Trials of a Champion

by Thomas O'Gorman

  “Sir Tearance,” Jasken said. “I can understand how the aiming error happened, but there is some question about your lance selection. Everyone saw that you rejected the lance your squire offered, and that your squire was reluctant to give you the lance you used. We heard testimony from your squire, who quit your service after the events of today, that you call that lance your “death lance” and you have killed other knights in tournaments with that lance. We collaborated your squire’s testimony by examining the records of the tournaments that took place earlier this year and discovered that no fewer than five knights have been killed by you in the last six months alone, using this lance. Has your intent been to kill your opponents and did you intend to kill Sir Tirus?”

  “I am sorry Sir Jasken, but what you describe is laughable, and it is hard for me to keep my composure. Yes, it is true that five knights died in the lists by my hand, but many knights have killed that many or more. The lance that you are talking about is my lucky lance, and I have been using it for nigh on two years now. Many more knights have survived its use than have died by it. It is my squire who gave it the name the ‘Lance of Death.’ I never encouraged the use of that name or used it myself. I hate that the lance shattered, but in light of Sir Tirus’s death it is a small thing. I am sure you examined the shattered remains of the lance and found nothing amiss. There is nothing sinister about the lance, I assure you.”

  “We did in fact examine the fragments of your lance,” Sir Roderic said. “There was in fact one peculiar thing about it. It seems that there was a round hollow space in the center of your lance. What can you tell us about that?”

  “I know nothing about that. I never cut it open. Maybe it was a deformity in the wood that the lance was made of. It was a little lighter than most of the other lances I have used. Perhaps that is the reason why. That is why I liked it so much, it was light and sturdy.”

  “Sir Tearance, I must tell you that it seems like you used some type of foul play,” Sir Sebon said. “Though we have looked at this from all angles, we can find no proof that you did anything untoward or sinister. Therefore, we must rule that this incident was indeed an accident, and you remain in good standing as a Knight of the Scepter.”

  “Thank you, good sirs. I assure you that you have come to the right decision.”

  Sir Sebon slammed his gavel down and the hearing was over. Tearance walked out of the hearing room and found Keyland waiting.

  “My friend, thank you for coming to support me. The triumvirate found in my favor.”

  “That is a relief,” Keyland said. “I was worried you would be in chains in the dungeon awaiting execution.”

  “Nonsense. Now that the silly business of the hearing is over, we can concentrate on something far more important. Getting you elected as commander.”

  The election of the new commander after the former commander has died is held eight days after the former commander’s death, or one day after the former commander’s funeral. The commander lies in state for three days at Vandileigh Palace then the body is transported to the former commander’s hometown and is mourned for two to four days and the funeral service and burial occurs on the seventh day after his death. Commander Tirus’s home was in Alexandra so the transport would not be far, just to his place of worship. Usually the vice commander is elected overwhelmingly as the new commander, but there have been times when the election was hotly contested. This election looked to be one of those times. Many of the knights considered Sebon to be weak and too friendly with the Knights of the Pearl. He was from Alexandra as well, but the southern knights did not have a strong bond with him, and the northern knights were against him strongly.

  “There are three factions forming,” continued Tearance. “The southern faction, the anti-Pearl faction, and the northern faction. I have taken liberties to talk to the leaders of the northern faction, and they are already behind you. The problem is only twenty-eight of the eighty knights are northern. The southern knights number thirty-six, and about thirty are supporting a southern candidate, Sir Geof Appleton. The key becomes who can get the anti-Pearl votes. Both you and Appleton have similar track records with the Pearls. You don’t associate with them but have not spoken out strongly against them. You must beat Appleton to the punch by getting to the sixteen anti-Pearl knights and convincing them that you are in favor of disbanding them and killing them if necessary. They don’t believe the Queen needs her own knights, and that the agenda of the Pearl knights puts the King in danger.”

  “That won’t be a stretch, I don’t think the Knights of the Pearl are necessary, and I would work to disband them.”

  “Good, then you can campaign with conviction. Sir Peary Hulce is their leader. Get to him and he will vouch for you to the rest of their group. I would talk to him tonight.”

  “Good idea. I will find him and speak to him.”

  “I will go with you, for moral support.”

  They went in search of Sir Peary, and Tearance somehow knew exactly where he would be, in one of the pubs the Scepter’s frequented called The Plucked Goose. When they arrived, their mood soured. Sir Geof Appleton had beaten them and was in a rather involved private discussion with Sir Peary.

  The discussion went on for fifteen minutes and it started to look rather heated. Sir Geof finally stood up and walked out briskly.

  “That looked like it didn’t go very well,” Tearance said.

  “Let’s hope our discussion goes better,” Keyland replied.

  They both approached Sir Peary, and when they got close, they heard him swearing.

  “Peary, my friend, whatever is the matter?” Keyland asked.

  “That damned Appleton,” Peary said. “Tried to tell me he was against the Pearls, but then he went on and on about how they must be preserved to be our scape goat. As if we need a scapegoat!”

  “No, that is faulty reasoning,” Keyland said. “The Pearls are a danger and they must be removed as soon as possible.”

