The old stories speak of eagles and dogs and wolves and snakes. We have them too, but they are non-threatening when compared to their feral counterparts. Not to say a snake bite couldn’t kill, mind you. However, the mere cry of a tigroar can deafen a man. Lupinoes have the cunning of the greatest philosophers and hunters. Eaglons have poisonous talons that kill upon contact. These are not natural creatures and they did not exist if you look back into the histories. No, they all came about around the same generation and I would bet my laboratory that some mages were experimenting with a shard of jade and they knew nothing about it. Today, we know there is a beast jade, and I am certain that those mages caused the shard to alter the very nature of some of our creatures. Now they are an added threat to our safety and they, too, help to maintain the stalemate between Kallisor and Hathreneir.
I would continue here, but it would take me from the point I am striving for. The jades are inherently connected to our land. We must proceed carefully when exploring their abilities, for the results can be catastrophic. I would like the opportunity to work with other pieces than the three I currently have. I think it may be time to step from my books for a while and seek out these historical treasures—or terrors, I’m not sure. But to anyone reading this, the message is clear; do not use the jades rashly, for the consequences will be dire and long-lasting. Educate yourself first and then explore with caution.
The volume ended there and Randler slowly closed the cover. “I almost want to focus on his interpretations of the histories rather than read the histories myself.”
Dariak beamed with the compliment. “The funny thing is, my father would snap at you for that, saying he isn’t infallible and that you can’t even trust his work. He always wanted people to think for themselves. But from my point of view, thanks. That means a lot.”
Chapter 22
To Protect the Child
Sleeping in the Undying Stone was challenging for Gabrion, and not for lack of comfort. His room was furnished with soft, padded bedding, luxurious pillows and any number of blankets of various style. He could choose to sleep as if in a cloud or upon the cold stone floor, assuming he rolled that plush carpet aside.
His insomnia came, instead, from his concern over Perrios. The baby had endured the journey and had held his own, but he had barely eaten anything all day and he slept fitfully. Alosia repeatedly knocked on Gabrion’s door when the baby cried, offering to help but not offering any suggestions. Gabrion was resolute that she would not touch him until she widened her narrow mind.
Their arrival to the keep was at a rather inopportune time for the earl, who was currently dealing with a number of local issues and bounced from one task to another. Earl Thedris introduced himself briefly, asked if they needed anything, but scooted away before he really listened. Instead, one of the pages took their requests and tended to their needs.
“I do apologize.” Brallok bowed. “There was a bout of rain a few days ago that overflowed the lake up north and the water spilling all over the land was disastrous. The earl is striving to balance compensation to all of his substituents, while also appropriating supplies from one zone to another.”
“We’re here from the king himself,” Gabrion said. “Surely that has some priority.”
“Indeed it does,” Brallok agreed, “which is why you are here and not at the tavern. Listen, I do realize that this is a terrible inconvenience for you, but there is nothing I can do right now other than see to your needs.”
Gabrion’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “It doesn’t feel right.”
“Nonetheless…”
“Fine then. I will deal with you instead of the earl. I suppose it doesn’t matter either way. I have brought young Perrios here to be with his grandparents. I would like to see them.”
Brallok nodded and wrung his hands nervously. “They have a hamlet on the western edge of the lake and currently their home is flooded. It is why your request was not met when you arrived yesterday. The earl moved up their meeting to discuss their losses and needs so that they would be able to meet with you later today without having that on their minds. I do hope that is satisfactory.”
“Take me to their hamlet and I will see them there.”
“I can’t.” Brallok said. “Only work crews are permitted in that area at the moment.”
“Then I will work. Give me tools and I will assist.”
Brallok looked pointedly at the baby, who was waggling around in his crib. “Should I summon Lady Alosia to tend to the child then?”
Frustration lit Gabrion’s face a deep red. “You seem determined to thwart my efforts at every turn.”
“I regret that you see it that way. If you could just keep calm for a few hours, then I will come for you when everyone is ready.” With that, he bowed and left.
There wasn’t anything else Gabrion could do without violating the restrictions that had been placed upon them as visitors. He was allowed to stroll the front sections of the fort, including the rock garden he had no interest in seeing, and that was roughly it. Instead, he took some time to limber up and work through a series of exercises to help hone and sharpen his muscles.
Complications with bartering delayed the meeting for two days. Gabrion seriously considered breaking the restrictions and seeking out Mira’s parents now, but he remembered his purpose and forced himself to stay in control. Rampaging through the keep would jeopardize his stance as Perrios’ protector and as the bringer of a new peace between the kingdoms. He realized belatedly that he was probably being tested for just that.
He spoke occasionally to Alosia, trying to sway her to his way of thinking, but he always regretted it. She seemed as immutable as the ubiquitous stone in which he was dwelling.
To while away the hours, Gabrion talked to Perrios. It pained him to speak of the child’s mother, but he felt he owed it to both of them, so he spoke of Mira as a child and of the great times they had had running through Savvron, playing together and with their friends. He also spoke of the times when Mira stayed with him as her parents ventured into Hathreneir to visit the grave of Mira’s brother.
