The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel (7 page)

They dismounted outside of the palace, and the guards escorted the group into the palace. The children continued to stare and point in awe, while the teenagers and Thyss had finally settled into calm interest. The wet nurse, Celia, paid little attention to any of it; she simply followed the group, her attention focused on the infant she carried. There was no wait for admittance into the palace’s great hall; no doubt the queen awaited him for days, and she was prepared to see him immediately upon his arrival.

Upon entrance into the hall, he saw her sitting upon her throne, examining his group with a practiced eye, but relinquishing no clue as to her thoughts. The old man who was her advisor stood to her right, and he coughed lightly into a small handkerchief. Cor approached her raised dais slowly while removing his helm, and then, somewhat uncertain as to why, went down onto one knee before her. Most of his group hesitantly followed suit, excluding Thyss, whom Cor noted held a disdainful grimace upon her face.

“Rise Dahken Cor,” she said. “It is interesting to me that you now show respect. I would ask what you found in Losz, but the answer seems obvious between your black armored countenance and those who follow you. I truly did not expect to see you again. Why have you returned to Aquis?”

“I have slain the Loszian lord responsible for my parents’ murder,” he answered. He then half turned and motioned as those behind him. “Majesty, I present to you the future of the Dahken and perhaps the future of the Shining West.”

“Interesting, and who is this exotic foreigner?” she asked. Cor had not expected the queen’s interest in Thyss, and the question gave him pause.

“I am Thyss of Dulkur, Elemental Priestess of Hykan,” Thyss said in her thickly accented Western.

“You show this court no respect, Thyss of Dulkur, and you dare mention the name of a heathen god before my throne.”

“A heathen god in your eyes, but King of the Gods in mine. A god of whom you dare not deny existence, Queen of Aquis,” Thyss retorted, and her voice contained a dangerous note of challenge. The assembled crowd hissed and murmured to each other about the audacity of this woman, and the old man called for silence.

“As I must treat you as a dignitary from an empire we have little relations with, I will allow your tone to pass Thyss of Dulkur, but do not push too far lest you find yourself unable to return,” the queen said softly. She then turned her eyes to Cor. “What do you here, Dahken Cor?”

“I have come to discuss with you my plans and hopes that the Shining West and the Dahken may find common ground, Majesty.”

“And what ground would that be?” she asked in response.

“It is time to free the Westerners who remain enslaved to the Loszian Empire. It is time to end the reign of evil over half of this continent,” Cor declared loudly. The onlookers had mixed responses, from mild cheers to guffaws.

“How, Dahken Cor, do you expect to accomplish that? With an army of children?” Queen Erella asked, and this evoked laughter from the assembly.

“Majesty, the Dahken are among you, regardless of what you know or believe of them. We are born to all classes, in any nation, and we are ostracized or even murdered at birth. Only the Dahken can help you defeat the Loszians. The children you see before you represent the first of the new generation of Dahken and more will follow. I will build a castle in Aquis, a stronghold such as Sanctum once was, and as was once done, I will find more Dahken and bring them to our stronghold to learn of their power.”

“And you would expect me to allow this?” the queen interrupted him. “To create a small army comprised of your kind? You would expect Aquis to allow you to erect a castle so that you may destroy us from within with the power of your evil god? You would expect me to allow you free reign over the lands of the Shining West to find more of your abominable kind? You expect much, Dahken Cor.”

Queen Erella stood from her throne as she spoke, and her voice had risen as if with a violent rage, though her face remained as impassive and calculating as always. The crowd had gone completely silent; some of their eyes locked on their queen, while the rest bored into Cor’s back like daggers. He had expected she would have this reaction, but hoped for otherwise; it showed just how entrenched her beliefs of the Dahken were. As he replied, he kept his voice as calm and reasonable as possible.

“The Dahken are not evil. The god from whom we spring is Dahk, the God of Blood. All Rumedians have blood, and as such, a Dahken may be born to anyone. I neither worship him, nor any god, but they all exist in our world and must be recognized. The Dahken history, as translated by The Chronicler, shows that the Dahken didn’t stand with the Loszians, but neither did they help the Westerners in their plight. That was a mistake, and they paid for it dearly when The Cleansing came to them.

