Dragons of Summer Tide (The Dragons of Hwandor) (44 page)

The new king had only just passed his eighteenth birthday but he had a strong noble bearing in his walk and he was tall and his red hair made him look like a flame moving through the room. As he seated himself on his throne the nobles and officials around the room returned to their chairs. As the young king sat there on the throne his blue eyes quickly took in the room and the people assembled. The king noticed that there were a dozen guards quietly making their way through the audience hall and that they seemed to be converging on a point in the crowd near the front of the line of petitioners. The guards on the dais were staying very close to the king. The king turned to look at the herald and nodded. The herald spoke. “The Royal Court of Hwandor is now in session and all petitioners may come before His Majesty.”

Tornissa stepped forward to address the king. “Your Majesty, if it pleases you I would like to present a petitioner.” Motioning toward Cyerant she said. “I would like to present…”Then she was cut off as guards exploded through the onlookers.

Suddenly Cyerant found himself being driven to the floor under the weight of several men. Veer seeing what was happening to Cyerant immediately attacked the men who were tackling his friend. With no weapons on him the young dragon warrior punched the nearest guard and the man collapsed into an unmoving heap and as he prepared to punch a second man more guards stepped out of the crowd and he found himself surrounded. Shira stepped to Veer’s side and she managed to take a guard’s legs from under him sending him crashing into another guard while Veer punched a second guard into unconsciousness. A moment later Veer and Shira both were overwhelmed and borne to the ground under the weight of more guards.

“Hold!” Tornissa shouted.

“The old witch is part of the plot, take her.” Shouted the Captain of the Guard.  Four guards broke out of the crowd and moved toward the mage. Tornissa waved her hand toward the oncoming guards and all four of them dropped to the ground in a deep sleep as though they had been felled by a blow.

The mage turned toward the king and began to yell. “Your Majesty, these young people are no threat…” She was cut off by another voice.

Garist the son of Duke Malik stepped forward with the Captain of the Guard at his side. “Your Majesty one of these men is an impostor who claims to be the oldest son of Baron Dal Reez who died with his whole family in a fire. My father’s men have been trying to catch this young man and bring him to justice.”

The hall shuddered as a cry of rage came from outside of the building – a cry that sounded as if it called from another age. Then the large central window high up in the wall of the great hall burst inward showering shards of glass into the air as a legend itself burst through. A dragon the size of a horse was suddenly in the air over the crowd shrieking in rage. A second dragon the size of a pony came bursting through another window. A third dragon the size of a dog perched herself in the large broken window and screamed downward at the crowd of people who had begun to flee the terror above their heads. The room became chaos as many people charged for the doors to escape the dragons while others covered their heads and faces against the shower of glass. A forth tiny dragon with green eyes flew in, unnoticed, through a broken window and lent her voice to the cacophony of angry shrieks and roars.

Drace seeing Veer held under the guards began to dive toward the men and he was followed immediately by Cyool as she launched herself from the window. As the people fled the room a space opened up on the floor and Corth dropped to land in the cleared centre of the room. As the guards holding Cyerant, Veer and Shira realized that two dragons were diving toward them they scrambled for their feet to try and escape. Drace slammed into one guard and drove the man lifeless to the floor beneath him. Cyool barrelled into another guard and sent him sprawling, injured but alive, across the floor. Drace then lashed out with his tail and struck one fleeing guard and tore the man from his feet and tossed him lifeless onto the floor some distance away. The battle dragon then began to pace and circle to protect Veer who was still trying to get to his feet.

Cyerant leaped to his feet and turned his immediate attention toward calming the enraged dragons. Veer, with his own growl of rage struggled to his feet and started toward the nearest guard. Shira seeing what Veer was about to do stepped in front of him and began to shout at him. “No Veer, wait.”

People were still struggling to get out of the great hall but the glass had stopped falling and though some people were cut it seemed that none of them were in danger of bleeding to death. Some people had been knocked to the floor in the initial press to escape. A few dozen people were scattered around the room on the floor while most of the crowd was pressing toward the doors.  More guards were struggling against the crowd to attempt to get into the room but it was no use as the push of the fleeing people was too great.

