Galen Vesa
Even though my eyes had no issues with evening darkness that cast its cloak around us, the tiny slits in the armored cart restrained my view to the nearest surroundings. A compromise between having windows or suffocating inside this Iron chest.
Not that there was much I could see. Right from the gate we moved through a sprawling maze of tight streets, packed with buildings on both sides. Homes, pubs, inns and small shops dotted our path. All closed for the night. Here and there we passed some night’s watch members strolling through the deserted streets. Their weapons clattering against their armor sounded akin to eerie wind chimes.
That’s about all I saw of the outer city. A meat shield for the inner town, populated by nobles and excessively rich merchants. This inner ring too had a wall separating it from the rest of the world and as befits a barrier separating the rich from the poor, this wall boasted twice the size of the previous one and its guards zealously inspected anyone passing through. As much as no one dared to peek inside our carts, it took a moment for the guards to clear us.
“Stay in.”
Fenella ordered when they let us through the outer gate only to bar us from leaving the tiny plaza between inner and outer gates. She herself unlatched our wagon’s door and slipped out onto the fresh air where she marched towards awaiting officials. I saw her once more procure her judge magister identification and I thought a similar scene to what I witness on the ferry would play out but they were having none of that. One of the officials acknowledged her with a head bob and shown her inside towards the building they came out of. The rest casually stared my way, as if expecting some sort of spectacle. Yeah, well, today this dolt will disappoint you. I feel no need of prancing around and gathering attention. At least not right now.
“Up to this day I never questioned the past of any of my girls.”
Altina’s faint whisper made me look her way.
“They come from all walks of life. Most often than not, they are running away from their past. Whatever that past may be, I never dug deeper than what was necessary for our safety. Karin, answer me truthfully, what are you?”
Sadness filled her eyes. Sadness and, fear?
“At this point? It is easier to say what I am not. I’m not an elf. Nor a human. You may say I’m a ferru but that too would not come close to describe what I become.”
Or what I was.
“There was a time when I thought I knew who I was and what lied ahead of me. Now I’m not so sure about any of that. When you first asked me if I were an assassin, I honestly though I was not. Turns out that might not be true either. My entire life, the longer I look at it, seems riddled with spots that do not fit together no matter how much I try to make sense of it. I remember things I never did or I did things I couldn’t remember.”
My own mind felt alien to me. As if I were to sit in a car that belong to someone else and nothing fit.
“So, to answer you, I don’t know. I can tell you who I think I am or who I think I was for that matter but I have no idea who or what I am. Better yet, you can ask that of those cheating meddlers if you wish, I don’t think they can provide you with a coherent answer.”
I put my hand on her lap, electing a shiver in her body.
“You’ve been mixed into something dangerous because of me. I’m not going to offer you my worthless apologies. Instead, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”
“Even if it means going against the entire empire?”
“Even so.”
“Sah, you sound like a teenage boy playing a knight for his lady. Merciful Shamuu, you indeed are a troublesome one.”
“Only for a bit more. I’ll need to take part in whatever farce this is and then I’ll be off. No more trouble for you, my guild master.”
“You are going to kill the emperor, are you?”
Ah, the fame of my pointy ears. Even you my fluffy friend?
“Why would I? No, if I had any say in it, I wouldn’t come anywhere near this damn empire.”
All I need is a way to wake up a snoring lizard and I’ll be off, as far away from here as possible. After all that happened to me even the demon continent sounds more enticing than this place.
“Can you swear that to me? Can you vow on the names of the spirit queens you are bound to that no matter what happens beyond that gate you will not kill anyone here?”
Well, that the easiest oath I had to take in a while.
“I do. I will not harm anyone in this city without your approval, so I swear on the names of the spirits I am bound to.”
That we heard and stand witness.
The spirits chimed in in our heads.
“Now, do you trust me?”
“Sah, I do. I do but,”
Altina’s fur puffed out.
“Why would you phrase it like that?”
I pat her knee.
