Destiny's queen 16

 

Chapter 16

 

Pollonis found the underworld disquieting, even though the cavern ceilings soared high above.

“I don’t have to explain myself over care for my son,” said Pollonis, sulkily.

“You have to explain what you were doing intimidating and behaving lewdly towards one of my lord-priests and favourites, one of my wife’s best friends,” said Alethos.

Pollonis’s mouth fell foolishly open. He had forgotten that this trógling was powerful in her own right, and was also a friend of the Mother of Trógling. They all looked alike to him.

“I just wanted to show her up as someone getting close to my son for his power, because he is very eligible,” he said, angrily.

“I don’t sense a lie from you, cousin, but I find that hard to believe under the circumstances,” said Alethos.

“Circumstances? What circumstances?” said Pollonis, bewildered.

“Rynn has known your Phaedros since she was a hardened warrior, babysitting a wet-behind-the-ears godling who blundered from trouble to disaster because his tutors had all failed him and pretended to let him beat them at feats of arms, so he was under the dangerous illusion that he was better than he was,” said Alethos. “She brought him on to the point where I was able to take over his martial education myself. She helped him to integrate with mortals, how to look after himself, and has listened to his concerns when he did not understand life outside his cocoon with his fool mother. They have fought side by side, faced undead together, and now, she was the one he chose to take with him to face Aima, because he trusted her to have his back. And she did; he’d have had a hard time taking down the Blood Queen without her help, from what I have seen in her prayers of coming to terms with doing something as momentous as killing a deity. However much we may hate the undead, it’s still a terrible thing to have to do.”

“Huh?” said Pollonis.

“Oh, honestly, cousin! Have you been too busy glowing at yourself and polishing the shine that escapes from your buttock cheeks to take note of what has been happening in the world?” demanded Alethos.

“I resent that!” said Pollonis.

“Well you might; but you resent it more because it’s solid truth,” said Alethos. “Grow up! We’re in the middle of a war against Selen and her brother, in case you hadn’t noticed; your father gets it! He understands that the restoration of your half-sister, Mycota, is one of the signs that Fate has all her pieces serried on the board for an end game, and that the removal of Aima is a move which places Selen and her brother into zugswang! And though she’s too modest to declaim it from the rooftops, Rynn is a heroine of that move, and had the courage to back up Phaedros in such a way that it moved her from glyph rank into heroine of mine.  And as such is a more than worthy match for your son; I would rather perhaps ask, is he worthy of her? But I like the lad, so I won’t twit him about living up to her. And you try to come between them, by exerting your power to overwhelm her, and would then, if she had bowed before your presence, have declared that as evidence of fickleness? Pah, the games you sunlings play are foolishness, posturing and playacting.”

“I... sunlings is usually a name for my younger sisters,” said Pollonis. “It is a derogatory term used by some...”

“Then I use it accurately!” roared Alethos. “Now, sod off and go back to painting your toenails gold, and poking glowing coals up your backside or whatever hobbies float your boat to make you as airheaded as your sisters, and accept that your son knows his own mind. You ignored him all his life, and now you care who he marries? Ask him who he turns to for advice; it isn’t you. Checking that she was worthy, indeed!  I only let her marry into your sorry family because you turn out some decent ones like Thyella and Phaedros. And I certainly wouldn’t let any of mine marry you, you unmitigated idiot!”

 

Pollonis fled to the sunsphere, only to find that Thyella had told his father about his actions, and had to endure a royal chewing out from the mighty sun himself, somewhat less scatological than that of a soldier’s soldier like Alethos, but equally pithy and embarrassing.

He did not send any spirits of retribution after Rynn, but nor did he apologise.

He sorely missed his son’s worship, as Phaedros refused to worship him anymore.

Pollonis was regretting a lot, but was too proud to eat crow when it was young and tender. He took himself to a mountain top to brood on how unfair things were.