Cyerant struggled with the anger of his dragon through the bond and managed to get Corth calm enough that the dragon was standing in the centre of the room poised on his back legs showing himself at his greatest height with his wings spread threateningly but he did not attack. Shira stood in front of Veer with her hands on his chest and likewise Cyool had stepped in front of Drace and was preventing him from charging into the crowd of people trying to flee.  The room went almost silent as the three larger dragons stopped shrieking and roaring. The only sound in the room was the sobbing of a few people and the scolding of Green Eyes who fluttered around near the top of the hall punctuated by occasional growls from Drace. A soothing crooning sound was almost too soft to be heard and it was coming from Cyool as she tried to calm the larger Drace from his battle frenzy.

The now standing king was looking from his dais at the scene that had just unfolded in front of him. He acted like a king and did not show the fear that he felt. He could feel that his own personal guards were hanging back in terror. “Hold,” shouted the tall red haired young king into the nearly silent room, his voice booming off of the walls. Even Green Eyes fell silent and floated down to land on the floor near an injured woman. Such was the commanding presence of the king that all eyes in the room turned to look toward the dais. His Magesty, still keeping his own fear from showing seized the moment of shock in order to speak. “Magister, I believe that you were speaking.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I was, thank you.” The woman composed herself and continued. She motioned toward Cyerant. “May I present Cyerant Dal Reez who is the oldest son of the recently deceased Baron Dal Reez and so is now himself Baron Dal Reez. Reports that the entire Dal Reez family died in a fire are mistaken and, in fact, two of the sons survive. His companions here are from the Hillfolk and I believe they bear a message for former Ranger Commander Parenian.” Tornissa motioned toward the guards resting on the ground in a magical sleep. “I also wanted to inform His Majesty that magic once again answers the call of the mages. And that these young people have brought dragons with them.”

Most men would have been astounded into a near stupor but the young king maintained his composure as if he had just been told the results of a horse race and not that beasts from legend had returned to the world and were standing in his court and that mages could do legendary feats once again. “Thank you, Magister,” the king said. “The king looked around the room and he saw that one of the people who had not fled was the former Ranger Commander. “Commander Parenian I am reinstating you and your rangers and we will hear this message together.” Turning to the herald the king said. “Announce that the public petition day will be postponed for a sevenday and will resume on the eighth day hence.”  Turning to the Captain of the Guard the king said. “Captain Talonius, see to your guardsmen especially the four who are cowering behind me.” The king then noticed a beautiful woman walking forward with a small dragon on her shoulder. “Ambassador Princess Arindina, does Your Highness also have a dragon?”

The woman answered. “Yes, Your Majesty, I was knocked to the floor and some of the falling glass cut my arm. Then this wonderful creature came to me and began to lick the wound and it is already healing.” The woman looked a bit stunned but soon appeared to compose herself.

Shira looked at the woman and the little dragon and could see that they both had the same shade of green eyes. Shira felt a chill sweep over her as she considered what this meant. She thought about how poison dragons only bond with people who have similar dispositions.

“The green eyed woman then said. “I will retire to my apartments and take this creature with me.” She turned to leave the room and she was obviously very preoccupied with her new dragon and the bond that she was feeling form with the creature but being a princess of an imperial family she was maintaining her composure as her rank demands..

The king tuned to Cyerant and asked. “Baron Dal Reez are these dragons sufficiently pacified so that we make retire to my private chambers to speak?”

Cyerant made a slight bow toward the young king. “Yes Your Majesty we will be honoured to speak with you and the dragons are quite calm now.” Cyerant turned toward Corth and after a moment the dragon reluctantly leaped into the air and flew back out through the window. A moment later Cyool did the same. Drace paced about for a few moments before also taking flight through the window.

“You Majesty there is the matter of the reports that this man is an impostor and is not actually the son of Dal Reez.” Came the voice of
Garist Pwol Vrayah the son of Duke Malik Pol Vrayah.

The king turned toward the speaker and said. “Yes there is that matter and perhaps he is actually the son of the Baron and I have been misinformed or perhaps he is, as you report, an impostor. I will look into it and I would like to see whatever evidence you have concerning the matter.”

And older man who looked to be about sixty summers old stepped forward and spoke. “Your Majesty, if I may.”

The king turned to the man and said. “Yes General Velendar.”

The old man continued. “Two summers past I visited the North Country and I spent some time at the Dal Reez manor house and I met the sons of the Baron Dal Reez. This young man is definitely the oldest son. I remember him because my dear old friend Gofreys was especially proud of the progress the young man had made in the use of the sword.”

