by Sam Sea
“Did you mean the kingdom of Zelu? They say they are the strongest, the fair city of Three Rivers, the nicest place on this earth…”
“Well, that is true too..But there is also a power which makes all the kingdoms function right, and which rules them all.…Do you know which one it is?” As he waited for the answer, his uncle dug deep inside his pocket and took out a brand new minted gold coin…
“Gold?”
“Yes, gold… money runs it all. And people who have the most money, they belong to a certain sect called Srimini…”
“Srimini, I heard about them. My father often curses them.” His uncle chuckled. “Yes, I would guess he would… well, they are people who have the most gold, who borrow money so kingdoms can pay their armies even when they do not have enough gold to do so… They borrow so the castles and walls and bridges and roads and ships can be build. And then you pay them back over time. Do you understand?”
“So they are really good people?”
“No.. They do not do it to help you out. They do it because you have to pay them more than they gave you. That’s called interest.”
“I think I sort of understand it now… That’s why they are so rich.”
“Yes. That is called finance, and you will also have a chance to learn all about it. Our kingdom, under the wise rule of your father has grown very rich as of late. We have paid off all out debt, and have enough even to borrow to others. And that’s making a lot of people very… restless. Very jealous and worried…”
“Srimini?”
“Yes… I think they worry how rich and powerful our kingdom has become. More power we have that much more competition they get. You see, many wise men say that the wars are not decided on the battlefields but around bankers’ tables. They say that the power of each kingdom does arise from the blades of their army, but from the coffers of their financiers.”
“I heard that before, but I never knew what it meant…I guess there is so much to learn…”
“Yes there is. And you know, it never stops. There is something new to learn every day. No matter how old you get. Like today I learned something very interesting.”
“What?”
“I learned that… that’s politics…”
“How many kingdoms are there? My tutor says there are only five but my mother said that is actually not true. That there is also the kingdom of heaven and the one of hell. So who is right?”
“Well, there are five major kingdoms that form the alliances. However, that is only in the known world. In the outside, who knows? Who knows how many kingdoms the wildmen inhabit, and if there are creatures living beyond the seas and dessert and ice with more kingdoms than we can count…
“You see, it all matters, all those subjects. They may not make sense to you because nobody really took time to explain why they matter. They just threw it at you and said, that’s that. Know it! Like you are supposed to trust them with everything they say.”
“You know uncle, they lie all the time… My father says he doesn’t have time to be with me, and then I see him just pacing in his study from one wall to another, for hours. My mom says she loves me, but she rather spend time drinking teas and getting herself ready then go on a horse riding with me… They lie…”
His uncle put his hand around the boy’s shoulders, and took a deep breath, waiting for the boy’s anger to subside. “I do not know what to tell you about that. I know they both love you, and care for you. I know that. I would not say it otherwise. But look at it this way, at least you have your parents. Both of mine died when I was younger than you…”
“I know… my mom sometimes talks to me about that… about the disease that killed millions…”
“Yeah…”
“Some say it was sent from gods to punish us for our wicked ways. But I don’t believe it!” The boy added right way. “I know my grandparents could not be wicked.”
“See… It kind of works along the line what we talked about… You know how the plagues ended?
“Yes the Grand Master of Ra found the medicine…”
“Yes, yes he did… He found what was causing it, and then developed a cure. To those that are ignorant and do not know how to read or write, it might have seemed like a prayer, but the priest himself wrote letters and prepared medicine and sent it throughout five kingdoms. That is the power of knowledge, power of the books. It all matters.”
The little prince could feel excitement in his uncle’s words, the enthusiasm for learning that sparked through his eyes, and it traveled until his own eyes glowed with the same excitement.
Then his uncle got up from the soft grass and said something that the little prince never forgot, and often thought about for the rest of his life.
“Being ignorant, not wanting to know the truth is like having all this beautiful world everywhere you see, and then suddenly there gets to be a tall stone wall around you preventing you to see any of its magical beauty… Now, if that happens to you, if they build a wall around you, a wall that tricks you into not being able to see clearly, what would you think? Would you think that the world consists of only what you can see, or that there is just this stupid wall that prevents you from seeing it all? What would you do?”
“I would take a Smith’s hammer and smack the wall.”
His uncle laughed, “Yeah, that is one option, if you don’t mind getting blisters on your hands. But sometimes it is enough and easier to climb the wall…”
“But what if the wall is too tall…”
“Build the ladder and go over it, or… even better, walk around it.”
“And if it is too long?”
“Dig a tunnel below it,” his uncle chuckled. “Use your mind to set yourself free, to set your mind free. The point is, not fighting the wall for the sake of fighting, accepting it for what it is, just a stupid wall skewing your vision….And then finding a way to be able to see again… Because, you do need to see… since your mind is your best weapon…right?”
The prince entertained all the ideas for a while, before firmly deciding, “I still would like to break the wall. That way, it can never skew my vision again.”
