A Plague of Ruin: Book One: Son of Two Bloods

by Daniel Hylton

  The men that accompanied Prince Johan and had witnessed the astonishing sight of one man intimidating an army of thousands into turning away and marching out of Magnus were happy to tell the tale, over and over, in the taverns.

  As for Brenyn, he kept to himself, lending a helping hand as needed in the reconstruction of the palace and places of business that had suffered looting; but otherwise, he avoided the taverns and stayed alone in the room that Prince Johan had provided for him inside the palace. This strange reticence upon his part to revel in the admiration of awe-struck citizens, the refusal to trade on his fame, only served to add to the mystique that surrounded him.

  Those men that had traveled with him, ridden with him, and fought with him for several years found that their relationship with Brenyn was irrevocably altered. Though he was not deliberately ostracized from their company, whenever he was with them, many felt that they were in the presence of a power beyond their ken. As a consequence, his near presence rendered them uncomfortable.

  Sensing this, Brenyn spent more and more time to himself, and, as Johan’s grip upon the governance of his homeland became surer, he grew restless as well. The time drew near for him to leave and go forth into the world, hunting darkings.

  One morning, Brenyn sought out Johan to inform him that the moment of his departure had come. He found the new prince with his consort, Riana, who he had married, conferring with men he was considering as counselors. Johan saw him come and made to step away from the group of prospective advisors, but Brenyn shook his head and went out of the hall and to the stables. There, he found Sergeant Kristo at work re-shoeing his horse.

  “Going somewhere, Sergeant?”

  Kristo straightened up and looked around. “Hey, Brenyn. No, it was simply time to fix up his feet.”

  Brenyn nodded at this and glanced over to where Noris was stabled. “Indeed, I should probably see to Noris’ shoes ere I go.”

  Kristo watched him for a moment and then frowned. “You – you’re thinking of going somewhere, Brenyn?”

  Brenyn nodded. “It is time for me to go,” he said.

  Kristo’s brow darkened. “Why would you go?” He waved his arm about him. “Magnus is a good place, and now, with Johan on the throne, this land will prosper. Why not stay here? You could keep the darkings at bay, which would help Johan – indeed, all of us – and maybe find a good wife, a bit of pleasant earth, and settle down. There are worse things in life than a farm and a family. Why not consider it, Brenyn?”

  Brenyn smiled but shook his head. “And what about Prince Taumus, and Garren, and Pelterez, and their people? Do we leave them to the darkings while we dwell in peace?” He shook his head once more and his smile vanished. “I cannot do that, sergeant. I made a promise to each of those men to defend their lands from the darkings, and I mean to keep my pledge.”

  But even as he uttered these words, he hesitated and looked out the stable door. Down a long passageway that ran between the palace and the stables, he could see into the square. Out there, upon that broad area of pavement, citizens were standing about, engaged in conversation, or passing across from one side to the other as they went about their daily affairs – freed, at least for the moment, from the dark threat of war and destruction. It was a view of the world as it should be.

  Watching that peaceful scene, Brenyn knew that he could not stay where he could dwell in safety while the rest of the world – and men that he admired, like Prince Taumus, fought an unending and futile war against the scourge of the darkings. He must go and be a part of that struggle. Besides, his desire for vengeance had not faded. Indeed, it had hardened into an almost desperate need, an iron resolve to avenge the loss of the woman he had loved.

  He looked back at Kristo. “Fear not, sergeant. I will guard the borders of Magnus even as I hunt darkings throughout all these lands. I will ever look to the safety of Prince Johan.”

  Kristo’s eyes grew moist as he shook his head in return. “It’s not just that, Brenyn. I-I’ll miss you, lad.” He rubbed his eyes with his thumbs. “I’ve seen what you can do, Brenyn, and I understand the urge to avenge your loss upon those wicked fiends. I suppose that I was hoping you might find some peace here in Magnus well. I, uh, I’ll miss you,” he repeated.