The king looked at Cyerant and spoke. “Well, if the General remembers you as the oldest son of the dead Baron Dal Reez and the Magister speaks for you then that is sufficient. “I declare you Cyerant to be the new Baron Dal Reez and assign all of your family lands and accounts to you. You are to be recognized in the royal court and you may bear weapons in court as befits your rank.”

Cyerant bowed in thanks to the king.

The king turned toward Garist the son of Duke Malik. “Obviously the reports that your father received concerning the Dal Reez family were in error and there is an heir after all. And so the petition to have these lands placed under your father’s authority is denied.”

The young man, Garist silently bowed to the king.

King
Palavwar then turned to Tornissa. “Magister, I would like to hear the entire tale that these three have to tell. The palace is such a busy place may Commander Parenian and I call at the tower in one hour so that we may speak?”

The woman answered. “The tower would be honoured to host Your Majesty and since these young people are all guests of the tower we will await your pleasure.”

The king addressed the Captain of the Guard. “Captain, I will be ready to leave soon.” The king turned and strode from the room leaving the captain to nod his acknowledgement to the back of the king.

Tornissa turned to her three companions and said. “We should return to the tower and await the king.” She then led the way out of the room.

Soon only Garist the son of Duke Malik, Captain of the Guard Talonius and former Regent Darus were left in the audience room with a few guards who were taking care of the bodies of their comrads who had perished when the dragons attacked. Garist asked. “Why is he meeting in the tower?”

Former regent Darus said. “Simple enough, there are spies aplenty in the palace but the tower has been ignored for generations so we have to ears and eyes there. I trust, Captain that you have some guards who will report back to you.”

“All of my guards are loyal to me first. I will send guards with him and each one will report what he hears and sees.”

The three men then parted company without noticing that the Imperial Ambassador Princess Arindina had not actually retired earlier but had only stepped just outside of the room and with her new found hearing, she had been listening to their conversation. As the men parted the Imperial Princess Arindina Ambassador to Hwandor began to walk away headed for her apartments near the palace.

Tornissa quickly led her young companions back to the tower in silence. Everyone in the tower immediately began preparing to receive the king. As Shira helped Tornissa arrange the drawing room chairs she turned to Tornissa and said. “So the king is coming here to avoid spies then?”

“Yes,” the mage answered. “The palace is full of spies, and much of the staff is loyal to the former regent Darus who would like to see himself once gain ruling as regent.

So if something happens to the king then his younger sister becomes queen but she is only fifteen and so Darus will have to, once again, act as regent.” Shira said.

“Exactly so child, you are a natural at understanding palace intrigues.” Tornissa said.

“But wasn’t there a co-regency so Darus had to rule with someone else?” Asked Shira.

“Technically there was a co-regency with Darus and the Queen Mother serving together. But for all practical purposes that meant that the Queen mother managed the upbringing of her three children and Darus had authority to rule while the young king grew. So the co-regency divided things so that Darus ruled the kingdom while my niece Arabella as the wife of the dead king ruled her children.” Tornissa explained.

*****

Young
King  Palavwar Bal Djundarbin had just turned eighteen summers old and officially had taken leadership of the kingdom – a kingdom which was at peace externally but with a court that seethed with intrigue internally, intrigue that threatened to bring that peace to an end.  Now the new king needed all of his wits and education in order to eliminate the spies and the opponents to his rule – opponents of his peace. In the three years since the old king had died and while Regent Darus had ruled many changes had been wrought in the palace an in the court. The Ancient Order of Rangers had been dissolved; the army had been downsized and was now half the strength that it had been under the old king. A new Captain of the Guard had been appointed to protect the royal family and, of course, there were now all new guards who had an unquestioned loyalty to their captain. Duke Vrayah had continued to build his personal guard and to swallow up more lands in the north of the kingdom forcing many noble houses to swear an oath to him in order to keep their lands and positions. The palace was full of people who were loyal to Duke Vrayah, or loyal to the Regent and the Captain of the Guard – there were few left at the palace who had any loyalty to the king, and that needed to change.

