Castle & Conceit

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “This castle still dominates this land and more of its people have yet to pay me tribute. When I am satisfied, only then shall we move on to our next conquest,” Octavian said.

  One of the other advisors then turned and gave orders to both Captain Dominic – who was still present as a leader of the guard – and to Captain Serafina, saying “Take one half (1/2) of all of your troops and divide those into twelve (12) companies, and move eastward and southward from here. Map every town and city along the way.”

  Judith watched the troops being dispatched, and then followed the seventh (7th) company – which went southward – so as to record the events along the way, and to study the towns and cities that were visited. She expected that some of those places may soon be destroyed when Octavian let his anger rage again.

  Judith thought that their local cultures could be preserved in writing and at least the knowledge of their former existence would live on. She also did not want to spend too much time in the presence of Octavian, because his ferocity sickened her. He was handsome, even by objective standards, but that meant nothing to her. The evil of his actions was more than sufficiently repulsive to offset any physical attractiveness many times over.

  The troops of several companies – including the seventh (7th) – traveled partway on foot and partway on riverboats that had been commandeered, granting them quicker and easier access to many of the towns, villages and cities throughout that region of Meridianus. Although the rivers meandered, these vessels still made for a less demanding journey, leaving the troops refreshed. Like many riverboats, they had sails, and in the sailcloth were embedded specially cut diamonds that absorbed the energy of the suns, releasing that energy to propel them for travel. In this way, they were much like the ships used to make ocean voyages. However, the riverboats never went above sea level.

  CHAPTER 10: Gift of Song

  In a northern harbor town of the continent of Meridianus, a thirty-nine (39) year old woman named Caroline walked through a water market. She found vendors selling various quantities and purities of waters from all twelve (12) of the oceans. They also sold waters from the Dead Waters Ocean, and these had various purities, but at much lower prices. Caroline looked over the jugs of water that were on the sellers’ tables and found ones marked with the classical symbols of music.

  “You want Pirovalen waters?” a merchant – who was a much older man of fifty-four (54) – said to her. He looked at Caroline as hopefully more than a customer.

  “Yes. What’s the highest purity you have?” Caroline asked.

  “That depends,” the merchant said, leering at her, and suggesting something with his tone of voice.

  “No it doesn’t depend. What’s the highest purity you have? I’ll pay the market price,” Caroline said. She had seen this man – and others like him – before. There was no interest on her part, and she wasn’t going to give them anything personal, with or without a discount on the price of the waters. She remembered her husband – Trent – and how he had been the only man she ever loved, or could love. That the cancer took him away five (5) years ago left her devastated, but the passage of time did nothing to make her believe that another man – no matter how kind or intelligent – could replace him. She had already rejected a number of worthwhile men, and had no intention of befriending a sleazy merchant.

  “If you want a jug – four (4) gallons – that will be…five (5) platinum coins. Unless you want a discount,” the merchant said.

  “No. I like paying five (5) coins…and keeping to myself,” Caroline said as she handed over five (5) coins and took the jug.

  The merchant took the coins in one hand and Caroline’s left arm in the other.

  “Let me go now! You have no idea what you’re doing!” Caroline shouted, trying to pull her arm away.

  Several younger, stronger men were nearby and heard the shouting. They looked over at the merchant, and the looks in their eyes threatened him, so he let go of her arm and didn’t pursue her.

  Caroline began walking away, into the town where she lived.

  As she left, the merchant said: “if you were good to me, you could have had twice as much.”