  “I totally agree,” Peary said. “Tearance here told me you were considering a run for commander. Are you going to run?”

  “Yes I am. I think as the highest-ranking member of nobility in the Scepters I would be a natural fit for commander. Plus, I can use my standing as a duke to push our agenda with the King.”

  “The King sees you as his enemy. Won’t that impair your ability to direct the Scepters to protect him?”

  “Ah, see everyone thinks that I am the King’s enemy. He even thinks that. It is not true. My father hated the King and wanted him brought down. I do not share in that view. That is why I joined the Scepters, because I love the King and want to serve him. I don’t agree with everything he says or does, but that doesn’t dampen my desire to protect him at all costs.”

  “You have given me much to ponder. Let me speak with my companions. I am sure they will want to talk to you and hear the passion you have for protecting King Landis with their own ears. I am not sure you have convinced me you are the right man for commander yet, but you are a damn site better choice than Appleton.”

  “Thank you, Peary. Let me buy you an ale and I’ll let you tell me a few war stories.”

  “Best offer I have had all night.”

  Keyland and Tearance drank with Peary the rest of the evening. They didn’t talk politics anymore, but Keyland felt like it was time well spent just the same. The next few nights Keyland with the help of Tearance worked his base and the anti-Pearl faction. He felt like he had convinced the anti-pearl group to support him. Most of the northern knights had declared their support for Keyland, though some were going to support Sebon out of loyalty. Tearance had picked out some southern knights who were not friendly with Appleton and Keyland talked to them and had stolen some southern support.

  Election day came and Sebon presided over the proceedings. He had the look of someone that knew they had lost, but he acted professionally and oversaw the election with dignity. The election process was that all the knights assembled, then a first vote was taken b
y the knights writing their vote on a small slip of parchment. Fifty votes were needed to win the election. The first round Keyland finished on top with 42 votes. Appleton had 30 votes and Sebon had 8. From the second round on the knights could only vote for the top two candidates. In the second round the votes were Keyland 47 votes and Appleton 33 votes. In the third round one vote switched to Keyland, and in the fourth round another vote switched to Keyland so that he was only one vote shy of 50. The count stayed the same for three more rounds, then finally in the eighth round, two more votes switched to Keyland, and Sir Keyland Vaux, Duke of Barristan, was elected Commander of the Knights of the Scepter.

  Chapter 17: Sidean’s Wrath

  August 24, 850 A.A.

  Winn woke up to the ocean waves rocking him back and forth. He sighed as he found himself still tied up. His supposed his “friends” had left him tied up since the fight with Samir. He also found that Sarah was asleep with her head on his shoulder. This also had been a regular occurrence since they started the journey to Xi En. She had tried to talk to him every night. At first, he shut her out and refused to acknowledge her, but that resulted in her throwing a huge temper tantrum and her launching a barrage of barely intelligible pleas and pledges of affections that drove Winn crazy. On the third night he started conversing with her, which was mostly him telling her what a sorry human being he thought she was, and her defending herself vigorously. She was so determined to counter his every statement and so vigorous in telling him that he did not remember events the way they really happened Winn eventually quit arguing with her and just pretended to listen to what she was saying. She did say that she loved him with all her heart. He wished that were true, but she had done so much to hurt him, in his mind, that he might eventually forgive her, but he would never trust her again. He had to admit it did feel nice to have her sleeping on his shoulder every night, but that was until he remembered the cheating, the denouncing, and the fact that she murdered his child so as not to have his baby. She denied this fervently of course, but he knew what he saw, what he read in the newssheets, and what she did. He gave up on confronting her, he would just have to bide his time until he could get away from her. He didn’t hate her like he did just days before, but she still repulsed him. She hurt him and betrayed him more than any other person. He remembered what it felt like to love her, but that feeling was lost forever. He saw no way to reconcile with her in a meaningful way. It was hard enough to tolerate her presence.

  She began to stir but wasn’t awake yet. It was cute how she would shift around and rub his rope covered chest as she hovered between being asleep and awake. Sometimes she would mumble something undecipherable and other times she would make a high-pitched snorting sound. Winn took pleasure in those moments even though he told himself he shouldn’t. Perhaps if she was asleep all the time, he could grow to love her again. Eventually her eyes fluttered open and she squeezed him tightly before she sat up.

  “Did you sleep well?” Sarah asked.

  “As well as can be expected in my current state, trussed up like a pheasant,” Winn said. “Most of my body is numb. Could you please talk to the rest of my captors about unbinding me?”

  “Winn, I wish we could let you loose, but we can’t. You are too unstable. Your bonds are for your own safety.”

  “My safety? I just defeated a god. No one should be worried about my safety.”

  “OK, then it is the safety of everyone else that is the real concern.”

  “What if I promise not to harm anyone?”

  “Winn, your mental state is so altered it is not safe to trust your word.”

  “My mental state? My mental state is fine. It is you people that have a warped mental state. Every one of you has betrayed me, except for Jaunty. Why shouldn’t I want to exact revenge? I tell you that if I give my word not to harm anyone in the party, I will not do it.”