His uncle laid back on the grass, sliced few more pieces of the ham and looked at the clouds above them.
“Sometimes I get a feeling that the sky itself is nothing more than one giant wall,” he said as his voice mystically whispered together with the evening breeze.
“I like you uncle. You’re nice and smart… I don’t fully understand everything you say, but I will learn and then I will understand.” The boy said as they slowly were descending the stairs, returning to the castle. “And you’re funny. Could you teach me? Could you teach me to be smart as you?”
His uncle stopped for a second and turn around to look him straight into the eyes. “You are already smart. And you will get even smarter. And I would love to help you. So…let’s just say… once a week, I can come back to the castle and see what you have learned.”
“I think that’s a really good idea!” The boy said all excited.
“You’re so smart. I always knew you were smart. And you will show it to everyone how smart you are, right?”
“Yes…”
“You will learn something this week, and then tell me when I come back to the castle in a few days, right?”
“Yes…”
“And the more you learn, more we will have things to talk about, right?”
“Yes, we can talk about far away kingdoms,”
“Yes, we could talk about anything then, agreed?”
“Yes!”
The little prince felt very fulfilled that day. As he made it to the castle, he readily accepted the dinner, and with a history book in his hands drifted off to his room and surrendered to welcoming dreams.
But his uncle didn’t come next week, or the week after that. The Little Prince got angry to the point he stopped talking to everyone, stopped eating his food, even getting out of his bed was done with a lot of pleading and threatening. T
he only thing he would say to his worried mother is ask her when his uncle is expected to come back.
One night, desiring to hold his grandpa’s short sword in his hand, he sneaked out of his room, went to the floor above and moved the lever behind the boy-crying statute and entered one of the secret passageways with the idea of going to the library. But before he got in, he heard the voices of his mother and father, loud and arguing.
“You send him on that stupid patrol, it’s your fault!” The voice of his mother was furious, accusatory.
“It was just supposed to be a ride in a forest! A routine patrol! We didn’t even suspect wildmen to be this far east…How could you ever think I would sent him out to get killed?”
The little prince sneaked even closer to hear better. He got close enough so that through the tapestry covering the passage he could see the light of the candles outlining his parents’ figures, his father’s pacing around.
“We need to tell him! He is going to get sick if he continues like that...”
“And if you tell him, he may get even sicker!”
“He is a strong boy. He will understand. Look, your brother is not coming back…You need to accept that. He is dead, he can never come back, and our son needs to know this.”
Hearing that, he ran back out of the secret passage, up all the stairs to the top of the castle in a single breath, and went out in the night on the top observation post. He hugged the floor there, alone and sobbing. But eventually, time has passed and he got tired of crying.
The boy laid on his back, just like he did with his uncle, looked up at the night sky and countless stars, and made a promise to himself. “How could he be killed? He was so good with the sword? I want to know. I want to learn what happened. I want to know everything! And I will learn everything. And then I will write a book about my uncle so that everyone would always know of the person he was. That way, he can live forever.” The thought settled him down, but tears did not finish coming out. The thought that his uncle is gone forever hammered him relentlessly and he clinched his fist. “I will know… everything!”
Looking at the night sky, he saw a bright light, lighter than any comment, pass over his head. It got lost over the mountains, but the wind seemed to have traveled with it, and it picked his hair up and danced with it for a second. “It’s a sign… that light… It is a sign… Must be…” He was certain.
An hour later, before his exhausted mind drifted to sleep, he stared back at all the stars above him and two moons that came, one on top of the other… He did not think of heavens or gods who lived there, but of a stone wall, tall and circling, preventing him to see any further.
Ch
apter 2 - The Duke of Northern Sirnia
Forick the Fifth, Duke of Northern Sirnia, stood in the window of his study, with his back to three of his top advisers who nervously waited for his reaction. His older brother Maxion, General Wath, the top military adviser. and his castle hand, Prince Tbir, all were motionless, like statues, waiting, neither one ready to draw any attention to themselves by starting to talk first.
In the end, the duke turned around, and with a frown on his face started to remind them. “The gathering that is to start here tomorrow is very special. The king himself should be coming as we have a number of important issues to decide on… You’ve been all made fully aware of that! So why are welcoming flags of all the nobles still not flying from our towers?
“Why are streets still reeking of horse shit and cow manure? Why haven’t they been cleaned?! Were you waiting for the rain to do the job? Even the windows in the palace have not all been made spotless!? The uniforms of the soldiers seem old and dirty, like they are some peasants revolt party, and not one of the top soldiers in our kingdom! Are we to present ourselves as the dirties little duchy in the whole of Sirnia? I am telling you, if these problems are not corrected, someone’s head is going to roll - very soon!” He stared in anger at all three of them.
