The Book of the Blue House

Nine

Akkrebeth

You cannot bridge the space between what you expected, and what you find, and so you fill in the gap with foolishness.

Ifandell Modet, The Crystal Teaching

They had reached the end of the pathway, and by the dim glow of the last light, Conn, behind the two women, could see a great shape, a sleeping shape. Now he pushed through them.

“We have to,” Conn said. “It’s why we’re here.”

Conn was aware of watching himself, aware he was in a dream, he and these two women, one dark haired, one with reddish hair, both familiar in this dream country.

The shape did not move and now Conn wished he had his master’s power. But who was his master? Now, all he could do was reach out and touch.

“It is stone,” Conn said. “It isn’t real.”

He went further into the darkness and he felt cold, rough rock, carved into patterns of fur, carved into a thigh, carved into a great torso, he felt all around it.a recumbent body, and now he felt up it.

“I’ll get a light from out there,” one of the women’s voice’s sounded. It was close and muffled, so Conn knew they were in a restricted space.

He had already felt around the body and there again, above them, through them, came the long, low, fulsome sound of a horn.

The room was filled with a quiet warm light, and then the woman who had spoken was handing the little light to to him, saying, “I didn’t know if it would come off the wall or not. But it came so simply.”

“I feel like two things are fighting in this place,” the dark haired woman murmured. “The Lady whose stone this is, and the one to whom it has been given.”

She had taken the torch from Conn, and by it she saw a long figure, with the body of a man, but no man, larger than a man, and she and Conn climbed up, almost waiting for it to come alive.

Over him they stared. The face had a mane like a lion’s and the nose was a lion’s, but the horns were those of a bull, and as the dark haired woman stared into it, the horn blew again and shook her to her center.

“The Stone,” Conn murmured.

The dark haired girl looked down. In his hands, clutched tightly, was a black stone, and the dark haired woman said, “It can’t be it. That can’t be it.”

“But nothing else can be,” Conn told her, and he put his hand on the cold rock, preparing to move it.

“It’s fast,” he said, shaking it again. “It’s fast.”

And then, just then, she knelt across the large stone chest and said, “Release. Or I will break those fingers.”

And like that, like flower petals, the granite hands opened, and she took the stone.

At once it began to be warm in her hands. She gasped from surprise, but not pain. She opened her hands, and there was a faint blue light, and then it was growing clearer and clearer, and now the girl with the auburn hair gasped as her torch went out and then the Stone was brighter still, white now and as they gasped at the wonder they felt the horn again. She climbed up onto the belly of great carved monster to join them.

This time the horn did not stop, the shaking did not stop, and then Conn, his eyes filled with blue white light, declared: “It’s not the horn… It’s not the horn.”

Face full of sweat, body drenched, Conn shot up from bed. He was completely aware that he had been dreaming, and the girls, the women, in the dream had been friends. In the dream he knew what he was doing, and why he was where he was, but even as he wiped his face and climbed out of the little lonely bed in Derek’s old room, sitting up naked, and letting the late winter chill cool him down, he was aware of all of that knowledge slipping away and the dream falling into nothing.

As the winter approached spring and the mysteries of Annatide gave way to the Pale Days and then to the beginning of the Season of Turning, all the city listened for news of the war, and the Blue Temple was no exception.

“Gabriel could explain this better if he was here,” Derek said, “but he is gone and I will do my best.”

Conn remembered when Gabriel and Cal had left. Cal had embraced them all, and kissed Conn on the cheek saying, “Now you look after all these fools. Right, chicken?” and winked at him.

When Gabriel had hugged him, Conn had a different feeling and Gabriel said, in a voice only for him, “Maybe when we come back, maybe you and I can know each other better. The way we should have?”

It was when Conn saw the question in the greenish blue eyes peering from behind their spectacles that he understood. Why hadn’t he known? But he had felt it before, that the shy and quiet redhead was above him. Only at that moment did he understand Gabriel’s feelings. If things had been different that first day he was at the temple. If he had gound himself in Gabriel’s rooms and not Derek’s, how would things have been?

“Yes,” Conn had said to Gabriel. “Yes, we will.”

But on this day, Derek began the explanation he said Gabriel would have been better doing.

“Over a thousand years ago when the Sinercian Empire collapsed, Ynkurando, Ankar, which was the old Royan kingdom that had been part of it, began to collapse as well. They sent to Chyr for help, but Chyr and the other Royan kingdoms could only do so much, so in the end, the people of Ynkurando, and the people of Solahn too, called the Ayl to help defend them. In time they came as invaders, not satisfied with the land to the south that his now Sussail, and no longer wishing to be mercenariesa. The Ayl had originally come from the high north, in the land of Dayne, but in the time of the Sinercian empire thay had roved far into the south as mercenaries. When they came into the lands of the Royans they were tall and fierce, blond and ivory skinned with the blood of the Far South, and for centuries they fought or made alliance with the Royan to form the lands of Sussail, Senach, Essail and the largest of them and the heart of old Ynkurando, Westrial.

“Now five hundred years later had come the Hale, and the Hale were the same was the Ayl, except they had never left the Dayne homeland until now, and people were simply pronouncing the word differently. They settled in the north, and though there were wars between the north and south occasionally, for the most part, they found a peace. The high north was sparceAlong with the Ayl and the Hale kingdoms were Elmet, Reghed, Ossarian, Solea, Alladae and Chyr, the ancient Royan lands strong and populated which had never let in us white men, and then, to the south were Solahn and Armor, the last vestiges of the old Empire.