“I am here to make amends for the mistakes of the past. I ask you to judge neither me, nor the Dahken based on your view of history. Judge me for who I am, what I have done, and what I will do.”

“You admit to having murdered a venerable priest of Garod and twelve of my soldiers, do you not? That is a crime punishable by death,” she said, her voice very quiet though it carried well through the hall.

“I admit to having defended myself against men who killed my mentor and tried to kill me also. One even dealt me what should have been a killing blow, had I not spilled his blood before I died. I have no guilt over it. And if you wanted me dead for that crime, you would have had me killed last time I came before you. Certainly, you would not have risked the lives of Thom and his garrison to save me from the Loszians,” Cor reasoned. “Majesty, I know that you don’t trust me, and you’ll likely not be surprised to learn that I don’t much trust you. Powers in this world, Her Majesty included, have worked to manipulate me from the day I was born. Trust starts with one person. I have never lied to you, and I ask you to trust me. In return, I will make myself your loyal servant, and together we will free the rest of Garod’s people.”

Queen Erella dropped back heavily in her throne in shock of this man who stood so confidently in front of her. He was barely out of boyhood, but he spoke with a well reasoned mind. This Dahken Cor was far wiser than his age, and he spoke in a way that made one listen. And here he was, standing in her hall, with over a score of his people and one exotic, arrogant foreign woman standing behind him. What was it about him that made people listen to him and follow him? Even now, she, Queen Erella of Aquis and High Priestess of Garod, wanted to stand and proclaim her agreement to his ridiculous claims. She needed to think over the entire situation.

“Captain, please find comfortable chambers for the Dahken and arrange for them to have meals as necessary. Dahken Cor, I will consider your words, and we shall speak more tomorrow.”

She stood, and the entire assembly excluding Thyss knelt to the ruler of Aquis. The two women locked eyes for a moment, an imperious gaze fighting a defiant stare, and Queen Erella of Aquis exited the great hall with her aged advisor trailing behind her.

4.

“Surely, you don’t expect me to stand around for twenty years while you train your children,” Thyss stated derisively from her place on the plush bed.

The rooms they had been given in the palace were huge and airy, even compared to those in Taraq’nok’s castle. Thick, plush carpets and rugs lined the floor, and silk tapestries and wall coverings abounded. Of course, there were no slaves in Aquis, but paid servants who steadfastly did their duties waited on them heavily. The other Dahken were given rooms all located down the same corridor, and Cor rested somewhat uneasily having solid walls and doors separating him from them.

“You will be her loyal servant?” Thyss asked with a sneer. “Perhaps I was wrong about you, Dahken Cor. I think perhaps I should take my leave of you.”

She stood up from her place on the bed and stared at him intently, her legs set wide apart. Though they had only known each other for about a month, Cor had been with Thyss long enough to know when she issued a challenge. He also knew he had two choices; he could meet her challenge, or he could let her walk right out the door. Somehow, he knew it would be the last time he ever saw her. Cor lifted himself out of the chair he had sat in after removing his armor and walked to stand directly in front of her, mere inches away.

“I need the Westerners to understand that the Dahken are not evil, that we are no threat to them,” he said to her. “To do that, I need Aquis to support me. It is the heart of the Shining West.”

“I would have just demanded what I wanted. She would have given it to me, or I would have destroyed her precious kingdom and urinated on the visage of her god,” Thyss replied imperiously.

“And you would have died in the doing of it, killing the rest of us with you. Thyss, I love you, but you need to learn that sometimes destruction is not the answer.”

“What did you just say?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Sometimes destruction is not the answer,” Cor replied, “You can partner with people to create. Creation can be just as random and elemental as destruction.”

“No, you said you love me.”

“I,” Cor was about to deny it until he thought carefully over the words that had come so easily. “Yes, I did. I do.”

“Then I have finally broken you.”