But Prince Tbir knew that it was most like him who would have to worry about his head. Being a second cousin could only get a person so far. “My lord, the soldiers will get their new uniforms tonight - they are all ready and waiting in the storage. Flags of all the houses are being washed as we speak off, and so are all the windows in the palace… being washed anew.”
He spoke swiftly trying to say everything in a single breath. “We have also already closed down all the gates to all the horse and carts entering the town, and will work overnight cleaning and washing the streets. Servants are sweeping them as we speak off. They will all be spotless by the morning, and when we see the king coming, we’ll cover them with rose buds and the whole castle will smell beautifully… Also, I need to tell you that the best of musicians and entertainers we could summon throughout the real… they are all here, and I organized them to perform in front of you tonight, so you can make your own selection… of the best ones.”
The duke raised his hand, partially satisfied and obviously feeling a bit better.
“The next Gatherings of Kings is less than fifty days away…It should be something special, a gallant celebration, an event to remember since it is probably the last time that all kings would be together on the account of the king Klin being so old and sick.
“You are right, many don’t believe he will live for another four years to make it to the next gathering. Some doubt he will make it to this gatherings at all.” The general decided for his voice to be heard after all.
“So you understand then, my dear trusted general,” a lot of sarcasm was knitted in that voice, “that I want to impress the king enough that my invitation to the ceremony does not come into question…”
“My Lord, the king would never think of not inviting you…” His brother started to mend fences, but the duke raised his hand again.
“So did the duke Famas four years ago, and need I remind you what happened to him? Was he invited? And you know how many trade deals we closed in during the gatherings, how many new ‘friendships’ we shook our hands on? How much he lost and how much we prospered? Am I to be left out of all of that this time?”
He looked back to the window, trying to see if the castle was indeed starting to look better. With the last of daylight failing fast, it was hard to say.
“We may be one of the smallest dukedom in the whole of Vartira, but we will not behave like the poorest one. The streets better by shiny and clean tomorrow, better be smelling like a rose garden, or else…”
He let the thought linger in the air before he continued, “The king in the end will do whatever he likes. And if he and those that advise him are not in the good mood, who knows? Are there enough whores in the city? Good whores, not some local drunks and peasants who had been ridden more than old mares? I do not want any of his advisers to protest about some meaningless, trivial things just because they were not laid properly. Give them best of wines and best of whores, and let’s see if that does not make them happy. ”
“Yes, we have a group of over fifty prostitutes, all very young and seductive indeed. They also can be brought for your… inspection tonight.”
“You, brother, will entertain king’s cousins… Select the best and make sure that-”
The hard knock on the door interrupted them. The duke pulled the lever on the right side of his writing table, and the small bell tolled silently outside, letting the person know that he is free to enter. The sergeant of his guards walked in.
"My Lord..." His step was not firm, his eyes seemed nervous, unsteady as it examined four men in front of him.
"What is it? Speak fast! I already know you have some bad news. I do not need another problem right now. So, what happened?"
"My Lord…” The voice trembled and the mind seemed unable to come up with the words. “The prisoner…the prisoner… he seems to be gone-"
“What prisoner? We moved all of them out of the town to a dungeon in the hills a week ago?!”
“Sir, the one that was caught four weeks ago, the thief with a tattoo of a b
lack claw on his back?”
“What?”
“Sir, you told us that he is the only one you wanted left in the dungeon… for further interrogations?”
“Yes, yes, I did… I wanted him to talk! And the other prisoners were not supposed to be seen! So what happened?”
“Well, we cannot see him through the cellar’s windows…”
“What?” the duke seemed completely confused and out of himself. “What happened?”
"We do not know yet, my Lord. We found slain guards outside the north wall, so we went to inspect every corner of the castle, went to the dungeon…”
“How could he have done all of that? He was chained! And I thought you broke every bone in his body! You promised that he was sure to talk before tonight when you were supposed to have dispose of him? Remember my instructions? Remember what you said??” The duke Forick furiously walked over to his soldier and pointed a finger in his face. “It was all supposed to be done before the king came!?”
“Maybe… maybe…”
“Don’t you dare to blame it on some magic. I dare you say magic! I’ll put you in same chains faster than you can say ‘crap’, understand? Send out a team with hounds... He probably had help from outside. Those Black Claws! They have spies everywhere, always sneaking around in the shadows... I should have known…”
“My lord, what do we do with the dungeon?”
“What about the dungeon?”
“We cannot open the door to go down…”
“What do you mean you cannot open the door?”
“It seems to be sealed in such a way…”
“So you did not even see that the prisoner is gone, and you bother me with this?” The duke went to his table and decided to sit down again, even took a glass of wine to relax.
“My Lord, we could see he is not chained up anymore.”
“Yeah, but he could be laying in one of the cells? Did you check all the cells? Of course you didn’t! And that drunken John is probably laying next to him! So, if you can’t open the door, go and get a locksmith?!”