As the young king and his personal guard walked the short distance through the streets to the Tower of Mages the new monarch was thinking about the precariousness of his position and the position of the royal family. Palavwar had insisted on a small escort of guards and had only six men walking with him to protect him – six men who would report everything to their captain; every word and every contact. Well, he was still yet a king and he resolved that this winter he would gain control of his palace, his court and the Kingdom of the People of Hwandor.

“Here is the tower Your Majesty.” Came the gruff voice of the sergeant in charge of escorting the young king. “I’ll past the men about the building and then we can go inside.”

“Actually Sergeant, I will be going in alone. You are to post your men and remain outside the walls of the tower and gardens with them and make sure that none enter uninvited.”

The sergeant looked shocked and immediately protested. “My orders are to...”

“You orders have changed,” interjected the king.

The sergeant continued. “But Captain Talonius …”

“Is a captain and I, however, am a king. Your orders Sergeant are clear; you will remain outside of the tower with your men.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the sergeant responded with a formal bow of his head.

The tall red haired young king turned and walked through the gate of the tower courtyard. The eyes of the sergeant watched the young noble walking away from him. The sergeant could not help but show a glimmer of admiration for the young king after the way the young royal had faced dragons entering his palace. Sergeant Corless knew that his first loyalty was to his captain but there was something about this young red haired man that inspired a sense of duty. The young man was definitely a king and would likely have made a good ruler. It is too bad that the young king would not see another sunrise – but the sergeant had orders and those orders were very clear.

As the king raised his hand to knock upon the door of the tower the door was pulled open ahead of him by Aldan the butler who bowed and said. “Your Majesty, it is an honour, the Magister has assembled everyone in the library and asks that you be shown the way. If I may.”

“Thank you,” the king responded with a nod.

As the king entered the Tower of the Mages Aldan closed the door behind the guest and then proceeded to show the young man to the library. As the pair neared the open door of the library the king stepped passed the butler and said a quick “thank you” before entering the room. As the entered the room quickly everyone came immediately to their feet in respect. The king headed for the nearest chair while waving everyone to sit. “We will dispense with the formalities and for the next several hours I am simply Palivwar.” The king sat and glanced around the room at all of the unfamiliar faces and he noticed that Ranger Commander Parenian had already arrived. He motioned for everyone to sit and then he addressed the Magister. “Now Auntie, I believe that you have a great deal to tell me.”

Tornissa smiled at the young king and responded. “Actually I think that this young man here who is named Veer should begin”

The king turned to look at the young dragon warrior and simply said, “please do.”

Veer nervously said, “yes Your Majesty.” Then the young warrior started with his hunting trip, and how he saw the mother dragon then of finding his village burned and his family killed. As his voice cracked and tears came to his eyes the king pretended not to notice and waited for the young man to continue. Veer then told of fining the ranger Talenger and while he spoke he handed the leather pouch quietly to the Ranger Commander who began to read what was contained inside. Veer proceeded to talk about being bitten and then waking up with Shira there.

At this point Shira began to join the telling and together Veer and Shira told the next part of the tail. The king occasionally would ask a question for clarification or for more detail but mostly the king sat and listened carefully to both the words and how they were being said. Soon the tail progressed to include Cyerant who joined into the telling also as he added his part of the tale.

Before long the king heard how Joss was found and how he joined the tale. For the most part Jolss just say quietly th9ugh the king did occasionally ask him questions. As the battle before the forest fire was described the king looked at Jolss and arched an eyebrow but the boy didn’t see it since his eyes were on his feet. The companions described how they discovered that Jolss was really Daralce the younger brother of Cyerant. They told of escaping and avoiding bandits and guards as they worked their way south.

Then they told of Deelt and the Tower of the Mages there and of Partonius and how the fire on the docks was started and how it was extinguished. Then they told of the search for the captured dragon and the discovery of elves. It was then that Myalnar introduced himself, Pelinar and Talyat.

It was now that Talyat began to tell the tale and as his voice began to ring out the others sat quietly. Talyat being trained began to explain the tale in detail making sure to include the type of information that he had noticed the king asking for earlier. So detailed was his telling that the king id not ask any questions of him and sat with rapt attention listening to every detail right up to the discovery of the tunnels earlier that day.

By the time the tale had reached the point of the companions gathering in the library to await the king the day had worn by and it was time for supper. As Talyat finished he bowed slightly to the king and then he simply went silent. Everyone in the room sat in silence waiting to see if the king would ask anymore questions.