  Brenyn’s smile returned. “And I will miss you as well, my friend,” he answered. “But hear this, I will not stay away always. I will come back now and again to make certain that the darkings do not return to trouble Prince Johan and Magnus – and you. But I must go and do what I can to free the world of trouble.”

  His brow furrowed as a thought came to him. “Besides, if I do not go out into the world and hunt them, what is to prevent their master from creating an army of those evil creatures and launching an onslaught against this land and its people?”

  He shook his head. “I would rather that the eye of him who controls them fall upon me and stay upon me than upon any of my friends.”

  He held out his hand. “I hope you can understand this.”

  Kristo glanced down at the hand but then stepped forward and enfolded Brenyn in his bear-like grasp. “Come back often, lad,” he said in a voice that trembled.

  “I will,” Brenyn promised, “often.”

  “I am very glad to hear it,” a voice stated from the doorway.

  Brenyn freed himself from Kristo’s grasp and turned and looked. Prince Johan stood there. Johan moved forward, out of the sun and into the half-light of the stable’s interior. “You’re leaving us then, Brenyn?”

  Brenyn met his gaze and nodded. “Tomorrow, probably, or the next day. There is no reason to stay, and the longer I remain, the more it becomes likely that darkings will seek me out here – and may very well come in force. I cannot allow it.”

  Johan considered these words in silence for a moment and then a sad, contemplative smile found his face. He nodded. “And there is your promise to Prince Taumus and Prince Garren, to keep their borders protected also, is there not?”

  “Magnus, its prince and its people, will always be my first consideration,” Brenyn replied.

  “I doubt it not,” Johan agreed. “But Taumus is right – you were born for bigger things. In the end, you and your powers may be the salvation of the world.” He stepped forward and extended his hand. “You will always have friends here, Brenyn.”

  Brenyn accepted the hand and shook it. “I know, and I will return often to sit at a friend’s table for a time.”

  “My business is concluded for a while,” Johan said. “Might we go and have a quiet mid-day repast together?”

  Brenyn hesitated and glanced behind him, at Noris’ stall. “I need to check on my mount’s shoes. I suppose I could leave it until later –”

  “Go, lad,” Kristo told him. “I will see to Noris’ shoes for you.”

  Brenyn hesitated once more but then nodded. “Thank you, sergeant.”

  “Name’s Max, lad.”

  Brenyn smiled. “Thank you, Max.”

  “Go, then, you and Johan; say your goodbyes.”

  Johan and Brenyn went out and made their way across the square to an inn named The Armored Man that sat upon the south side of that broad pavement. As they entered, the innkeeper and his staff bowed their heads to Johan and cast curious glances at Brenyn. The dining hall was filled with people even though it was yet an hour until mid-day. It was only when Brenyn looked around over the hall that he realized that the crowd consisted entirely of men who had once formed the majority of Murlet’s old mercenary band. Feeling a hand upon his shoulder, he looked back. Kristo was there. The big man smiled and nodded.

  “We’ve watched you grow restless, lad. Johan figured that you were about to leave us.” He motioned around at the crowded hall. “We all wanted to say farewell. I’ll see to Noris’ shoes a bit later today, if that’s alright.”

  The “quiet mid-day repast” turned out not to be so quiet, after all. The men came up to where Brenyn sat by Johan and Kristo and, one by one, wished him safe travels and bade him far
ewell, some with mist-filled eyes, and all with sincere regret that he was parting from their company.

  Later, as hours passed, whisky flowed, and the noise levels inside the inn rose, Johan gained Brenyn’s attention and motioned toward the door. “Walk with me?”

  Once outside, Brenyn was surprised to see that more than a few hours had passed; the sun had slid down the western sky and fallen behind the skyline of the city. Johan turned to the left, along the main avenue that led through the central business district and toward the gates at the western limits of Veir. Most businesses had closed their doors for the day. Those few merchants that remained and were yet in front of their establishments bowed their head to them as they passed. Johan was content to walk in silence for a while and then he looked over.