 

oOoOo

 

“Daze!” said Selen. “Look who’s off sulking by himself. Do you suppose he’s jealous that his son had all the glory for killing my poor Aima?  Let’s take revenge on the whole brood. If we can take his powers of light, the red moon will rival the sun in brightness when it is full!  All shall adore me and despair!”

“Let’s scrag the bastard,” said Daze. “Get one back for our side.”

 

oOoOo

 

“I don’t really understand why he was acting like that,” said Rynn, upset. Phaedros was cuddling her one side; Kaz the other side, and Lelyn holding her hand. Protasion had stayed in the new temple to Alethos in Selenopolis and Lelyn was glad to divert her mind from missing him. Hunting down bloodsuckers had been something of a priority, but local Alethosians would be able to take over the temple soon, and their friends would be home.

Alethos joined them.

“I’m afraid I was not polite to your father, Phae,” said Alethos.

“I don’t feel like being polite to him, either,” said Phaedros. “What was he thinking?”

“I think he’s been reading bad Illyrian novels,” said Alethos.

“What, that nonsense where princes dress as shepherds to find a true woman, or pretend to have lost their kingdom to test their own true love and see if she is?” said Lelyn.

“Spoiler; in plots like that, most of the time she isn’t and he wanders, mourning, until a young woman does something for him without expecting reward and he raises her to his estate and expects the poor girl to cope with it and with the whispers of his servants,” said Kaz.

“Oh, you’ve read them,” sniggered Alethos.

“I flicked through a few,” said Kaz, not bothering to say that Lelyn had a collection.

“I liked them in my teens,” said Lelyn, beet-red, but with dignity.

“And they are very suitable to like in one’s teens,” said Alethos. “But most people don’t go around acting them out.”

“I’d worry more if I didn’t know that Polos wrote some of them,” said Phaedros. “I suspect my father thinks mortals really work like that, whereas I know fine well Polos isn’t as stuffy as he can pretend, and wrote them with his tongue firmly in his cheek.”

“Oh, well, I corrected a few of Pollonis’s misconceptions,” said Alethos. “I suspect he’s going to go and glow sulkily on a cloud for a while.”

And then Phaedros stiffened.

“Oh, Phaedros! Please help me, my son! If you have ever loved me at all, I am under attack!”  he heard his father’s mind voice.

“Father is under attack!” he said.

“What are we waiting for?” said Rynn. “I might be furious with him, but this has to be one of the Selenite crowd.”

“We’re coming,” said Kaz, taking Alethos’s hand. “Take us to him, Phaedros.”

 

oOoOo

 

It never occurred to Pollonis to go into the world armed. He was a major god, voice of his father, the sun, and the idea of being attacked was not one which even crossed his mind. And without challenge! Even Tor, who might have attacked him, would have issued a challenge, and a formal exchange of insults. Having a rain of rocks from the sky out of nowhere, and a rain of arrows upon his person was downright rude. He was able to shield himself once he was aware there were attacks to shield from, but not before he was wounded. And then Selen and Daze, armed and armoured, were attacking him, and Pollonis took up two rocks to fashion into a shield and spear; but as they were moon rocks was disconcerted when his shield attacked him, and his spear turned into a snake and tried to bite him. He threw them off and fashioned spear and shield out of pure light, safer, but more tiring to maintain.

And then he reached out to Phaedros in quiet desperation.

In honesty, he did not expect Phaedros to come, not after having had his choice of bride insulted; but he could scarcely call on Polos, his gentle scholar of a son, or on Alethos, his cousin... not after their recent conversation.

Consequently, Pollonis was amazed that Phaedros came, and not only Phaedros but his bride, and Alethos and the only trógling Pollonis thought he could recognise, the Daykaz. The two trógling went for Daze, who laughed at them, but not for long. Selen called more sky-rocks but Alethos extended a shield.

Daze was soon hard-pressed and fled; and after a curious little gesture so did Selen. Phaedros would have sprung after her in pursuit, but Kaz grabbed his tunic.

