death's Knight 7

 

Chapter 7

 

Phaedros was not displeased that much of the early journey was up river. It meant the chance to rest after his first long walk ever. And it was only a mile or so; Harkon had said so. Phaedros was horrified at how hard he found it, and used some of his magical power to enable him to do it. He had to get used to two wolves along as well, Konisia, who was bonded to Kaz, and Lycaura, a golden-pelted wolf who was bonded to Rynn, who dyed her hair to match her wolf. It was striking with her blue skin.

He was also horrified to find that when the Alethosi drilled in the mornings, he was made to look a fool, even by their least experienced member, the trógling, Rynn. He was only able to beat the two lay member trógling,  Kvag and Dran.

“Someone has let you down very badly,” said Protasion.  “You’re still using those set poses with silly names, which nobody serious about war has used in two hundred years.”

“I was told I was amazing, and a prodigy,” gasped Phaedros, who was close to sobbing.

“We’ll sort you out, and then you can duel those who let you down and give them a good whacking,” said Rynn, kindly.

“It’ll be a world of hurt; Harkon is cruel to be kind,” said Kaz. “He will punish your weak points, to make sure that you have bruises, not deep cuts. I can’t say any of us are impressed by any family which let you be so abused – for it’s abuse as surely as if you were beaten and treated badly.”

“But why would they be so foolish? I don’t understand,” said Phaedros. “I am sure my father would have richly rewarded anyone who taught me properly. I… I didn’t have to learn my lessons properly; if I was naughty, there was a slave-boy who was beaten for me. I didn’t like that, though, so I did try to behave properly.”

“That does you credit, Phaedros,” said Harkon. “I am sure we are all proud of you for that. What happened to him?”

“When I was fourteen, and released from my teachers, he was sold,” said Phaedros. “I was told I should be ashamed because I cried; I was told that I should not be fond of a slave as they were nobody. But Mitros was my companion and friend.  The only friend I ever had, because he had to spend time with me to help me learn, or be beaten.”

“It is to be hoped that, as he was then highly educated, he was at least sold as a tutor where he would be better treated than many slaves,” said Protasion. “Is your father a cold, remote man?”

“I… well, I don’t really know him,” admitted Phaedros. “He has visited to test me from time to time, but I cannot say I know him well. But… but he is important, and he does not have much time.”

“A man who makes enough time to sire a son but does not make time to be a father to him is despicable,” said Protasion. “My father always time for me, and he is a very busy man.”

 

“Your priest is insolent,” said Pollonis, huffily. “He has no idea.”

“I can’t see Kaz sitting still for me treating a child of ours as you have that child of yours,” said Alethos. “I stand by my priest, cousin. You’ve let him down badly. Look at the way he fights!”

“What’s wrong with the way he fights? He knows all the forms and postures.”

“Which will get him killed.  Didn’t you see how easily even my youngest children here defeated him? He’s nothing but a pretty statue which can move a little, and believe me, dear coz, that does not work in the real world. And if you still use those archaic forms, it’ll kill you if we get into pitched battle with Selen and her cohorts.”

Pollonis paled.

“I will instruct the boy that your tools have my trust to teach him. I am sure his mother meant well; she is very devout.”

“I fancy we’re about to hear Harkon on the subject.”

 

Harkon patted Phaedros on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, lad, we can get you up to speed. I fancy your family is one of those old, hidebound ones where looking good is more important than being good, and you are supposed to be surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguard.”

“Why, yes, I am,” said Phaedros. “Only when my father appeared to me, and told me that this must be what the prophecy about me meant, I sneaked out with only a few close servants, leaving a note.”

“Oh, my giddy aunt,” groaned Harkon. His eyes went blank for a moment as he communicated with the spirit of his brother, who was his familiar spirt. “I’ve sent word back to Pythas to find out who you are and send word back to your mother, before letting your servants return, as they will doubtless be blamed. Which is only the first and most vital of what you just said which needs to be unpacked.”

Phaedros’s eyes wided.

“Oh, dear! Mother might have them executed,” he said. “I was expecting to have them with me.”

“Well, they’ll get a working holiday in our temple,” said Harkon. “So long as your body servant doesn’t try to curl Pythas’s hair or help him on the stool, it should be fine.”

“I homed in on ‘my father appeared to me,’” said Kaz. “And assuming that we have a demigod in our midst, there’s also the question of whether jealousy amongst his so-called advisors and tutors, toenail-primpers and pube-combers also has led to them stultifying the poor little swipe for wanting the kudos of being essential along with not wanting him to be too independent.”

“You have no social graces at all, Daykaz,” said Phaedros.

“No,” said Kaz. “I’m a soldier and I tell it like it is. And I’m angry on your behalf that you need us to bring you up. And please call me Kaz, in case anyone hears.”

“I…” began Phaedros. Then he flushed. “Maybe I do need bringing up, at that. Thank you for caring enough to do so, and being ready to help me.”

“Well, if I called a god a piss-poor father, I stand by my words,” said Protasion. “I assume there was a prophecy which made him seek out your mother, and he thought that unloading his august testicles was enough to fulfil it.  I only hope that his inaction hasn’t loused up things for our Kaz, and spoiled our chances to bring down the offspring of the Chaos Wolf.”