  “I want you to give some thought – while you are out there, hunting darkings,” he said, “to these words I am about to speak.”

  “I am listening,” Brenyn answered.

  “When I was a boy,” Johan continued, “my father taught me something I have never forgotten. He was preparing me to replace him upon the throne of Magnus one day and wanted to teach me the value of the strength of family and friendship.”

  He smiled with the memory. “He handed me a small dead branch that he broke off a willow. ‘Break this,’ he told me. And I broke it, easily. Then he handed me two branches together and told me to break them. Once more, I did it easily. Then he gave me four, bound together. I broke them as well, though it required more effort.”

  He held his hands in front of him as he walked and formed his fingers into a circle. “Then he bound ten of the dead branches together and asked me to break them in two.” He shook his head. “I tried, but could not.”

  They had reached the gates, which were yet open to traffic. Johan went silent and led Brenyn onward. The guards stood stiffly at attention while Johan and Brenyn walked through and out upon the road beyond. The sun was low in the sky, sliding down toward the tops of the distant mountains.

  Johan stopped, gazing westward, watching the light change colors as the sun slipped downward. “The lesson my father meant to teach was this – people are like those dead willow branches; one, or even two or three together can be broken, and quite easily. But when many stand together, united in common cause, then they are much harder to destroy.”

  He went silent once more, still gazing toward the mountains to the west, across the rolling prairie.

  After a time, when he did not speak, Brenyn looked over at him. “Why do you want me to think on these things, Johan? I am one man alone and there is no other like me. With whom will I stand against the darkings? You and your people?” He shook his head. “It would only mean death for many. It will ever be better if I defend you, on my own, and not that I stand with you.”

  Johan smiled and shook his head as well. “I am not talking about you, Brenyn.”

  Brenyn frowned. “What then is the point?”

  Johan lifted his glance and studied the heights of the distant mountains, darkening with purple shadows as the lowering sun slipped behind them.

  “The darkings have divided us, prince against prince, people against people, land against land, for time out of mind,” he said. “Since they came upon the earth, every prince of every nation has been enticed, goaded, even forced to go to war with his neighbors.”

  He shrugged. “Why they do this; what they are gained by it, no one knows. And, if they have a master somewhere who governs them, then what he is profited by all this war and death and misery is also unknown, and perhaps unknowable.”

  He went quiet again for a long moment, but Brenyn waited without speaking. When Johan looked over, there was a strange hard look in his sharp eyes.

  “Imagine, Brenyn,” he said, “if several of us stood together against the darkings, especially with you out there, decreasing the numbers of those vile creatures that can come against us. Should Taumus and I – and Garren and Pelterez, and even Gatison – form an alliance against them, we would be stronger, and the people of our lands made safer by that strength.”

  “Then why tell me this?” Brenyn wondered. “Do so, Johan. Form an alliance with them and I will defend you all – I will protect all of your borders as best I can.”

  Johan shook his head. “There must be a central figure,” he said, “one to whom we all owe allegiance.” He met Brenyn’s gaze. “And now I do speak of you, Brenyn. For there must be one higher, if princes are to form and hold an alliance.”

  Seeing the expression that immediately found its way upon Brenyn’s features, Johan held up his hand. “I understand that you are young – and I know that you have other goals in mind, but the world needs someone with authority to bind those of us that are lesser together in common cause – like my father’s twigs.”

  Brenyn shook his head. “Then it must be you, Johan – or Taumus. Either of you, indeed, would make a fine king.”

  Johan smiled. “The world doesn’t work that way, Brenyn. Exalt even one of these princes over the others and the alliance will not hold. No – the king must be a true king indeed, one who stands apart and above the others. It must be one whose authority and power are unequaled.” Turning to face Brenyn, he spoke quietly. “It must be someone like you, Brenyn.”