“In time another group of raiders came out of Dayne, but they never had a foothold in any of the old Royan lands. They harassesd the coast of Sussail, Solahn and Armor, and though Sussail was technically a kingdom of the Ayl, it had many links to the Celtibern kingdoms. Sussail and Solahn agree that if the Dayne would settle in the marchlands between them and bring order to that disputed territory, then that would be their possession, and so they came to live there. But these pirates were called, in time, the Lords of the Domain, or Domans, and their territory became Daumany.

“When Gillem the Second of Westrial died leaving, as some reckoned, no heir, it was time for Edric of Daumany to claim what he felt was his rightful throne, and so the Domans came up the mouth of the River Chyr and marched through the Wedding Country into Ondres by the Sea and took it as their capital. For five years they fought the lords of Westrial to make the throne theirs, but they never took the Kingsboro or dared enter the Greenwood. Lords were removed from their lands and stripped of their titles. White Priests were thrown out of their monasteries and minsters to be exchanged for the Grey Orders of Daumany.The Ancient Orders were put to flight. The Archbishop of Kingsboro, who actually was the Abbot of Purplekirk at that time, opened the city to all ture Westrelmen, and had the backing of the throne of Chyr. King Edric appointed his brother as the new Archbishop of Westrial and the hearts of the people were heavy. In fact, this was during the time of the First Robin Hood, and any Domans who entered the wood land did so at their peril. For five generatiosn the Domans ruled, and for two they ruled absolutely before the people came under the leadership of Prince Anthal the First, and he was crowned at Kingsboro by the Abbot and Archbishop.

“The war which began in the fens continued for five bloody years, and ended with the expulsion of the Doman lords when they were not executed, and their heads put on pikes.But the Domans had poor knights, some lords had fourth sons and fourth sons who had fourth sons. A lot of people were poor and used to living with the rest of the people or Westrial, and so we remained, swearing loyalty to the king. Wealthy people gave up their lands, and so that’s how my ancestors, and Cal’s and Gabriel’s came to live here. There was a time when Domans hid their heritage and the privilege they had known, pretending to be Sendics, Ayl. But we are paler, whiter usually, and have darker hair. Black as opposed to brown, red rather than ginger. Rarely blond. We had kept separate from the other people, and when our star was fallen, then no would intermarry with us so our features remained. In the passage of time, as the Ayl were distinguished from the Hale, so the Domans who returned to the south or never left it, were called Daumans.”

It was these Daumans, who were now at war in the south with Westrial.

Despite what everyone said, Prince Cedd had gone to war, but though he might be heir to the throne, his younger brother along with Anthony Pembroke and Frederick Meriwether were accounted the greatest generals. They had led the the armies to the Zahem Pass which was entry way into Westrial, and sent the eastern forces into Sussail, having gained permission to enter from King Raoul.

“Queen Ermengild of Chyr protects the river and will burn any ship that tried to enter the bay,” Derek said. “Daumany had Zahem as an ally, but they cannot really match us. I only wonder why they would try, and then, even if they can not take all of us, they can take some of us.”

Conn supposed that Derek meant Anson. When he heard about the war stratagies he could not help but space out and grow sleepy, but it was the history and the links between the different countries and royal families that always fascinated him.

“Bellamy still wishes for Westrial. He wants to expand and, I think, wants to give his dukes a unified focus so they do not oppose him. But he would need the permission of Sussail to do this. Raoul may have even given it, but the Queen of Sussail is Hermudis. She is cousin to Bellamy, and also a cousin to the King of the Two Hales.

“William. Yes. And the Duke of Daumany is his cousin too, and his possible his heir.”

“But that means he could attack Westrial on several sides.”

“No. Hermudis is a Daughter of the Rootless Isle, and allied to the lady Nemerly, and she, like Nimerly is a descendant of Ifandell Modet, the great prophetess. What is more, they are both kin to Akkrebeth and to Ermengild of Chyr, so Hermudis ensures that Sussail can never ally with Daumany. What is more, Hermusis is the daughter of the King of Armor, Armor and Solahn are long allies to the Royan kingdoms and to us.”

“But there is still the Two Hales,” Conn said, and Derek raised an eyebrow in surprise, for he had not been sure that Conn was listening,

“Yes, that is so. But King William, to maintain power, married into the great House of Baldwin. His wife is Edith and she and her father and brothers are always plotting to take power from him. They care nothing about the Daumans. So William’s allegiances have to be with Essail, the only one of the Ayl kingdoms which would treat with him.”

“And Anson’s sister is the Queen of Essail,”

“Yes,” Derek said. “I have never known her, only seen her. But she does not seem like the type of person who wold have much allegiance to Westrial or Anthal. However, her husband is honorable, and she would play her part.”

“And,” Conn thought, “since King Anthal has no grandchildren but through her…”

“Yes,” Derek said, “at the moment Westrial could very well be the inheritance of Morgellyn’s children.. You do have a knack for this.”

“It’s all about relationships,” Conn said. “It’s all a great story, really.”

They were sitting in the great solar on the first floor of the Temple, where the patio doors looked out onto the great couryard and now they heard feet padding behind them, and presently turned to see, entering, the Abbot Hyrum.

“I’ll tell you another story,” he said, “It is the story where Conn must come to the sanctuary in five minutes.”

“What?” Conn began.

“Which,” Abbot Hyrum continued without explanation, “means you should probably start walking now.”