“For what it is worth, I pledge my life to the aid of the Daykaz,” said Phaedros. “What was that chime?”

“Fate, getting happy,” said Kaz. “She’s obliged to do it by the universe so we might expect some opposition.”

 

“Another piece is on the board!” cried Selen.

“Oh, it is Pollonis’s son,” said Daze. “I have taken steps to neutralise him. His mother is as stupid as a stump, though her titties are nice… not as nice as yours, of course,” he added, hurriedly. His sister was jealous.  “I appeared to her in the guise of Pollonis, after the brat was born, because of the prophecy that her offspring with the god of Light would help reveal the Daykaz. I healed her from the pains of birthing and made sure she could not conceive again and then screwed her royally to get her in the right mood. I told her that he did not need much training as he would have instinctive knowledge, and must not be pushed hard or he would damage his godly core.”

“Oh, well done, brother,” said Selen. “I wonder why he is with Alethosi?

“The powerful one there is one called Harkon,” said Daze. “But I know how to neutralise him, and to cause a rift between the Alethosi and the Solosians. It will be easy.”

“Oh, tell me, my brother!” cried Selen.

Daze sniggered.

 

 

“I am not pleased with my mother-in-law elect,” said Kaz. “I just got one of those prophetic things in my head. The words went, The lord of Truth must remember always to be True, and to judge as he sees truly regardless of the consequences to himself. If he is not true to himself all will be lost in fire and lightning, destruction and disruption.  So not at all cryptic.”

“I have been told that the men of the East curse ‘May you live in interesting times,” said Harkon, cheerfully. “That could refer to any of us, or Pythas, or even Alethos himself.”

“It may refer to his choice when we are able to be together,” said Kaz, her skin paling to light blue. “If… if he is as… neglectful as Phaedros’s father, I will not have the strength….”

“Never!” said Alethos’s voice in her mind. “I will learn lessons from my cousin’s failings; but moreover, I will want to spend time with you. I love you; you are more than a womb to fulfil prophecy, you are my Chosen and my Beloved.”

Kaz heaved a sigh of relief, projecting her own feelings of love.

“That potential problem averted?” said Harkon.

“It is,” said Kaz.

 

The being appeared to be the constellation Griffin, who bowed to three goddesses, and presented a golden egg.

“When this hatches, it will be my fair daughter who will both be the steed and the counsellor of much wisdom, to the fairest and most beautiful of you all; the three of you must seek out a mortal, a worshipper of Alethos, god of Truth, and ask him to judge him. But you must give him three days in which to choose,” said the apparent bird-lion.

The three goddesses squealed in delight at the beautiful thing. And it was beautiful; the surface of the egg was not plain gold, but shades of gold in an iridescent swirl, shifting and changing hypnotically.

“Why, we know who to seek,” said Thyella, goddess of lightning and wildfire, the Celestial Virgin. “There was a petition to grandfather by some Alethosi; his name escapes me.”

“It is Harkon,” purred Zeandine, goddess of Spring and lust. “I know I can sway his choice.”

“He will favour me, for a man always loves a woman who can be sure his belly is full,” said Secalia, a grain goddess. “With such bounty, his armies will always conquer, and he will be king of all the city states, and the north.”

Thyella frowned. She must find a way to compete with her cousins! What could she offer the stern Glyph-Lord-Priest?

Daze smirked.

He was not sure which one Harkon would choose; but that did not matter. If he chose to become a firebrand and muster armies, assured of food to feed his armies, he must surely come into conflict with the full might of the Selenite Empire, which would put him down before he got very far. If, as he suspected, Zeandine found him some lovely woman, with luck she would persuade him to carry off a woman in such a was as to incite a war. As to Thyella… well, she was hot of temper, and could be capricious, anything she used to bribe him would certainly cause trouble, and might involve the wind gods. He sneaked away to change back to his usual form, where he could laugh his fill.

Now wait and see Harkon find this goddess of a new dawn!

 

 

The authorities of Sideropolis knew the Alethosi and greeted them warmly when their ship docked.

“Off back to the Ghostlands?” asked the official who welcomed them onto the dockside.

“Yes, we have a mission there,” said Harkon. “How’s the trade from the community we set up?”

“Oh, very good,” said the official. “Those trógling you rescued from slavery are hard workers, and we have all manner of luxury goods, and not just what’s grown in the reclaimed fields; some of ʼem don’t like the light and have tunnelled into the mountains; we get exotic mushrooms year round, and spider-silk cloth which is light, but warm if needed, and it takes enchantments well.”

“It’s something some have been trained to do by the Toróg, to handle spiders,” said Kaz. “Harvesting the silk of outsize spiders is one of the high-end industries of the Toróg, but they make trógling do it where possible. The spiders find the Toróg delicious, and prefer to eat them rather than co-operate with them.”

“And trógling are not delicious?” asked the official.

“When you’re a slave, you learn ways to survive,” said Kaz. “Silk-collectors learned long ago that if they have been bitten by a smaller spider, and survive its venom, they become disgusting as meat. The spiders are aware that trógling are inedible.”

“Clever!” said the official. “The more I learn about trógling, the more I find to respect.”

“Thank you,” said Kaz.