“Because world is not black and white. Sometimes the greatest evil can come out from the purest intentions.”
That and Logic though a loophole might be needed in case the birthday party turns sour.
Calmed by the oath I made, my fluffy companion unbuttoned her collar and loosened up her shirt. Something I have never seen her do in public.
“Sah, I give up. Lord Shamuu help me, what kind of monster gets swayed so easily?”
She huffed out, raking her fur into submission with her own claws.
“If I had an ounce of your ignorance when I was a cub, gods, how different my life would’ve been. Perhaps then I would even have a happy childhood?”
“Should I interpret that as a compliment?”
My comment elected a snort out of her and she shook her head.
“What did you do to cause all this?”
“Nothing much. I blew up a city. Well, half of it. No worries though, the better half is still there. I mean the part were there are people walking the streets. The other one had less appealing crowd. ”
She let out a pained, tiny yowl.
“You asked, didn’t you? And, if that’s any comfort to you, the things that went away along with the town weren’t people. Whatever took them, happened before I even got there.”
I asked my spirits to grant us some privacy and described her my excursion into the town and what I found in that basement. I briefly mentioned the lantern and the things it compelled me to do. I told the wolf about the first gate I locked. About the people that died because of me. About the catgirl that took a knife to her heart for me. I talked about the Island and yet more lives lost because of me. I told her what I knew about the one from beyond the gate and its cult.
And I felt good. I felt so horribly, horribly good that I told someone what I went through. Was I falling apart? I had never experienced something like this. Well, who cares? Not that I could do anything about it.
But even to her, even though spirit contract bound us, some things I left unsaid.
“Does the empire know any of this?”
Altina spoke in the ever-growing darkness of the upcoming night. Outside our armored box, people went and lit oily lanterns. Here and there in more important places, brighter mana stones shined, illuminating gates or parts of the plaza we stopped at.
“Aside from the island incident? No. “
Evening rain began drumming against the outside of our box.
“Then best it stays that way.”
What started as a gentle drizzle in a matter of moments turned into a rumbling downpour. I saw several knights running for cover before a heavy curtain of rain blocked all visibility.
“As you say, you’ve been compelled to come here. Did that entity you described, left you any clues as to what is expected of you?”
I don’t know what troubled me more. Her question or the fact she believed me.
“No. I’m supposed to figure it out and... Does it not sound, crazy?”
“Unusual? A, yes. Crazy? No. I have heard people claiming more ludicrous things with much greater conviction. Besides, many holy scriptures often mention messengers such as the one you mentioned. The account of the unnamed hero that slayed the last Demon lord is the best example. It describes in detail many of his conversations with an invisible entity.”
“I am no hero. Nor do I wish to be.”
“Sah, you have nothing to worry about child. Your actions, while noble at times, do not befit a hero. Trouble is, such messengers can come from both sides.”
Did the wolf just told me that I am the baddie? Oy, what’s with that stare? Oy.
“I’d like to point out I don’t plan on becoming a demon lord either. All I want is peace and quiet.”
“So you say but, you do appear to have the necessary qualifications. Control over the spirit queens, unimaginable power and,”
She paused looking at my ears.
“Last known demon lord was too of elven origin. Not much is known about his father but legends say he was born or made of elven mother.”
“While I have the misfortune of resembling one, I am not an elf. Not a drop of their blood runs in my veins.”
Altina sighed as distant thunder rolled through the sky above us.
“Yes, yes but, did it stop anyone from believing otherwise?”
“No.”
“Sah, do not despair child. Even though we sit here and wait, no one bothered with as much as locking us inside this wagon. Nor did they attempt to chain us. That gives me reasons to believe you have so far a neutral record with the empire. Let it stay so.”
