The Night Before the Banquet

The king stood in front of one of the most frequented local taverns in Eden, The Scholar’s Indiscretion. While the outside building of the tavern was dubious at best, the inside was a novelty. It contained midnight blue satin cushions with ale stains all over it, a large bar counter made from deepwood, and the finest drinks on this side of the ocean. The tavern’s ceiling had wooden arches that contained lanterns with a dull flame. Ink black quills hung from chains wrapped around the arches with the point facing the drinkers. The tables underneath the quills were also made from deepwood and covered with a thin coat of blue. It was tradition in The Scholar’s Indiscretion to write words of wisdom or great fun all over the tables. There was not an inch on any one of the tables without phrases such as “Alodis, the wisdom goddess” or “Eight wheat bushes equal nine densharions.” Densharions were the standard money that most Kallondonan inhabitants used to make purchases and looked like small bronze coins with a square missing out of the middle.

The most notable saying in The Scholar’s Indiscretion was the words pasted on the main stone wall that was behind the bar counter. It reads “What is wisdom without love?” The king’s favorite joke was to point this question to patrons of the tavern with a mocking smile and question them about what it means. It never ended well for the one being pestered by their sovereign.

The king began to walk into the opening of the tavern. To the observant onlooker, the king was unrecognizable. Gone was the slouched posture, the glazed eyes, the hair unbound, and the foolish smile. In its place stood the king standing to his entire height of six feet with his long black hair braided in a complicated pattern with gold rings intwined in his ebony locks. The king’s normally bare ears were pierced in three different spots with earrings of gold studded with sapphire gems. Instead of his amber upturned eyes being washed out, the king wore kohl under his dark lashes and a tunic of the darkest black. This would have been striking to any of the king’s court as he usually wore pale blues or neutral colors. The effect of wearing black made his eyes look as striking as a tiger’s pupils before it stalked and ravished his prey. Most notably, the king wore a half mask that covered from his nose to his chin in black satin cloth.

The king had inexplicably changed character. In the place of Kallondona’s sovereign, the thief lord of Aster, Thyin Morlock, stood. He was known for his fearsome reputation but mostly for his strategies and games he used on his enemies, victims, and even allies. Nothing was ever straightforward with Lord Thyin. He would as soon as charm a man as destroy any sense of peace. Most of his deals with his patrons were made over a game of chess or a dagger fight. Lord Thyin was not particularly picky about what he used to fool men if it achieved the end goal.

There were many curses attached to the thief lord’s name. He was a clever devil and anyone who had tried to wager against Thyin would recognize their fatal error as he stole their fortune and even on occasion their freedom or life. While his identity was the King of Kallondona, this alias fit him more as a person.

As a boy, the king had grown up terrified of the world and the harm it could bring him. For no one truly endowed by Alodis’ spirit ever lived past fifteen summers. The king’s father, Melaron, at the time had tried everything in his power to disguise and protect the spirit that dwelled in his son from being discovered. Royalty or not, god-blessed or not, an Alodis marked was always hunted. The young prince, Cyprus, had grown up sheltered and had a private tutor that taught him skills that far surpassed the normal education for a royal heir. Cyprus was taught misdirection and timidness by his tutor. While Cyprus never acted timid unless it came to swordplay in front of people, he learned the art of misdirection well. No one would look twice at a pompous, drunk, out of control fool and assume he had Alodis’ spirit. Cyprus took it upon himself to become the biggest fool in Kallondona.

To give himself an outlet for relief, the prince began to thieve as a commoner known as Thyin. And after stealing a couple of mandrake fruits from the wrong thief lord, he was pressed into the man’s service. Many years passed with him answering under the thief lord, Gyron. Cyprus quickly rose in rank as his talent with weaponry was unparalleled and his cleverness unmatched. It was no surprise when Lord Gyron named him his heir and passed the torch to him.