  “Please, my friend,” he went on before Brenyn could protest. “Think on these things as you journey – that is all that I ask.”

  Brenyn met his friend’s gaze and saw the hope that shone in his eyes. “I understand and agree with all that you say, Johan,” he answered. “The world needs a king that can lead its people against the scourge of the darkings. This is undeniable.”

  He sighed. “But, as you say, I am young – too young – and I have other intentions. Besides this, I am not a true citizen of any of these lands – and I know nothing of governance. I would never willingly disappoint you, my friend, but whatever it is that I was born to do, I fear that it was not to be a king. I am just a man, Johan, a young man – too young. You and the other princes must look to another.”

  “Who?’ Johan demanded. “To whom will we look, Brenyn? You are young, yes, but you possess powers that wizards would covet. And you are not just a man, Brenyn; whatever you say; you are something more, far more. You are already known throughout many of these lands as the darking slayer. I know your value – Prince Taumus, and Prince Garren as well know your value. And, like me, I believe that those men would submit to your authority, young though you are. You would be the cord that would bind us together.”

  Brenyn watched him for a long moment, then; “How large is the world, my friend? – how many lands stretch across its face?”

  Johan frowned. “The world is large, very large,” he replied. “As to how many lands there are in all the world – how would I know the answer to that question?”

  “Just so,” Brenyn replied. “And how many darkings, do you think, travel the roads of the world and employ their malice in lands that lie beyond every horizon?” He persisted.

  Johan’s frown deepened. “Again – how would I know?”

  “I beg you to hear me, my friend,” Brenyn said then. “Were the princes that inhabit this part of the world to form an alliance and make me king over them, we would then be but an island in a sea of war and death and misery, surrounded on all sides by those princes and their peoples who were yet subject unto the wicked schemes of the darkings. We might stand for a time; ultimately, we would fall.”

  Johan made to reply but Brenyn shook his head. “No – hear me, my friend, I beg you.” He looked away, toward the south, where the distant hills were changing from tan to gold to orange in the fading light of the day’s end. “The whole of the world must be made free,” he said, and his voice took on a hard and determined tone. “Every darking must die, and if they have a master who guides all the evil that they do, then he must perish as well.”

  He looked back at Johan, who momentarily flinched before the steely severity of his gaze. “That is the reason for which I was born – and that is
what I must do, for only then can your dream of a kingdom of allied princes come to fruition.”

  “But we could start here, with a few princes,” Johan argued, “and slowly widen the horizons of free lands.”

  “No,” Brenyn said. “The darkings must first be destroyed.”

  Johan sighed, deeply, as he nodded his head in reluctant acquiescence. “We need not carve a decision into stone just now. Will you at least consider my words, now and then, as you travel?”

  “I will,” Brenyn agreed, “though I make no other promise.”

  Once more Johan nodded reluctantly. “And while you do so, I will make peace with every prince on every side,” he promised.

  “And I will slay every darking that threatens you,” Brenyn stated in turn.

  “You will always have a home here, my friend,” Johan said.

  “And I will return as often as I may,” Brenyn answered.

  They made their way back into the city then as the day failed away behind them and found Kristo coming toward them from the direction of the palace. The big man grinned. “I wondered where you had got to,” he told Brenyn. “I looked for you at the inn, but they told me that you and Johan had gone out.”

  “What do you require of me?” Brenyn asked.

  Kristo shook his head. “Nothing, lad – just wanted to tell you that Noris’ shoes are good. They were yet in decent shape, but I replaced them all, anyway, for I know you mean to travel far.”

  Brenyn frowned. “I thought you were at the inn with the others all afternoon.”

  Kristo shook his massive head. “Nay, lad – had a couple pints and then went back to the stables. I promised you that your mount would be ready to go – and he is.”

  “Thank you for that, Max.”

  “Glad to do it, Brenyn. I still hate to see you go, though.”

  “I’ll come back,” Brenyn told him. “Now and again.”