  “I was married to a good man before. You’ll never amount to half as much,” Caroline said, and she then turned away and headed home.

  ~~~

  When Caroline arrived home, she met with her seventeen (17) year old daughter named Taesa, who was reading books. Shelves filled with books were on every wall of the small house, and many of the hundreds of volumes had bookmarks visibly protruding from them.

  “Taesa, I have your song waters,” Caroline said.

  “Thanks!” Taesa said.

  “I just got them. Your work paid for them. You take care of us,” Caroline said. She put her arms around Taesa and hugged her and then began to cry.

  “Mom! What is it?” Taesa asked.

  “He’s the only one I’ll ever love,” Caroline said.

  “I miss dad, too,” Taesa said, hugging her mother.

  “No other man can have me,” Caroline said.

  “Did they bother you again? Don’t go there anymore. We’ll buy the water somewhere else!” Taesa said.

  “It’s alright. There’s always other men around – good men. Nothing happens,” Caroline said.

  “It’s not right. It hurts you – don’t say nothing happens,” Taesa said.

  “Men – and boys – sometimes say things. Not all of them, and not all the time. Find a good boy, and you’ll be happy. They are out there. You just have to keep looking,” Caroline said.

  “I want answers, not boyfriends,” Taesa said.

  “I know. You read all the time – like your father. You should take time for relationships,” Caroline said.

  “Life doesn’t last forever, mom. I don’t drink the Ursegan waters and live a thousand years. So there’s just not enough time to find out everything I want to learn. If I spend any of it with a boyfriend, I won’t learn much at all,” Taesa said.

  “Relationships with people matter, not just books, Taesa,” Caroline said.

  “I can find people through books – people who have the same interests, and who can teach me,” Taesa said.

  “But will you love them? Or just love their knowledge?” Caroline asked.

  “A person without knowledge isn’t someone I want to love. It’s like they’re empty, and don’t want to do something with their lives and grow into someone better,” Taesa said.

  “Your father loved me for me, and I loved him for him. He was a very smart man, and knew a lot, but even if he wasn’t, I would have loved him the same,” Caroline said.

  “You didn’t care that he was smart and read a lot?” Taesa asked.

  “It didn’t impress me the way it impresses you. And he didn’t care that I wasn’t a scholar like him. I helped him around the house. I carried you and helped raise you. No book can replace that,” Caroline said.

  “We all want different things out of life. I want knowledge, and I only have thirty (30) hours in a day to get it. How many days do I get?” Taesa asked.

  “In a few years, I hope you see things differently. You’re still young, but you’ll regret it if you don’t learn to love. The pages of a book don’t love you back, or give you children you can raise,” Caroline said.

  “Maybe. One day. But it’s time for me to go. I have to sing today, remember,” Taesa said.

  “First, take your water,” Caroline said.

  Taesa took three (3) empty vials – each marked with the classical symbols denoting song – and filled them from the jug. She drank one of these vials – filled with the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean – and was energized. She then refilled the vial from the jug to have a spare. She placed the three (3) filled vials on the chain she wore around her neck.

  “I’m ready,” Taesa said.

  “To sing that religious song?” Caroline asked.

  “It’s not religious. It’s just for the suns,” Taesa said.

  “To w
orship the suns…like they’re gods or something. Please tell me you don’t believe that,” Caroline said.

  “I don’t know what I believe. That’s why I look for answers,” Taesa said.

  “If there is any kind of god, or gods, they can’t be good. No good god would let your father die like that,” Caroline said.

  “We don’t know why he died. Cancer happens to a lot of people. Some can be cured, but some can’t,” Taesa said.

  “The Trerada water could have saved him,” Caroline said.

  “I know. But he made a different choice, mom. The Medathero waters helped him to understand so many things. That’s why he was good at math,” Taesa said.

  “They didn’t help him to figure out the cure,” Caroline said.

  “No water has all the powers, and you can only have one,” Taesa said.

  “The waters are dangerous, Taesa. That’s why I don’t drink any of them,” Caroline said.

  “You do drink, mom. You drink the Dead Waters. You know why they’re called that, right?” Taesa asked.

  “They’re no worse than the others,” Caroline said.

  “They don’t do anything for you, except quench your thirst. They don’t give any power. There’s no life in them,” Taesa said.

  “There’s life in me. And while still there is, I’m coming with you,” Caroline said.

  “I’m ready now,” Taesa said.

  Taesa and Caroline left their small home and walked through town, heading out to an area near the northern coast, but away from the market where Caroline had earlier purchased the waters. They walked to the center of an area circumscribed by thirty (30) stone pillars – each twenty-one (21) feet tall – that comprised the town’s sundial. The pillars were one fifty-four (54) feet apart, and the circle was nearly two hundred ten (210) feet across.

  When they arrived, they met with a group of seventy (70) men and women, each dressed in colored robes. Nine (9) of the people were dressed in blue, twenty-four (24) of the people were dressed in yellow and thirty-seven (37) of them were dressed in red. They wore elaborate headdresses matching their robes.

  “So our exalta has finally arrived – to give exaltations to the suns by her voice. Are you ready, young woman?” a woman dressed in blue robes and headdress asked.

  “I am ready,” Taesa said.

  The woman handed Taesa one (1) platinum coin and one (1) gold coin and said: “When the song is complete, I will pay you the other half.”

  Taesa was earlier energized by drinking the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean, but she drank anew, taking the waters from one of her vials on the chain around her neck, becoming energized further.

  “This is the time of the Aqua Aurora. The dance of lights from the many suns meet the mists of the waters in the air, showing the suns in all their glory to our mortal eyes. Do you know what this means?” the woman in the blue robes and headdress said.

  “It means that the Sky’s Nine (9) Kings look down with favor upon us,” Taesa said, having learned the story of the song and the sun worship custom from her readings of the many books her father kept. To Taesa, it was all an artistic show performed for money, and she believed none of it.

  To Caroline, the song and the story around it were all an abomination, because they suggested the existence of a god or gods.

  “Yes. And we shall kneel and thank the true gods who light the world,” the woman in the blue robes and headdress said. She and the others dressed in robes and headdresses then knelt in a circle.

  “Drink of our waters,” a man in blue robes and matching headdress said.

  All of the seventy (70) people in colored robes then drank of the waters contained in their vials. Each of them was energized with the waters of the Atrejan Oceans and they could hear the sound of the stars above, including their movements and positions.

  “They are alive! Burning and alive!” one of the women in red robes and matching headdress shouted from a state of euphoria.

  “They move above us!” one of the men in yellow robes and matching headdress said.

  “Let the exaltation begin,” a man in blue robes and matching headdress said.

  Taesa began to sang to the best of her ability, in joyous exaltation. It was a rendition of the classic known as Praise Every Sun Upon the Sea. The waters of the Pirovalen Ocean flowed within Taesa, and multiplied the power of her voice many times over, filling the song with rich melodies such that she did not need musical instruments. The song came forth beautifully, and even Caroline was impressed:

  Illuminate me. Elevate me.

  Set ablaze my spirit.

  This I ask the seventy.

  All around us, ever burning.

  For your fire, we’re always yearning.

  Many reds suns, cool and calm.

  Yellow suns, they’re warmer still.

  Hot blue suns, the sky’s 9 Kings.

  Owe my soul to these,

  I forever will.

  Night defeated.

  Day reigns eternal.

  The Kings are seated.

  On thrones infernal.

  Praise Every Sun. Exalt its fires.

  Shining upon the Seas. None ever tires.

  Crossing lands and seas,

  Ruling tide and time.

  Supreme the many suns are.

  To them souls shall climb.

  In the sky above, the red and blue suns shone down upon them, moving slowly or swiftly according to their established orbits. Among the yellow suns, which moved erratically, one moved more so…deviating from its already irregular orbit by a great deal. The light of the suns danced in the mists of the waters from the nearby Trerada Ocean creating an aurora-like image that was impressive, and Caroline and Taesa both admired its beauty.

  “Such a voice! Even the sky is changing!” one of the women in yellow robes and matching headdress said.

  “Yes, my daughter’s voice is beautiful. But this is all nonsense!” Caroline said.