This dolt will try. I promised that to myself but the appearance of one more familiar mana signature made me doubt my chances. Garbannel von Melleroy appeared out of nowhere amidst the rain and after a brief pause, as if letting us notice his arrival, he nonchalantly marched towards our armored wagon. He arrived in the company of his faithful spirit whose name I could not recall. She held a black umbrella over their heads. More for appearance’s sake as I could see the water droplets parting and skidding away from their path before even hitting the said umbrella. Even the large blotchy puddles drained away from their path. She smiled at me and bowed her head when our eyes met. Even though I sat behind a wall of iron plated wood, she knew.
“It seems we shall soon have a company.”
“A, so it seems. So it seems.”
A knock on the door confirmed her worry and the man himself opened the side hatch Fenella left unlatched and climbed inside. A moment later, after folding the dry umbrella, his spirit joined us in the suspenseful silence.
“Honored guests,”
Garbannel gave us a polite bob with his head and leaned back comfortably.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Allow me to extend our apologies on the behalf of our emperor, the sun of empire, for this upsetting conduct of imperial guards. The emperor finds it troubling that his law-abiding citizens,”
His eyes and his smile lingered at me when he implied the word citizen. Well, there was that letter requesting swift payment of overdue taxes and another one about something like me being a citizen now. Yup, something about the empire granting me the rights to pay taxes.
“Were forced out of their homes and dragged through the town akin to common thieves. Please believe me when I say it with heavy hear, we were forced to act in such manner by our concern for your safety. ”
“We are humbled by his majesty care for his subjects.”
Altina performed as best a formal bow as the circumstances allowed her.
“Please, your honor, accept our apologies. Finding time to come here in such weather, I cannot feel any other way but troubled.”
“Nonsense my dear. I personally came to extent my thanks for the gift you have sent my way.”
What a charming smile this man had shown me. If it wasn’t mixed with a gaze that searched for all an any flaws he could use against me I would give him full marks.
“It was on such a short notice. I hope it was well received?”
I parried using my own fake smile and loosened up my charms a bit. Let him feel uncomfortable.
“Yes, what a splendid gift it was. We shall talk about it more but not today. I am sure you are both tired after such arduous journey. To recompensate you the stress caused by such forced relocation, the emperor has granted you the right to use flower palace as your lodging during your stay at the capital. The knights will take you there. Please rest well.”
“Flower Palace...”
Altina’s eyes glowed like the spitting image of golden coins she envisioned in her mind, long after Garbannel left us. Let the news of her staying at one of the nine legendary estates of the emperor reach the ears of all the nobles in the capital, those simpletons will fight to get in line for whatever goods or services her guild would offer. Eh, at least she’s happy now. I? I haven’t felt so out of place in a long while. I got used to toothing those overgrown pillows around and ignoring comments like ‘look an elf, let’s kill her!’ but suddenly being offered a stay in an actual palace? Nope. That’s a whole new bag of unusual.
“Sah, what’s with that look? We’ll be swimming in luxury for a while. What not to enjoy about it? Don’t tell me child you would prefer to sleep in a dungeon?”
Well, I already slept in a dungeon once. And I set myself on fire. Okay, perhaps a comfy bed did sound better but still, it only makes this whole affair more convoluted. With a dungeon I would know where I stand and what to expect. With a palace? Sigh, where’s the lizard when I need her?
“There may be a hidden meaning to this unusual hospitality. How often does the emperor house elves within his residence?”
That made her chuckle.
“A. There is. Not only will they be able to spy on each our move and control everyone meeting with us but they are also dangling us like a worm on a hook to whoever may take the bait. They are fishing for someone or something.”
“Does that not bother you?”
“No. On the contrary. Whatever happens, we will demand further reparations. Besides, with that alcoholic of your nosing around, what can happen? She’ll torch down the entire place? That’s the gist of our worries. And do better mind your tongue. They say that walls have ears but, in the capital, you live inside one big ear.”
Hmm? Now that I think of it, Fire did roam around not really trying to conceal her presence.
What are you doing?
I asked sending some mana through her name. With the personal blessing of lord Garbanell, guards let us through and we continued onward, into the inner town. I thought Fenella might join us again but that was not so.
Cleaning.