Lord Thyin’s thief guild began renowned for its swindling and success. Under Thyin’s rules, the guild grew from forty-four persons to one-hundred and eighty-three people. They all wore a brand on the top of their left arm with a symbol of a half-masked man. The mask covered the man’s face from the top of his forehead to his chin and was inked in dark black ink with everything else being skin toned. There were no facial expressions on the man. He was a blank canvas that represented the misdirection and secrecy Lord Thyin and his guild had made a reputation from.

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The king could breathe when he put on the mask of Thyin. He could use his wit and knowledge for good. He could be respected by people who saw his worth and strove to help him. Thyin was the man Cyprus could have been if the goddess had simply stepped back and let him continue his life. Thyin had so many more powers granted to him than the sovereign king of Kallondona could ever have.

He could do what he loved.

He could even protect his country more.

He was no longer powerless.

He was no longer cursed.

He could redeem himself.

He was not a fool.

He could master his love for swordplay.

He could be happy.

The king was a . . .

Sovereign.

Thief lord.

Protector.

Swindler.

Drunk.

A man possessing a serious allergy to all liquor.

A legendary fighter.

A weak man with the inability to practice swordplay.

A brilliant, conniving man blessed by Alodis.

A witless fool.

A stick in the Captain Gambria’s ass.

The man who saved the captain’s life.

A healthy young man.

A person ravaged by an illness with no cure.

A person incapable of love.

A man who would die for those in his protection and very much enamored with his childhood love.

So, what was the Kallondonan king?

Which was true?

Which was false?

In essence, an enigma.

The Enigma King.

As Lord Thyin strode into The Scholar’s Indiscretion, his brown tooled boots made faint clicking sounds as he walked. The thief lord could see that the tavern was dimly lit, and few occupants were in the room. As night had fallen swiftly, it lent the tavern a more secretive atmosphere. Many Kallondonan citizens would be asleep in their beds at this point in the night. In fact, any occupant left would have been there for the sole purpose of a suspicious meeting. As the thief lord looked around, he could see three individuals huddled in the corner of the tavern exchanging what appeared to be densharions rolled in plant leaves. All three men kept their gazes down and their hands close-fisted. After observing the trio for a few more minutes, Lord Thyin swept his gaze to the opposite side of the room. The only other occupants were a group of four hidden in their tight cloaks with ales sitting in front of each person.

After making a whistling sound with three breaths inserted between, the group of four looked at Lord Thyin expectantly but discreetly.

As Lord Thyin navigated the tavern’s chairs and tables, he had a hunter smile ingrained on his tan face.

“Gentlemen, long time no see” Thyin sang in a mocking voice.

One of the men looked particularly vexed and said, “You know very well, Thyin, that your company is never desired by anyone and its your company that I would not force on my greatest enemy.”

“Well, Salazar, has become quite opinionated in his old age. Getting married will do that to you” Thyin said with a smirk pasted on his lips. The other men began to relax as the banter between their comrade and their thief lord remained amiable. Salazar was in fact Lord Thyin’s right hand man and had a healthy respect for his thief lord. They were first comrades, master and henchman, friend and friend, and now brother and brother. They were brothers in heart and soul even if their looks differed from day and night.

Salazar had the appearance of a wealthy young man. He had ash blonde hair that always stuck up in way too many directions. While his eyes were a normal brown, they had the glint of mischievousness and devilishness that few would ever dare to call him common. Salazar was shorter than his thief lord by an inch. But as handsome and courtly as Thyin was, Salazar equally was renowned for his good looks. It was part of the reason he was sent to bribe the local taverns and handle all formal contracts that involved Thyin and the Aster guild.

As for the knowledge of Thyin’s real identity, Salazar was aware and was extremely protective when it came to how Thyin fared in court. Salazar’s greatest wish was that Cyprus would one day shed the name of Thyin and become the man he was destined to be. He knew without a doubt that the king Kallondona needed was none other than his sometimes clever and foolhardy friend. But as to if Cyprus was open, was another question to ponder entirely.

The men began to formulate more steps of the plan for the banquet night. It had to go perfect and exactly according to plan or Thyin risked exposure and Kallondona would certainly reap the consequences.