“Do not pursue. Do not attempt to kill, or all will be lost.”

“How can you be sure?” asked Phaedros, his blood up.

“I have my mother-in-law in my ear issuing instructions; trust me, the time must be right,” said Kaz. “And we’ll be glad of you to deal with... that.”

That was all the sky-rocks amalgamated into a towering monster with a maw of gnashing rocks for teeth.

“Why didn’t she do that with the rocks she hurled at Mesolimnos?” wondered Kaz.

“You deflected them, dear, and that thing is virtually mindless,” said Alethos. “She couldn’t be sure it would generate facing Mesolimnos, or her troops, and which it would go after. It has been imbued with a basic, animalistic intellect and the orders ‘Maim! Kill!’ and not a lot else.”

“Let’s get above it,” suggested Rynn. “We need a flood to turn it into an avalance.”

Pollonis took her hand and that of Alethos, leaving them to reach out each to their lover, and drew them upwards.

“Nevra! My sister! Rain, a storm of rain!” he called.

Kaz looked at Rynn.

“There’s a stream there; why don’t we shift rock to divert it?” said Kaz.

The heavens opened; and the trógling directed overpowered mining cantrips to build a waterchute aimed at the rock monster as it flailed wildly at them with stubby rock appendages.

“And now, rock to sand,” said Kaz.

More mining cantrips, and the chute of water hit rocks which were turning to sand, and the water kept going, coming out of its chest.

The monster looked down at the cascade and roared, in frustration and confusion, its stubby hands trying to stuff rock back in the hole.

“How I love thee, my sweet love, overpowering cantrips still,” said Alethos, laughing at the confusion of the monster.

“If we all cast rock to sand at its feet... er, the bottom end of it....” said Rynn, “It ought to collapse on itself. She quickly taught the cantrip to Phaedros and Pollonis; Alethos had already learned the toróg mining spells from Kaz.

“I... but cantrips are used by the commons! How can they be so powerful?” asked Pollonis.

“Cantrips are used by the commons, cousin, but with a fraction of the power we are putting into them,” said Kaz, and Pollonis managed to push down a rise of resentment over Alethos’s wife also calling him cousin. “Some glyph spells use common spells or cantrips twisted slightly, and in need of godly backup in power. And some spells have been taken by those who can use glyph spells and turned into spells anyone can use, by shedding the godly components, like the bug-killing spell, which is a much toned down version of the peaceful kill spell used by the plainsfolk worshippers of Skybull and Skycow to slaughter beasts without causing them fear or pain.”

“And that is a changed and less powerful version of my own spell, spirit severance which removed the spirit of a sentient from its body,” said Alethos. “I developed it for bloodsuckers, though it has been used against the living. I was happy to share some of its mechanics for peaceful slaughter of animals. And the monster appears to be falling in on itself.”

It took some considerable expenditure of power, but the thing was reduced to a pile of sand, washed away and separated in the rain.

“Let us just put the stream right,” said Rynn.

“Why bother?” asked Pollonis.

“Because there may be people on its normal course who depend upon it; and because a waterchute like that is unnatural, and that is just rude to the spirits of place which guard the mountain, to say nothing of the spirit of the stream,” said Rynn.

Pollonis bowed his head.

“Forgive me, my daughter, for my arrogance, over this and over my foolish thoughts about you, I beg you,” he said. “I am humbled before your compassion and appreciation of what it right and proper.”

“I... I accept your apology... father,” said Rynn, flushing purple.

“Thank you, father,” said Phaedros.

“I am the one who should thank you all for a timely rescue,” said Pollonis. “I might have fought them off, but I doubt I should have done so without them taking much of my power.”

“And that was why we came,” said Phaedros. “Because it was the right thing to do... and because I want to learn to know my father as a father.”

“You shall, and your bride as well,” said Pollonis.

“Well, thank goodness for that,” said Alethos. “A sunling learning sense.”

Pollonis blushed, but did not argue.