The spirit of eternal flames answered with a ~don’t bother me, I’m busy~ tone. Can’t say that it put a whole lot of confidence in me. Rather, her voice rubbed Logic the wrong way. She asked me to make certain.
Should I know?
No.
A lightning-fast answer, even more annoyed than the previous one.
“That alcoholic is up to something isn’t she?”
By some unspoken magic, Altina once more deciphered my empty stare.
“Yes, I think so. How can you tell?”
“A? Simple. A am me. That is enough to tell.”
The wolf smiled as if her explanation meant something.
“A, I See my words baffle you. It is not so difficult when one has so much experience as I have, dealing with countless customers. A successful deal often relies on one’s ability to read their opponent better than they can read you. I had plenty of practice in this art. That and,”
She pointed at her own head.
“My heritage gives me plenty of advantage over others not so well equipped by nature.”
“Even so, how? I thought...”
“That you’re a blank? That nobody could tell? Sah, true. I have never dealt with anyone with such a repertoire of fake smiles and gestures. As if Your body did all that without any effort on your side. That kept me stumped for a great deal of time but, there are signs. Tiny little quirks and cracks in that perfect mask of your indifference. A, there it is again. You are troubled. There’s an ocean or raging emotions underneath that shell of a cold, heartless elf. That is what I see when I look at you. I hope you will not hold it against me that I’ve cracked your little secret?”
Huh? That little speech got me staring at her for good five minutes. Ocean of boiling emotions? Me?
“Would you humor a selfish question from me? I won’t pry into what or why you are like this but, does it not bother you? Keeping a tight leash your feelings. Suppressing even the most miniscule display of emotions. Does it not tire you?”
I newer though of it. I never had to.
“There is no deeper meaning behind that act as it is not an act at all. I did not elect to behave in this way. It is just how I am. How I ever was. I know of nothing else. The emotions you speak of are nothing but a guesswork to me.”
I stared at my bandaged palm. What I told her was not a lie. Although not an entire truth either.
“Sometimes I do am like I almost should feel something. I remember that in this or that situation I should experience... something. Its always almost there but it never comes. That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”
“A. As much sense as when people expect me to wear nothing but my birthday suit. Why bother with all those uncomfortable suits, they say, when your fur covers everything! Sah, if I... A. that was unsightly of me.”
She rubbed the top of her own hand stroking her own fur and watching it slide between her claws.
“Whether it makes sense or not doesn’t matter. Everyone has their own reasons. For me, a wolf in a suit, this bothersome tuxedo is a way of showing the world that I am not an animal they see in me. At time it also served as a reminder to me that I am indeed not a vicious animal but a thinking and feeling being. A person. Those are my reasons to bother with this senseless fashion. I am sure you have your own reasons as to why you hide yourself behind a cage of those fake smiles. If one day you should wish to talk of them, I shall listen gladly.”
“Perhaps one day then.”
My lips offered her one more of my automatic smiles and I looked away. The rain lessened to a steady dribble but the spiraling passage chiseled in plain stone our wagon trailed up, offered little to no views. Every so often, a portal cut in the wall would bath us with moist air of the night and my eyes would catch a glimpse of roofs of the town we left below us, growing further and further away from us. The flower Palace or wherever they were taking us remained a mystery to me even though Altina tried to paint it for me.
“Build around six hundred years ago as a gift for most beloved wife of emperor Kuan, the flower palace became one of the nine wonders of the empire. Heralded as one of the most beautiful places of the entire capital and revered for its magnificent gardens. Designed by no other than the famous Abandrelli, the palace takes it shape and color after blossoming, pink lotos flower. It is set on a manmade lake, chiseled in the side of the moon mountain the entire capital is built around.”
“Moon mountain?”
“A. It is said that when the dragon lord of the past, Vorgul, took to the skies and shattered the moon, a shard of it fell here on the central plains, giving rise to the moon mountain. The only mountain within no less than several weeks travel in any direction.”