They made love then, and no fire of passion was contained. Lying there afterwards, Thyss asleep against him, Cor realized what she had always sought. Everyone wanted Thyss; she was beautiful, powerful and dangerous. She didn’t need to be wanted, she wanted to be needed.

* * *

“I find myself in a most interesting predicament, Dahken Cor,” Queen Erella said. She had called him to her chambers just after he breakfasted. She expected him alone, and he very nearly refused, expecting Thyss to join him as always.

“Creation, not destruction,” Thyss said to him, “Besides, I would like to look around this wondrous city a bit.” So, he went alone as asked, and it did not escape his notice that half a dozen guards were in the room.

“What predicament, Majesty?”

“You were right, I don’t trust you, but I find myself daring to believe in you. You have already accomplished something I deemed impossible - your entrance into and escape from Losz. You claim to have slain one of their necromancers, of which I have no actual proof, but I do not think you are a liar. What if I agree to your terms?”

“Well,” he paused in thought, “First, there is something I must do in the west, but I don’t believe it will take long. Then I would need to select a suitable site. My family owned land near Martherus; I assume it belongs to me now.”

“One thing at a time Dahken Cor. Do not think I am going to let you plant a small castle just anywhere in the Aquis countryside. No,
we
will select a suitable place that will allow me to monitor you,” she paused briefly, studying his face. “What task awaits you to the west?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t believe it will take long,” he repeated. “Whatever it is, I can feel it coming to me as we speak.”

She continued to study his face, searching for any hint of deception before shrugging the matter away. “Very well. I will grant you land and title that you may hand down to successors as you will. However, I will garrison your holdings with a force of no less than fifty times the number of Dahken that stay there. If I agree to help you build a fortress or castle, how do you intend to finance it?”

“Hopefully, I have a great sum of gold awaiting me in Worh,” he replied.

“It must be a great sum indeed. I will send someone from my exchequer to Worh to retrieve your wealth. You will fill him in on the details. Where Dahken Cor should I place your castle?”

“I see an easy solution, Majesty,” Cor said, walking over to a map that hung on the wall of the queen’s office.

“Here,” he said, putting his finger on Fort Haldon. “You already have a large garrison there, and it is a strategic point for entry into Losz when the time comes.”

“Or into Aquis,” she replied, closing her eyes slightly. “Unfortunately, the location makes perfect sense. I will warn you Dahken Cor. Should you betray me and the Shining West to the Loszian Empire, I will destroy you and every Dahken ever born again.”

“Of course, Majesty.”

* * *

Cor decided that he would travel west alone. There was no need to bring the other Dahken, for soon they would have to travel back to Fort Haldon. When he informed Thyss of his decision, she punched him hard in the jaw, asking how dare he make that decision for her. She certainly was not going to stay cooped up in this castle, as impressive as it was, while he went forth and faced Hykan knows what. He should have known better, and rubbing his face where she struck him, he agreed.

They left the next day, putting Keth and Geoff in charge, as they were the oldest. Before leaving, Cor explained to the Dahken that they would not be gone long, and when he returned, they would have one more journey to make. It seemed that his very presence near the younger children made them feel safer, and many of them asked him not to go. He supposed that this is what fatherhood felt like, and he assured them it would be only a matter of days.

This time, there were no visions or subtle hints to guide Cor on his way; somehow, he just knew that he’d know when he got there. Thyss accepted his explanation; the entropy of the world was something she simply accepted as the way of things, but even so, Cor felt anxious and uneasy. There was also the fact that not only did they ride toward this thing on the horizon, but it also moved toward them. Whether it was a person or not, it was being guided to him, and Cor hated feeling manipulated by anything, even the blood in his veins.

They traveled the western road out of Byrverus, a road that continued all the way to the Endless Sea over a thousand miles away, though they needed not go that far. They passed through settlements virtually identical to the ones they had passed through a few days ago on the other side of the city. As the villages thinned and turned to farms, the cobblestone road ended, and a dirt road began. The weather was favorable, cool and crisp, and they covered the miles quickly. Cor felt as if he might jump out of his skin, and he did not want to stop even to sleep.