He wondered now at the truth of Kyrell’s death. He had been told that Kyrell and a few friends had snuck into Hathreneir on a dare and that Kyrell had been caught and slain. Now he wasn’t so sure. Perhaps it was possible that Kyrell was called away on assignment and was no longer allowed into Kallisor, and Mira hadn’t been allowed to visit with her parents because she might have told someone of their true task.
Shivers ran down Gabrion’s spine, for he hated considering that Mira and her family were spies for the Hathrens. The king had basically suggested such, and considering where Mira had found herself—namely, wed to the king—even Gabrion couldn’t deny it.
He dwelled on the unfairness of it all. He had loved Mira with all his heart and had quite literally travelled across the lands just to find her. Now he tended to her son, and the child should have been his, not the enemy king’s. Gabrion shook his head. He had to stop thinking of Prethos as the enemy if Dariak’s quest was to succeed. Yet it was hard thinking that Mira’s family had lived in Savvron all those years as spies for Hathreneir. He wondered when Mira had been told about their allegiance and how she had taken the news.
Mira had always been full of light, however, and even if she had shown signs of sorrow or conflict, Gabrion knew that he wouldn’t have even noticed. No, he was too intent on protecting her and making her laugh to ever consider that she was not on his side.
“But she had a wondrous laugh,” Gabrion crooned to the young child. “The birds would sing along with her and the sun overcame any clouds in the sky. You have her magic within you, little Perrios, and I know you’re a beacon of light for the future of us all. You’ll find a way of bringing us all together in ways that no one else could. Because you’re like your mother and people will love you just for being who you are.”
The swaddled baby wriggled around and made a few cooing noises as he listened to the tone of Gabrion’s voi
ce. “Yes, little one, soak in all the knowledge you can and don’t be blinded by the people around you. Some will tell you that Kallisorians like me are evil. I’m not. Though,” his voice quieted for a moment, “I’ve done some horrific things.
“But you will be better than that. You will rise up above us all and you will be the one factor that no one ever counted on. You will live in a world where war is history and progress is the future. We don’t have to fight each other to make progress in the world, regardless of what your father and king says. War is only one means to progress. But it isn’t the only way.”
He lifted the child from his crib and paced around his sunlit room, rambling on. “Mira and I used to talk about all the things that don’t exist but should someday. They sound silly now, but what if? And I don’t mean with magic and stuff, but with… I don’t know what to call it. Take a wagon for example. It needs a beast of burden to pull it, but that taxes the poor creature and some task masters don’t know when to let their beasts rest. What if there was a way for the wagon to move on its own?
“We tried to make one, you know, your mother and I. It was a small thing and we used water inside some little casks. No, we didn’t fill them up all the way, just less than halfway actually. Mira sat on top of the plank and used a branch we found to steer it—well, that was the plan anyway. See, the cart only worked going downhill. I had to rock it back and forth to get the water moving in a rhythm, and then it took over and rolled away down the hill. The stick did little to help control where it was going, and Mira ended up falling off.
“Now don’t be upset, she wasn’t hurt much at all. We were kids, anyway, and at that age, sometimes getting hurt just makes a thing more interesting. We really felt like we were onto something. I’m a little older now, so I understand that the cart would have gone down the hill even without the water in the wheels, but that’s not really the point, is it?”
He wiped Perrios’ chin. “We just wanted to make something new, something that wasn’t going to hurt anyone. It would help people, if it had worked. And that’s why we have to stop the wars. We can put our heads together and come up with ways of dealing with the feral creatures all across the land or figuring out better ways to grow crops, to make better houses, and so on.
“And if I’m going to go there, then I have to jump in with both feet, don’t I? We have to give the mages some freedom. Let them use their skills to help us all. But I’m Kallisorian and that’s a tough thing to accept. Of course, the truth is that I’ve already benefited from the magic of others. I never would have escaped Kallisor without Dariak’s protection spells, and wouldn’t have recovered from Heria’s tortures without healing magic.”
He sat on the edge of his bed, cradling Perrios in his arms. “But magic can be bad, too, so we have to find a way of keeping things in balance. How do we let the mages use their powers without letting them take over the land? But I have to admit, little one, that the mages here in Hathreneir don’t quite have the run of things, do they? I wonder why that is.”
Gabrion’s door creaked open and Alosia stepped inside, an odd look on her face. “You left it open,” she gestured needlessly. “I was listening. You’re an odd one, thinking all these things.”
Rather than argue with her at her intrusion and for eavesdropping, he implored, “Tell me why the mages don’t run things here, Alosia. They have the means, don’t they? Why aren’t they the leaders?”
She looked at him, confused. “I never asked.”
He rolled his eyes. “You really just take the world as it is presented, don’t you? You never think about anything other than where you’re going to eat or sleep.”
She nodded her chin toward Perrios. “That’s not entirely true. But your speculations are ridiculous.”