A shard of the moon a? Hmm, no wonder they built a town around it. The tallest point among near endless plains. A source of rare metals if their moon bore any similarities to the one earth had.
“How tall is this so-called moon mountain?”
“No one knows the exact numbers. The empire keeps them secret for safety reasons but people say it takes shy of two days by carriage to reach the top. Depends on who you ask. There are those that insist the journey to the top took them a whole week which too is not so farfetched if one factors in the emperor’s orders. We’ll be staying at the flower palace which alongside its attached gardens, takes up half of the second topmost level so I we won’t get there before the sunrise. Sah, I forgot to mention the most important. The rest of that level belongs to the moon palace of one hundred chambers where emperor’s wives reside. For our own safety, do not wander around.”
A hundred wives? Either brave or stupid man. Eh, nope. Polygamy aside, that’s just unpractical. There is bound to be tension between the women. And yet, this empire somehow did not fall apart after.
“I don’t intend to. Tell me, a hundred wives. How does that even work? A new woman every night? That cannot be true.”
“Sah, it’s more complicated than that. At all times, there is only one Sun of the empire. Be it an emperor or an empress, they never share their power. One is made to rule the other is made to obey.”
“I think I saw that line on some of the books in the guild. Does it have a deeper meaning?”
“A. You read the marriage contracts. You know how some of those work out. The imperial family is no exception. Their lives are even more convoluted. They must follow two strict laws. One, all that marry into the imperial tree must cast away their freedom and their will by binding themselves into permanent slavery. Those seals cannot be removed even if one is cast away. Hence, all the wives and concubines have no power. Neither do they have any say in any matter pertaining to the empire. They become the property of the empire.”
“For male suitors it’s even worse than that. As it is too great of a peril to force an empress through multiple pregnancies, male suitors are scrutinized much the same way a breeding mare would be chosen. Of all that aspire to sire an heir, all have their freedom taken away and all are put through a contest where only the victor can stay alive.”
And I thought I had issues. Their life sounded like that of a breading stock.
“That brings me to the second law the imperial family follows. There is only one qualification all candidates to the throne must carry, that is, to share blood of the imperial family. Aside from that? Anything goes.”
“Anything goes?”
“A. Be it a child from a first wife, a maid, a concubine or even a kabu if the emperor would fancy to plow one. The law states that if the child is capable of reason, it will be brough through the same training regime. Both mental and physical. At the age of nine their testing begins. Useless ones are weeded out while gifted ones climb up.”
“Isn’t that kind of barbaric? And here I thought the elves were the cruel ones.”
“Barbaric? No. Practical. It does away with all the squabble that accompany the fight for succession. Sworn in by an unbreakable oath, the judges cannot be influenced in any way. All trials are voluntary and at any given stage the child can give up. And a few do every year until the heir is chosen. Therefore, every year, several children are stripped of their rights to the throne, branded as discarded branch, enslaved and sterilized so no failed offspring could be brought into the imperial line. Same goes for children that fail to finish their studies before the age of eighteen. Those too are cast out. In the end, only those that show the highest merit remain.”
Well, back on earth people feared eugenics. Here, the empire went out of its way to supplement natural selection.
“Out of all candidates, only three are chosen to continue the imperial line. If all three are female then two more children are picked.”
“Spares?”
They even though of that.
“A. Too often an heir was lost due to some interference. Even guarded as they are, accidents happen.”
“And they intentionally take in outsiders and put them so close to a potential heir? Why would they trust us so much?”
“Just so.”
Altina’s fangs shined at me through one of her fuller smiles.
“Whatever they plan for this party, it seems that stakes are so high that even our presence in the palace is justified.”
She clenched her fists and I could feel slight tremors run through her body.
“We are but a spark they intend to cast at a barrel of rum and this time I will not stand and watch the flames. I intend to make the best of our stay here.”