  “I want to believe you, and so does everyone else, but when you spew hatred and false accusations at everyone it erodes your credibility.”

  “Damn it, nothing I have said has been false. You all are the ones that have been false.”

  “I know you believe that, but don’t you remember the dark wizards that had you under their control? Don’t you remember your perspective changing? The dark wizards corrupted your mind. That is why we are going to Xi En. We are taking you to someone who can fix the damage that has been done to your mind and restore you to the true reality.”

  “It is a waste of time. If I see this person, will you let me go then, no matter what happens?”

  “I am not sure.”

  “What the hell are you going to do with me if this person doesn’t change me? Let me rot in prison for the rest of my life?”

  “No Winn. If this doesn’t work, we will find something that will.”

  “Sarah, my reality is what I believe. No one is going to change that.”

  “What do you believe Winn? I mean, I know you believe you don’t love me, and you don’t know how much that hurts. I know that you have been altered by dark magic, but it still hurts.”

  “How can I love you after what you have done to me? I could never forgive you. It would be better if you left me alone from now on. Let me go, Sarah. I have nothing for you.”

  Sarah teared up. “I will never let you go, Winn Vaux. We are married and a divorce will never be granted to you as long as I am a princess of the realm. You are stuck with me. Deal with it.”

  With that she stood up and stormed out of the hold. A few minutes later, Jaunty came down the ladder.

  “You pissed her off again, didn’t you?” Jaunty asked. “Could you try to make her happy just once? She is your wife you know.”

  “My friend, she pisses me off with every utterance and you expect me to try to make her happy? It is impossible. She disregards everything I say.”

  “You disregard everything she says.”

  “Yes, there are two versions of what she has done to me over the past two years and only one is the truth, mine. It is pointless to even discuss it. She should let me go. I have let her go.”

  “No, you haven’t, you are just so deluded that you don’t know a good thing when you see it. You don’t know love when you see it. You don’t know a friend when you see one.”

  “How can I know what doesn’t exist? Love means nothing to me, I don’t know what it is, for I have not felt it. Just pain, misery, and death. That is what I know.”

  “What about me? I am your friend. I, well, I love you like my brother.”

  “Jaunty, I don’t feel that way. You are a good man, the only one I know. I don’t really trust you, but I don’t think you are out to kill me. Though if you turned out to be my enemy you won’t catch me off guard. I watch you, I weigh your actions, your words, and calculate what your intentions are constantly. You more than any other, because you are supposed to be my friend, and who can hurt you more than your friends? I have found out the hard way that the answer is no one.”

  “Winn godsdammit! I am your friend and I have never hurt you! Sarah has never hurt you. Svae, Alana, Vant and the boys have ever been your loyal followers and have risked their lives for you many times over. All because they love you, they believe in you, and they want to make you happy. If anyone is a betrayer on this ship it is you. You have cast aside your wife and your friends. You accuse them all of atrocities and acts of disloyalty unjustly. The only reason we all have not abandoned you is we know it is not your fault, but it doesn’t make you easier to live with.”

  “Jaunty, if you experienced what I have, not knowing which memories are real, twisted, or outright lies, then you would understand. I don’t believe in any of you because I have many more terrible memories than good ones. I can’t afford to trust. I can’t let myself be vulnerable. You have me in bonds and secured in the ship’s hold like an animal. How could I trust people who treat me in this way?”

  “Winn you are the most dangerous person in the world, and you aren’t exactly stable right now. This is for your
safety and to keep you from doing something you regret.”

  “My safety? Ha! I could kill everyone on this ship with no problem. My safety is not at issue. I beat a god, Jaunty. What do I have to fear from humans?”

  “Winn, changing the subject, have you noticed that the ship doesn’t seem to be moving?”

  “We haven’t moved since you have been down here. She has either furled all the sales or we are becalmed.”

  “I am going up to check. I’ll come back down to bring you lunch and something to drink.”

  “That is the least you could do. How about loosening these ropes? My arms and legs are numb.”

  “Fat chance,” Jaunty said as he made his way up the ladder onto the main deck. He went across the deck where the sailors were standing around doing nothing. He climbed up to the ship’s wheel on the quarterdeck where he found Bevy pacing and cursing with abandon.

  “Fuck a godsdammed pig in its bung hole for the Almighty’s sake!” Bevy yelled. “We are fucked and double fucked in every godsdammed hole we got! Sidean you are a fucking arsehole. May you eat shit and die with your balls in your mouth and your prick up your arse!”

  Jaunty interrupted her. “Bevy what in the world is wrong?”

  “What isn’t fucking wrong? I’ll tell you land hugger, what is obvious to any godsdammed sailor worth his or her salt. We are becalmed, meaning there is no wind. That is the first damned problem, but that isn’t all, oh no. Just because the wind isn’t blowing down here doesn’t mean the wind isn’t blowing up in the sky. It is, and hard. How does that happen? Sidean, the god of the sea, makes that happen. Especially when he wants you to be a sitting duck for a godsdammed storm that is coming right at us! See that dark spot in the sky at about 40 degrees off the starboard side?”