Sur Sceaf nodded, “Yes, I see that. I will be interested in seeing the map when it’s completed.”
Muryh glanced his way and said, “Sur Sceaf, here, you are the star mark of the Hunter and the three stars in your belt are Lana, Faechild, and Taneshewa showing that you are gird by the three tribes and of three bloods. The remaining four stars of the Hunter are your other wives, Paloma, Milkchild, Swan Hilde, and Shining Moon. The Swan is of course Long Swan, the Northern Crown is Ilkchild, and the dragon is the monster shark-wyrm or Pitter Empire. Take your pick. Of course, you know the Twins. I’m not yet sure, but as you see, we are laying the foundation of a new world. All Forty-Four Constellations of the River of Stars will be named after the familiars of the Isle of Ilkchild. I even placed the Bull as Standing Bull whom, I believe, the Hunter will someday, in all likelihood, slay.”
The builder looked extremely pleased with himself reminding Sur Sceaf of a brilliant student seeking the praise of his master. He was more than pleased to bestow such praise. “Muryh, you never cease to astound me with your intelligence and creativity. I am honored to count you my friend and counselor, but I do have a concern that you have placed but few Sharaka or Quailor star marks on the star map.”
Muryh looked both surprised and chagrined. “May the gods forgive me, my lord. I’m sure glad I showed this to you before I had offended anyone. It seems I’m too Herewardi to even have considered we are now composed of three peoples.”
“Believe me, Muryh, you’re not the only one to make that error. The people of the three tribes have all been floating on our separate rivers for so long that it will take time to adjust to flowing as one. Part of my task is to encourage all people to re-order their thinking in order to behave as the Syr Folk, while still preserving their individual identities.”
“Of course you are right, I know in part and I prophesy in part,” Muryh said, “but my seership is not as whole as you and Redith possess, it is focused in geometry and building.”
“But your spirit is anchored on a firm foundation and fashioned in truth, which surely will cause us to prevail, my friend. We must make as much an effort to build up the Quailor and Sharaka communities as we do our own so that we may all feel part of the Commonwealth of Syr Folk.”
“I will take this opportunity, to redesign the star map to include our Quailor and Sharaka brethren.”
“Excellent plan, master builder.”
“I’m not trying to excuse my over sight, but in my defense I have drawn plans for a church at the request of Elijah, who approved them without change. Also Mendaka and I have been working on plans for a long lodge. And I showed him the elfabet I’ve been polishing up on. He’s working on one of his own. Let me show you what I’ve got so far.”
Muryh laid down his square, rolled the star map up and tied it with a leather strap and placed it in the bamboo tube. He pulled another tube out of his large canvas portfolio. Carefully, he unrolled a scroll of golden vellum. “Take a look at this. Sur Sceaf this is the Holy Futharkh of Forty-Four Characters which I believe I’ve improved by making it more beautiful and expressive. This should greatly improve their ability to accurately portray more sound. This will make the Sacred Elfabet of the Herewardi language flow like water, burn like fire, and taste like honey. Long Swan is bubbling over it and has been diligently assisting me.
“We Herewardi must learn to take great liberty in our writing and be very flexible by allowing for different spellings of the same name to emphasize spiritual or subliminal meanings that the uninitiated cannot perceive. Neither should we reveal it to anyone else in the world, except those who are duly and truly worthy, and come from a just and regularly constituted elf moot. But this is the Flame Hiroglif Elfhabet complete with the Sacred Shayn, Daleth, Ur, Elwas, Elif, Omega, and Omicron which compose the Royal Arch of Heaven.
* * *
Sur Spear sat in his study as his steward unrolled and delivered the pigeon messages from Wose out of Zamora. Eagerly Sur Sceaf read each one. The first said that Wose was in the camp of the Cha’Kal spying and that the Skull Worm was in the process of leaving the Taxus Lands and was well on his way to Copperopolis to join the Cha’Kal with sixteen legions and a host of Growling legions. The second message was even more alarming. Standing Bull has already left to meet with an assassin at Charly’s Harbor. My source is the Cha’Kal’s personal valet, an Apache child, son of our friend, Mesculera. The boy is not sure of the assassin’s name as it was spoken in a low whisper, but thought it sounded like Melynkurtz.