A spark to start a fire. Heh, if the odd one had been so bent on tossing us into whatever trouble stirred within this palace, I don’t think it will end with well for us. To confirm my hunch, an unpleasant voice stuck somewhere at the back of my mind whimpered in silence, too scared to voice his mind out loud. I hardly ever listened to Fear’s ramblings but, sometimes even he got things right. Now, even Logic looked his way. All of them knew. Something will happen.
“Sah, you still worry about the upcoming party? A? Cast those thoughts aside. We will worry when we cross that bridge. May the Lord Shamuu guide us through that night.”
Altina drew some sort of a religious gesture in the air between us then tapped on her side of the wagon.
“To the right, look. We arrived.”
I swapped my seat for the one Fenella used when she rode with us and I peeked through the slit the side. Bathed in warm glow of the dawning light, a gate made to resemble silver vines swung open before us. Beyond it, tall pines peered at us from both sides of our path, paved with white stone.
As the gate closed behind us, and vanished among the pines, sounds of cascading water filled my ears. Soon as we neared the exit of that corridor of swaying trees, the source of all the noise became clear. An array of tiny streams meandered through a maze of flowers and greenery, here and there sprinkled with oriental pavilions. I don’t think I could name a dozen of flowers I saw among the myriads of colorful constellations strewn throughout this garden.
Driving up a little slope, we were heading towards the source of all water. A round lake formed by a basin cut in stone and flooded with crystal water. Even though it appeared at least five or six feet deep I could see the magnificent mosaic encrusted on its bottom. Floating over the white stone as if we were traversing a bridge made of moonlight, we arrived at a circular plaza where our wagon began to turn around a central obelisk and came to a stop in front of a path leading up to the palace itself.
“So many people.”
Just before our wagon, a line of servants stood in waiting on both sides of our path, up to the steps of rose-colored stone that lead to the entrance. At a glance, no less than a hundred maids and butlers awaited our arrival. Mixed in were guards, gardeners, cooks and others whose profession I could not guess.
“A. I’d dare say the best spies the empire had to offer.”
One of the knights of our escort, came forth and knocked on the side of our wagon. Altina unlatched it and the doors came ajar. At the same time, two stable boys went through the trouble of setting up a wooden staircase for us. One of them risked peeking inside but when our eyes met, he instantly averted his gaze. I do not blame him. My beastly eyes ominously glowing within the darkness could drain blood away from faces of much harder men. I once saw my reflection during the night. Creepy does not begin to describe what I gazed at me from the mirror.
Inspecting her immaculate suit for the final time, the wolf took a deep breath and descended onto the paved ground. Giving them a moment to adjust to their first guest, I stepped out of the wagon and paused to take in the magnificent sight. Glazed in pink and white stone the flower palace spread its inviting petals to the morning sun. Its crystal windows refracted light, casting rainbows on its surroundings.
One of the nearby knights offered me his hand and froze, his face becoming white as a bleached paper. Perhaps because he noticed my bandaged arms and realized what faux pass his gesture might bring. Or perhaps because he got a good look at my long, jutting ears. Nobody briefed them about their guests, did they?
A murmur spread through the line of gathered faces. Eh.
I did the obligatory flap, flap with my ears, showing them, I could hear all those intriguing comments then smiling at the knight, I descended the remaining two steps in the most noble manner I could muster.
Taking my place beside the wolf, I waited what would happen now.
A Majordomo marked by diamond pins in his cuffs and a golden medal proudly displayed on his chest, cleared his throat silencing everyone and approached us.
“His excellency, our Sun of the empire wishes to convey his sadness for he could not personally come and greet you, honored guests, as his duties kept him occupied elsewhere.”
Meaning, we got to stay at the place but we’re not that important since none of the officials came to greet us. Or something along those lines. I’m not sure. The sparse and rushed education I got in the guild about court etiquette and all that high society mumbo-jumbo, did not allow me to read their intentions properly.
“Once he returns, he is sure to correct that. In the time being, please make yourselves at home and rest. Everything that you may need shall be provided.”
At those words all the present servants bowed before us in perfect unison. Fancy that.
“Please allow me to guide you to your rooms.”