  ~~~

  One of Imperial Prince Octavian’s lower-ranking advisors – a fifty-six (56) year old man name Marcus, herald of the seventh (7th) company – arrived ahead of the troops and entered the town in time to hear Taesa’s musical exaltation. He knew immediately that she herself would be the true tribute, in addition to any gems. Fear was instilled in all the residents by the sight of the troops that arrived soon after, and who were heavily armed and numerous. Some of the residents made haste to warn other towns and many more retreated into their homes. Some, however, proceeded with courage toward Marcus, who stood out in front of the company, who were positioned at the edge of the town, near the stone pillars that comprised the town’s sundial.

  Marcus then issued the summons, saying: “His Imperial Majesty, Prince Octavian, is now ruler of this land. He demands tribute in treasure: your finest crystals and gems.”

  Andrew – a fifty-two (52) year old diamond miner with a strong frame -- spoke up and said: “To your Imperial Prince, we will bring our finest cut diamonds, but only if this is the price of peace.” Andrew then gestured to two stout youths, signaling to them to retrieve chests and to fill them with diamonds, which they did.

  “His Imperial Majesty will be pleased to receive this tribute of diamonds, but he will be truly, greatly delighted to hear the tribute of her voice,” Marcus said, gesturing toward Taesa, who stood in the center of the sundial’s stone pillars.

  “She shall serve in his majesty’s court,” Marcus continued.

  Caroline, Taesa’s mother, heard this and gasped. The look upon her face – and the emotion searing across her heart – was dread terror.

  Andrew spoke up. “We are wealthy, if you measure wealth in diamonds. Of these we will give you freely. Why do you want to summon a person? I know of her and her mother. The girl is clearly not yet of age to speak for herself or be summoned.”

  Caroline approached Marcus, bitterly sobbing. “Please, no. Please. She’s so young. Please. Please. Don’t take her from me. Not today,” she said through tears.
/>   “You must be her mother,” Marcus concluded.

  “Yes, yes,” Caroline answered, still sobbing.

  “What is the girl’s name?” Marcus asked.

  “She is Taesa. I am Caroline,” Caroline said.

  “And what of her father?” Marcus asked.

  “He died five (5) years ago. She’s all that I have,” Caroline said.

  Marcus considered the nature of the gift of song. If the girl was distressed due to the separation from her mother, or saw that her mother was distressed, then her mind and heart would wander. Thus, her powers would weaken and the sound of her voice would fail to please the Imperial Prince. Marcus also looked at the girl’s neck, and saw a small chain with a vial, carrying the classical markings of the water of music, signifying that she drank the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean, which gave her more than a natural musical ability.

  “Then you shall come with her,” Marcus ordered. “You may stay with your daughter until she is of the age of independence.”

  Caroline’s heart then began to gradually calm, as the specter of losing her daughter was now at least delayed for some time. She was angry at the summons, but at least they would remain together.

  Judith had arrived at the same time as Marcus, arriving just ahead of the troops of the 7th company with which she traveled. She had recorded the song of exaltation, and the exchanges among Caroline, Andrew and Marcus. Judith also sketched some of the images of the Aqua Aurora the best that she could, considering its rapidly changing nature. A careful mathematical model would have best described it, but her rough drawings served the immediate purpose.

  The Fifth Tenet of The Chronicler’s Oath:

  Recording of events must come first and foremost, before the understanding. If there is a model or logical principle that connects them, then the records may be used, later, to discover it and to fit it to the facts. This is the proper way to chronicle, rather than discovering facts to fit to a presupposed model or logical principle.

  Andrew and the two boys, Brian and Michael, carried the chests of diamonds for tribute. These three, along with Caroline and Taesa, were led out of the town by Marcus and the troops, and made their way back to Octavian’s castle of ice.