* * *
Long Swan’s Log: It is the thirteenth day of the Hunter’s Moonth which some call the Vintage Moonth, in the year 584 H.S.O. Building is flourishing everywhere in the northeastern quarter of the isle, with settlements, homes, and manors springing up on assigned allotments all around Godeselle and on both sides of Lake Redith. It has been required that people settle within their enclosed allotments, for the areas outside of them are still not safe from the wild and ravaging beasts.
This rule is due to an incident that came to pass shortly after the settlers arrived, in which a six-year-old Quailor boy wandered off into the bamboo groves to the west and was lost for a day, a night, and a day before being found alive by Coyote the Tracker. The child was terrified and hungry, but otherwise sound. However, it could have ended much differently. Thus it has been made a law that no one may explore without filing for a permit giving their anticipated destination and return time. Also the high lord has now begun the enclosure of the land with fences and walls in all earnestness. However, people are arriving faster than we can build, so many must live in tent cities or settlements not yet enclosed. The high lord Sur Sceaf has been forced to allow this.
It has been stipulated that all recently built homes be shut and shuttered every night. He also sends out patrols at nights and they report fewer and fewer sightings of the wyrm-kats and so far, to our great luck, no more grass beasts have been encountered. There have been no sightings of the great hairy man, but strange roars often come up from the deep woods at night.
The construction of Sur Sceaf’s estate is almost complete with his estate grounds finally being fully enclosed. Hickoryan carpenters and craftsmen, under the direction of Laird John Dee Lee have finished the construction of a great house which Surrey will call Neorxanawang after the Garden of the Elves. Thus the name carries the meaning that the shaper has achieved his aim in Midgard.
When finished, the rest of the estate will include seven large apartment houses, a commons area, a mensa, and the stockade, according to the plans drawn up by Sur Sceaf.
It had been expected that the apartment houses would be complete today, Wyn Day, the thirteenth, but the lack of tools and supplies has delayed the finish which is now anticipated to be on Fyribod Day, the marker of winter and bad weather, the Runic Half-Moonth of Hagel, the Hailstone.
Sur Sceaf has decreed under the Forty-Four Laws that an agricultural fundament is essential to every Herewardi manor and homestead. The livestock pens are always the first to be built as are the barns, corrals, and dovecotes.
While Sur Sceaf’s family lives in the barn of the aforesaid manor, he is compelled to live in his pfalz tent at Godeselle in order to administer the affairs of State, supervise the building of the palace and fortress, and organize the influx of settlers.
Chief High Priest Elijah von Hollar of the Quailor, busied himself with assigning the Quailor allotments. One of the first construction projects was the church designed by Muryh the master builder which is now already half-finished. Muryh assisted Elijah in laying out a community under their traditional blocks of twelve homes each in the Western Downs and has also laid out the foundations for barns and paddocks. The town meeting hall was placed at the center of the squares and a deep well is being dug. As the town begins to take familiar shape, the Quailor are showing much pleasure in their new homes.
Sur Sceaf has been so busy in Godeselle that he seldom gets home to his manor. I often oversee his estate with Arundel and Ael
fheah. The Wool Hall at Godeselle, with all its looms, was completed three days early. It is there that much of the wool, silk, cashmere, cotton, flax, and kenaf shall be woven into fabric for clothing and trade throughout the Commonwealth of the Seven Kingdoms.
The harvesting of silk is a secret maintained by the Herewardi. When the Rogue Nations inquire about its manufacture, we tell them in all seriousness it is made from the breath of fish and the beards of women. Thus we maintain our trade secret, because the silk like the whale oil will bring great trade to this isle. Nor will the Weavers Guild ever allow us to reveal that the silk is nothing more than worm wool.
