This move was forbidden in duels between knights. The same act was often criticized by the most talented and correct warriors even if used as a tactic on battlefields. Finally, Righteous, thinking of the damage he had suffered, considered his reaction not only adequate, but absolutely justified.

  Of course, now the situation seemed less favourable. It would be difficult to converse and be a guest of the father, from whom he had most likely just snatched his beloved son. Godwin, besieged by doubts, thoughtfully brooded until he reached a splendid and liberating conclusion. He felt he was on the right path, for neither he nor his sword could ever have done anything differently if God had willed otherwise. This conviction became stronger in Godwin’s heart. He clung to the thought that if it had not been God’s will, now he would be in the role of the dying dueller.

  The new corridor in which they found themselves now was along noble lines, nothing like the corridors of the Titan, but of great aesthetic value. Set on top of the walls there were square pillars in a beautiful bright green, with classical capitals in gold at the top. They supported the rafters, which had magnificent, luxurious floral stuccoes. These reinforced a long barrel vault, decorated along the whole length by skilled painters, who had chosen hunting with dogs as a guiding motif for the rich decoration of the hallway.

  On the right-hand side, the one that faced the parade ground, large mullioned windows opened, with a characteristic column in the centre of each opening, in this case covered in gold. Looking ou
t the windows you could see a square teeming with armigers busy tidying up the massacre, moving the piled-up bleeding traitors to more suitable locations.

  The opposite side of the corridor displayed a splendid series of hunting trophies. Stuffed animals dominated the corridor, resting on supports protruding from the wall, just above the level of the doors. There were a great number of these following one after another adorned with green lacquer and inlays, obviously the work of expert cabinet-makers. Frivolous gold details reinforced the corners and underlined some details.

  Delia, the niece of King Armillus, appeared through one of these doors. She was humble and dignified, wearing a blue dress, the colour of the winter sky. It had a wide neck, decorated with silver ribbons. The dress fell almost to the ground and had a series of fine diagonal stripes, covering the entire fabric. In each space, a hand-embroidered red lily blossomed eye-catchingly, in contrast with the sober colour of the fabric. The sleeves of her gown fell to the wrists and had two bizarre, very large ribbons, tying the sleeve around the wrist, and then falling to the level of her knees.

  A beautiful honest, white face framed her large brown eyes. A slender gold tiara with a small emerald mounted in the centre balanced uncertainly in her royal hair. Her hands were clasped together and her head bent, showing her feelings immediately. Delia exclaimed, falling to her knees at the King's feet:

  "My King, adored Uncle, my heart is filled with pain!"

  Armillus immediately lifted her up with the same sweetness he would have shown to a daughter and hugged her.

  "My beloved niece, fate seems to be hostile to our house. First your aunt, then your parents, now Horos, one at a time they are all being taken," said Armillus sadly, caressing the young woman's back sweetly.

  "Such a disaster could not have been avoided?" Delia asked her voice broken by tears.

  "No, it was too late. Your cousin, as well as being mad, was guilty of horrendous crimes. To crown it all he turned traitor against me and against all Kitan!" He interrupted his thoughts and, gently distancing her from him, gave her a paternal smile.

  "How beautiful are you, my beloved niece! I must ask you for an enormous favour. Could you help Sire Godwin, who has got a bad wound on his face and needs your care?

  "But of course, my King, anything you ask for will be done!" The young woman replied in a dull voice, wiping her tears.

  But the King of the Tartaros had another favour ask the young Lady:

  "Delia, dear heart, if you feel you can, once you have finished the medication of the Lord of the South, would you go and see to that traitor of a son?" Armillus did not wait for the young girl's response, fearful of receiving a denial. He turned to the soldiers and taking a breath, as if he hadn’t had any air for hours, turned to them:

  "Welcome to Tartaros, the second fortress of the Steel Ring! Your guards will be at ease in the room behind them. They will find comfortable chairs and tasty delicacies to eat and good beverages to quench their thirst." He said to High: "My dear friend, I'm happy to be able to enjoy your company. If you and your enormous companion wish, you could wait with me for the Lord of the South to make himself presentable. Together we could drink a good mug of cider.

  "My brother, you go with the good King, I prefer to follow Godwin," Holaf realized that he had spoken with too harshly. In order not to offend, he pointed out to the kind host: "I would not like to offend you my King. The reason I follow Godwin is purely practical. The wounded man will have to take off his armour and I doubt that your delicate niece should have that task; moreover, I don't want to risk that there are any wicked warriors hiding, who are still faithful to the prince."

  "My dear Lord of the North, your doubts are legitimate, so go ahead without delay. Everything will be arranged and we will be waiting for you through the last door of this hallway," said the Lord of the Tartaros quietly. He caressed the face of his niece before asking her: "Could you guide them to the Royal baths, please?"

  "Of course, dear uncle," the girl answered shortly but distinctly, leaning her head on her uncle's shoulder. She then invited the two Kings, "My Lords, come this way to the bathrooms!"