“I don’t think so. The mages have the ability to do whatever they like with their minds and the energies in the world. In Kallisor, mages are often put to death for using their skills, so they hide and work their magic in secret. Yet here, they have places they can work freely and yet they haven’t risen up against the king. You’ve never thought about why?”
“There has never been a reason to,” she admitted. “I suppose you have an idea, though?”
“It could be a few things,” Gabrion said. “There may be some force working against the mages that only they know about, or some secret agreement with the king. But I don’t think that’s it.”
Alosia laughed, “Maybe they’re just happy tucked away in their towers and keep to themselves.”
“Well, yes, actually.”
Alosia’s face curled incredulously. “I was being facetious.”
“Think about it, though. Most people stay where they are because they’re happy to be there or they can’t move for one reason or another. Feral creatures have habitats through the lands and they rarely venture outside of them because they have all they need, plus it is dangerous for them to venture out. Perhaps it’s the same for the mages. Maybe they really are content to work with the energies and don’t need to conquer everything in order to make a point.”
“I can’t listen to any more of this drivel.”
“Why not? Is it bothering you? Does it make an eerie sort of sense?”
“No,” she sneered. “I’m just looking to get out of here before you turn this ‘revelation’ into another lesson about how our kingdoms have to come together as one and stop fighting.”
“Come on,” he said sourly, “how could I even make such a claim after that?”
She didn’t realize he had baited her. “By saying that if we remove the two power centers and let people get on with their daily lives, they would find a sort of inner happiness, like the mages and the monsters. Then they too could be chipper people and get through the day without the fighting on the horizon. They would focus on other things and have families and—” She heard what she was saying and then she coughed and glared at Gabrion. “I hate you.” With that, she stormed out.
Gabrion bounced Perrios gently on his knee. “Maybe that was progress after all.”
Chapter 23
The Castle in Disarray
Nearly twenty days had passed since Verna and Ruhk were left in the Hathren castle to mind the king and the new regime. In that time, a few groups of fighters had arrived from the east, sent by Kitalla and Carrus after whatever magic she worked on them to subdue them, and each of the meetings with the king had been the same. First there was distrust at the new order, then came outrage when they were assigned lodgings with mixed company of both kingdoms. A few fights broke out here and there, and after a brief adjustment period, usually a day or so, they were put to work.
King Prethos kept himself to the background when he could, but Verna and Ruhk made frequent demands of his time to show his support of the peace they were trying to instill upon the people. Dutifully, he donned his ceremonial robes and spoke with authority, always sounding as if these changes had all been of his making. His sour attitude behind closed doors, however, belied his acceptance.
Verna kept a watchful eye on Ieran, who always seemed to be around at the mention of trouble among the people. He seemed almost eager to know which citizens would rise up against the new regime and more than once she had spotted the chancellor seeking out such malcontents after their complaints had been lodged.
Verna had cozied up to one of the disgruntled peasants before he was taken under Ieran’s wing, and so Verna knew who was involved in the unknown future uprising. She decided it was time to give Ieran something else to do that would keep him a bit more occupied.
The whining chancellor arrived at her call and he bowed his gray head low. “You needed me, Chancellor Verna?”
“Indeed, Ieran, I do. I am afraid that the last two shipments of food are poisoned. We can’t eat the food and we certainly can’t serve it to His Majesty. I need you to gather a fresh batch of vegetables and meats before the day is out or it’s going be a rather long night.”
His face wilted. “Surely this is something your
men can tend to?”
“No, it isn’t,” she looked honestly regretful. “When Mzark arrived a few days ago, it was hard enough turning him around to the new way of things. Now that Lurrish of Kallisor is here with his men, it’s even worse. I’ve got every man loyal to us on point, ready for brawls at any moment.”
“So your little scheme isn’t working then?” He rubbed his hands together absently.
“Oh, it is. The new troops are still working to clear the stone away from the front of the castle so we can rebuild it properly, and they’re surely tired for all their effort. Yet silly men sometimes try to rise up against the truth anyway.”
Ieran’s lip twitched despite himself. “Then Ruhk?”
“His people are spread thin through the town, getting the people to work together. You know that. Sorry, Ieran, this task has to fall to you. Our numbers have increased, surely, but clearly I can only count on someone like you to ensure the food coming in is safe for consumption.”
“Eh,” he hedged. “There isn’t really any way I can… Well, you see, it’s…” But he couldn’t come up with a good excuse.
“It’ll take you a few hours at most, unless you really have some difficulties. But we’re all hungry at the end of the day, so it’d be best if you can return before then. Or,” she added with a slight grin, “you’re more than welcome to personally sample the poisoned foods to see which samples are safe for us to eat. I can even provide you with a bucket.”
With a snarl, “Very well, Verna. I will leave at once.”
There was, of course, nothing wrong with the food, but she needed him out of the castle so she could rifle through his ledgers and seek the largest groups of malcontents. She had to stamp out the insurgents before they really did band together.
The Forgotten Tribe Page 18