The king sat in silence for a few minutes looking around at the animals curled up around the room and then he rose and spoke. “Thank you all for such a detailed explanation of things. It is near time for supper and I assume that Auntie has made sure that there is a meal awaiting us in the dining room. We should retire to the table and eat and then after a break I would like to meet with some of you in more private settings.” Then the king looked at Tornissa and offered her his hand.

Taking the hand of the king the mage led them all from the library to the dinning hall where a meal was waiting for them. Everyone sat down to eat and the king insisted that there be no formalities and that everyone just have their supper in peace and speak freely. After supper the king decided to walk around the gardens as the evening settled in an the sun began to set. He asked Tornissa to join him and the two of them talked through a few things in order to make sure that the Tower of Mages would be able to continue to host the new guests.

As night settled the king asked the elves to join him in a small sitting room where they could talk. The king spoke to Myalnar in some detail about what we transpiring in the mountains. “I am tempted to send some troops into the mountains but I fear that my troops would get in your way, so I will not send them.” The king noticed Pelinar nodding appreciatively as he said this. “What I will do is to send some troops up river as the winter settles in. They will garrison some of the towns and strengthen the garrison in Deelt in order to protect the kingdom and to start denying these foreigners the free range that they have had. As for the mountains, they are yours and we will leave them to you. I will also send some of our rangers to start scouting in the hills and if acceptable I would like for them to work with your men there.”

“That is acceptable though our men and women fight together and you will find that our forces in the hills are commanded by a female. As soon as we have a full agreement we will be returning to our people.”

The king stood and held out his hand to Myalnar who took it in his own while the king spoke. “Then we are agreed in principle and over the next several days we will work out the details and documents.”

“Agreed,” said Myalnar.

Turning to Pelinar the king spoke. “Pelinar, I would like to ask you to remain as I speak with Carabice about his maps of the tunnels. I understand that you have some experience with tunnels and I would like to ask your advice.” The elven warrior gave a slight nod in acknowledgement and remained seated as the other two elves left. Shortly they were joined by Carabice.

As the mage seated himself the king began. “These tunnels are very important to the future of the royal family. I need to get them cleared and back in use and I need to do it as quietly and secretly as is possible……”

After another hour of this meeting the king had reached and agreement with the mage and elf and thanked them both. Then the king sent for Cyerant and the two of them talked into the night until nearly midnight. The king needed a noble of his own generation who could listen to his ideas and speak with him about plans. The two nobles, one a king and the other a baron began forming a friendship that night – a friendship which would eventually help save the kingdom.

After the discussions the king readied himself to go back to the palace. The hour was midnight as he called everyone back together for a moment. He noticed that Daralce and Devron were not present and realized that at this hour they must have both fallen to sleep long ago. “I wish to thank all of you for what you have done. You have had a very difficult summer and you have all done very well. Auntie has offered to provide hospitality for you all here at the Tower of the Mages for the winter. I ask you all too please relax and rest after your efforts. The information that you have brought to me may very well be what allows us to save this kingdom.” Then the young king paused and looked around at the dragons present and then continued. “They really are amazing creatures. I will leave you now to your rest.” The king nodded to the mages, companions and elves and turned and walked out of the tower door with no pomp or formality and he stepped out into the night just a little passed midnight.

“Well,” Tornissa said as she turned to face the others. “You heard His Majesty you are all welcomed to remain here and relax after your long journey. So perhaps we should all retire for the night.”

Myalnar stood watching the door through which the young man had just gone. “Your nephew is impressive. Elves do not have kings and I have never met a human king. It is hard to believe that he has only seen eighteen turns of the seasons. He is like a council elf and we have to be at least three hundred years old to serve on the high council.”

Veer said. “He is like Cyerant only more; lots more.” Cyerant smiled at the compliment.

Shira said. “I thought that you had no use for flatlander kings.” Veer responded with a glare.

Pelinar said. “I would dance beside him.” Which drew a long quizzical look from Talyat.

The companions then retired to their beds for the first peaceful night of sleep that any of them had enjoyed in months. The larger dragons were unaccustomed to sleeping inside and so Corth, Cyool, Drace and the one non-bonded dragonet curled up in the courtyard gardens and settled in to sleep.