  Delia walked quickly and quietly, followed by the two Generals towards the last door of the corridor. Once the passage was open and the threshold was crossed, a deep silence fell on the group. They descended a gloomy, quite treacherous spiral staircase. It was illuminated by soft trembling lights. Holaf alert, undeniably tense, noticed the unusual way they were going. They were descending into the foundations of the Tartaros. He asked:

  "Milady, are the royal baths in the catacombs?"

  "No, my King!" Delia answered dry and unfriendly.

  "And please tell me, why are we going down so far? Have the foundations been built over a cave like those of the Arkantorre?

  "No, my King," the girl replied the same manner.

  Godwin, coming up last, put his hand on Holaf's shoulder and whispered to his ear, as if they were two lovers:

  "Thank you for not leaving me, I’m beginning to have strong doubts about this bath!"

  Long sword without turning, nodded and began to tease the girl.

  "Where are you leading us, my Lady?"

  "To the royal baths, my Lord, as King Armillus commanded," replied without apparent emotion, and without turning around.

  Holaf, not famous for being the most patient of men, became angry and stopped to shout:

  "What a malicious trap is this, woman?"

  The King's voice thundered, bouncing off the narrow long stairs, frightening the girl. She spoke with her heart beating hard:

  "You are offending me! You come to my uncle's home as a guest, you are guilty of the death of his son and heir and then imagine that I will chat gaily with you even though I am the bereaved niece of a broken father and have a dying cousin."

  Holaf could not answer and preferred to let an embarrassed silence fall on the trio, but Godwin felt compelled to defend himself:

  "It wasn't my intention to go that far. I gave Horos the chance to yield several times, but his pride deceived him, events evolved differently."

  "And you, Great Warrior, would you have done that, would you have surrendered? You are all the same, you knights, proud and as stupid as goats!" Delia, stated, irritated, looking with trembling eyes at the mighty man of the South.

  "No, you are right, my Lady! I wouldn't have yielded either. But do you know something else that I wouldn't have done in his place?" asked Godwin with false courtesy, not revealing the restlessness he felt.

  "Tell me!" said the cousin of the fallen man unaware of what she was about to hear. He answered.

  "I would not have desecrated tombs, just to begin with. I would not have raped young girls. I would not have offended guests, invited by my father, who had entrusted me with the task of welcoming them and not insulting them. Moreover, I do not tolerate desertion, and therefore I would never have practiced it. I would never become a traitor," Righteous stopped, looking at the young woman with the only eye he was able to use. She was shocked by such words.

  The Lord of the South was overwhelmed by a fire in his throat and was unable to continue. Like a cavalry charge against broken infantrymen, he continued: "All these are things which I never lower myself to take part in, but this course of action spares me the weight of fighting duels apart from in time of war!" Godwin paused and wiped the blood, dripping from the wound on his forehead, flowing toward his mouth, reddening his teeth. He continued: "Having said that and having mentioned some details that cannot be overlooked, if you don't want to help me, I'll understand and not a single word of blame will you ever hear from my lips. On the other hand, if you are going to medicate me, don't play tricks or use harsh measures."

  "My dear King, I will help you not only because of the order, given to me by my Sovereign, but also because I dedicated my life as is imposed by being a Healer. So put away your ardour and follow me, so as to put an end to this embarrassing scene." This was her answer, full of rancour, before she lead
the two great Kings onward. They however did not feel greatly reassured.

  The passing through the last door dispelled all doubts and encouraged the two knights. In fact, they came into a strange, low room totally covered in marble. From the ceiling there hung a long, rectangular brazier. It had the double role of giving a strong heat and lighting the room. Near the walls, in a line, there were many amazing wooden screens covered with fine dyed fabrics and decorated with embroidery, depicting nymphs and bold young men on the banks of a blue lake. These works of art awaited any guests so they could change their clothes in privacy. In fact at that very moment, numerous ladies of the court were crowded in the next room. Judging by the sound of splashes, laughter and chatter, the ladies were enjoying a happy moment of recreation.

  Delia pointed to a screen for Godwin, who sat on the tiny wooden stool without comment. The seat, sorely tried by years of hard service and by the weight of the wounded King, squeaked noticeably, causing the Righteous to comment:

  "I’m getting up, before I end upon the floor!"

  Holaf began to remove the shoulder plates of the armour and as he leaned them against the wall, smiling, he said:

  "Some say it's only the men of the north who use thick plate armour. Yours, I could use to bar any drawbridge!"

  "You are right, Lord of the North, thanks to your subjects, with whom I have fought in the past, I learned a lot. Many ideas about war and women were explained well by them. I have many good memories. I had this armour made using Nordic ideas and following their advice.

  Godwin looked at Holaf smiling, despite the wound that was causing him a lot of pain and flooding his mouth with blood. This made him a cough, vomiting a lot of red fluid on the floor.

  "Did you also learn this from the men of the north?" Holaf asked, taunting him amused.