In order to create a more efficient running community, Sur Sceaf has tried to discourage the duplication of efforts and industries. The communities are beginning to specialize according to their various talents and cultures. For example the Quailor are the main suppliers of cheese and butter from the partially completed dairy in the western downs. One of Elijah’s first priorities was to establish black smithies, forges, and cooperages in the Quailor Quarter, where we send much of our work to be done. The Hickoryans have an active market place in Godeselle and ply their craftsman well and have begun making well-tooled furniture for sale or barter and many ply their trade in the building industry.
The Sharaka supply fresh wild meats for the builders as well as for household use in an effort to preserve more livestock for breeding. And they have scouted progressively farther to the south and west. Additionally they have been providing tanning, leathers, belts, quivers, leather armor, and arrows for the Syr Folk. Because of the scrying Sur Sceaf did for him, Mendaka has held off on anything but a tent city for himself and most of his people, holding out the belief that his inheritance lies much farther to the south, as the stones have indicated.
Sur Sceaf scryed Mendaka’s home should be on the cliffs above a river on a long island, but so far neither Mendaka nor his scouts have found such an island and that was not from lack of searching as far as the Great Rock Escarpment, over which no man has yet passed.
Muryh has commissioned some of the Hickoryan craftsmen to build a large house for Chief Onamingo, who has been appointed by Sur Sceaf to become the chief judge over the land. He currently is staying with his people in Witan Jewell to harvest their crops before they come to the isle.
The slogan for all the colonists on the Isle of Ilkchild has become, ‘Syrdom’s Welfare Is My Portion.’ Thus now all labor is done with one heart and one mind to make it so.
* * *
One of the king’s many spies in Charly’s Harbor arrived in Witan Jewell and was escorted by the Baldurean Guard to Sur Spear’s estate. Wynfried of Maiden’s Head was an experienced sailor who was able to blend in with the fishermen and sailors of Charly’s Harbor and be a beard for Sur Spear. He had come directly from the harbor and was still dressed in his well-worn sailor’s garb.
“My lord, I sought out and found Standing Bull as you instructed. He was at the Blue Gull Tavern seated in a booth at the rear. I watched him meet with a swarthy stranger who according to the bartender was a sea merchant originally from Coke Hill known as Mik Kurtz. They had a conversation that appeared to be friendly which lasted around a half hour, before Kurtz departed. Shortly thereafter, as I was ordering another krug of ale, your son, lord Melyngoch, arrived. It appeared to be no chance arrival as he immediately went to Standing Bull and his companion. After exchanging a few words, Lord Melyngoch led them into the back room and closed the door. I inquired of the bartender, what business Lord Melyngoch might have with Sharaka renegades. The bartender said that since the Lord Melyngoch returned from the Battle of Raw Top, he had been acting very strangely, meeting often with strangers here and at the docks. It was a very brief meeting after which Lord Melyngoch departed and Standing Bull and his companion retired upstairs to their room. I myself took a room and kept watch all night, but Standing Bull did not exit the tavern until early the next morning. I followed and once I determined he took the road to Witan Jewell, I took the short cut through Tom’s Folly to get here ahead of him. He will likely be arriving here in a couple of hours.”
“Was he alone?”
“He only traveled with a younger brave, the same one who was his companion in the tavern.”
Before Sur Spear released the spy to return to his post in Charly’s Harbor, he told him, “Tis well, keep me posted on all unusual events, unlikely strangers, or suspicious characters passing through Charly’s Harbor, especially those who meet with Lord Melyngoch.”
“Just to clarify, you are ordering me to spy on your son.”
“By the gods, I wish it were not so, but it must needs be. Wynfried, I charge you under the oath you took to reveal none of this to anyone but me.”
Wynfried declared, “I have always been true to you, my lord, and all I report will stay under four eyes.”
After Wynfried departed, Sur Spear felt a sickness settle in his stomach. Could it really be true? Could Melyngoch truly be involved in an assassination plot against his own brother? Have his mother’s unrestrained ambitions so cocked the son that he would be capable of killing his own brother?
Chapter 20 : The Wives of Sur Sceaf
Sur Sceaf felt it had been too long, close to two moonths, since he had found the time to visit his farmstead for more than a few hours. He had completed the Wool House three days hence and with no other pressing works needing his attention, he decided to reward himself with the delightsome company of his wives and children. He had his usual breakfast meeting with Muryh, Mendaka, and Elijah before setting off with Ilkchild and the young man’s brides for Neorxnawang.
It was a colorful autumnal day with fresh sunshine penetrating the mists and lighting up the vine maple’s red leaves. As they followed the path the first thing he noticed was the large oaken gates had been completed and were closed. They opened the gates and stepped through to follow the road home. They passed under yellow sassafras, gingko, and tulip trees, and red oak. Vine maple and hawthorn leaves carpeted their path up to the gushing spring of Alph where they encountered a second large oak gate, beyond which could be heard the sounds of children playing in the interior courtyard.
Brekka Copper Locks was feeding her kiko goats kudzu vine. She was the first to notice him. The other girls dropped the jumping rope and screamed with joy. “Fa! Fa! Fa! Fa is home!”
The children mobbed him in the courtyard beneath the ancient grey cork oak where Sur Sceaf was like a pigeon entering its nest to be accosted by the squabs for feeding. At the same time the row house doors of the manor all opened in unison, spilling out its residents. Because Ahy’s apartment was the last in the row, she reached him first with the other wives close behind. She leaped into his arms, “My lord,” she said in her sweet Sharaka voice before smothering him with kisses. In the meantime the other wives heartily greeted Ilkchild and his new wives.
Paloma was next to greet Sur Sceaf, as was the custom that the last wife and the first wife had preferential treatment at all homecomings.
“My lord, I am as excited to see you as Ahy, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to let go like that in front of others. Yet seeing its effect on you, I shall set my heart to being a little more spontaneous in the future.”
Sur Sceaf smiled at Paloma and gave her a deep and abiding kiss. “My dear as long as you continue to be spontaneous when we are alone, then it matters not how you greet me. For I know all too well the heavy responsibilities that have befallen you in my absence. Who can doubt that you are a wonderful faery-queen. My family could not function so happily without your oversight.”
Paloma’s eyes shone with gratitude. “My dear, your gratitude warms me to the very core of my being.”
Sur Sceaf’s children were jumping up just to touch him and the younger ones were reaching to be held. He bent down and greeted each one individually until the other wives and older children came to the rescue. His other five wives surrounded him and he gave each a hug and a kiss and a few private words. It was then that h
e caught sight of Redith’s bright smile and he walked over to hug her as well. “Dear mo mo, it’s so good to be home again. I have pressing need of your counsel.”
Redith nodded. “Brekka said you would be coming home today even though you were not due for three more days. I tell you, that girl has the gift of prophecy like no one I have ever known! And that includes Swan Ray and Thunder Horse.”
“We noted that, almost as soon as she started talking,” Sur Sceaf said, winking at the cheeky redhead.
“I’ll take it upon myself to teach her how to discern between true and false seeing, but from what I have observed this past year, she’s already more than half way there. I shall lend her my stone to aid her in finding her own stone. The stones should prepare her to be a great seeress someday.”
Arundel announced a family folk moot by spinning the bullroarer to summon the ancestral spirits, while Aelfheah rang the gong for all to assemble at the prayer tree, as was the tradition when the patriarch of the family returned after a long absence. It was chaos until they all gathered around the tree.
Sur Sceaf stood with his back to the yew Yggd-Hrus-Syl, and faced his wives and children. With a signal from Paloma, the children knelt behind the wives, with the infants in the arms of the older children while Ilkchild formed his own cluster with his brides, both of whom were now with child.
The sun shone brightly through the dark ferny canopy of the tree. Bamboo leaves rustled in the wind like a grass harp. In the distance cedar waxwings chirped their cheery songs. Water gushed over the round rocks adding its music to the soughing of the wind in the nearby oaks leaves.
The Isle of Ilkchild (The King of Three Bloods Book 4) Page 32