The convoy parted for the capital on the 24th of the second month and lasted longer than a week to arrive at the capital, since the route they opted for did not cross the city of Fyore, presumably to not mirror Elbracht’s famous ‘almost siege’ from a month ago. Anyhow, on the 7th of the third month, lord Elbracht came to the city of Culgarost and the tides of the good season were their escort. Some in the capital took it as a good omen that warmth adorned the prince’s arrival, beautifying the city with the colours of spring, and there was a smell about him that the common folk followed whithersoever he went.
In Eldershold, his smell was not so pleasant. King Medrios had not forgotten the infelicitous episode of his coronation, and the prince’s untoward popularity at his arrival angered him all the more so. The last two months had deemed his reign to be an inept one, closely echoing the reign of Elorio III ‘the unfortunate’. It was for him pivotal to show his worth and strength both to the noble houses and lords of the realm, as well as to the judging Order of Neldor. Taming the ‘Harad-lion’, (Elbracht, as some people in the capital used to call him) was to his eyes a long well-deserved prize, yet he could not press the prince as long as he wished, since to fulfil his contract with the White Tower, Harador had to remain subservient to the crown, and the people of the Southern Kingdom were made of a very unruly wood. Lord Elreck had been the perfect pawn for Medrios, alas his son and heir proved to be much more wilful and hard to sway.
Even more concerned thereof than the king was the lord Osguald Guelmo, the King’s chamberlain and top advisor, his fears were of a slightly more pressuring kind. The ‘Banker of Nations’ had long had an understanding with the White Tower, so rumours convey, that lord Elbracht was not a ruler, they could manipulate so easily, as had been the case with his predecessor, and other lords.
Now is when history starts to become more obscure. In the city it was widely believed and perhaps wrongly misattributed as gossip that Guelmo’s connections to the White Tower were of a dark nature.
XXXV. The convoy went from the west gate through the old city district, then the new city, parading through the forum until it reached Eldershold. The prince and his family were welcomed by Sir Henn Forne, a herald of the crown and majordomo of the castle. Normally a day or two would be needed or else preferred to prepare the oathtaker for the ceremony, yet the young king was impatient and eager to exhibit to court his powers over the lord of Ceor, so he had the event arranged for the day of his arrival.
Sir Henn led the prince and his companions through the Grand Hall , where numerous lords and gentries were gathered, their mood was mixed, some remembered him from the day of the coronation, admiring him thus, while others scornfully saw in him too much of Elreck, not in looks but in manners and pride, many among them were wary that he would brusquely turn into his father and declare war against any of the kingdoms, if not all, at any moment. King Medrios sat on his throne that day and by his side were lord Osguald, the chamberlain; Umdénur the pale, guardian of the city; and The Most Reverend Wold Fedmoor—who wore a white cloak and a capirote-hood of carmison—Enimére of the Sagrary and royal chaplain, all of which served as the king’s tongue, since Medrios never uttered even a single word during the whole ceremony.
Once the Clasthaur lords reached the steps of the throne, all of them bowed down to the king, except for Elbracht who standing proudly and tall, put his hand upon his chest and staring at the king’s eyes took the oath of fealty,
-“I, Elbracht of Clasthaur, lord of Ceor, Prince-elector of Harador,” said he, reading of a scroll unrolled before him, “do promise and swear by the Celestial Fathers, the Earthly Mothers and all gods of the Pantheon, that I will be faithful and observe my homage and bear true allegiance to his Grace, King Medrios the second, rightful heir of the crown of Adein and King of the High and Lesser Men, by whose will and mercy we do live and breathe.”
-“You do this with a hand on your heart” said T.M.R. Wold, “and you stare at his Grace’s eyes, but you will not bend the knee. Is there thus any truth to the words you proclaim?”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
-“This I say in full conscience and without deceit” responded Elbracht,
-“Then why do you not humble yourself before your lord and king?” asked the Guardian Umdénur, “is your head so light it may not bow down to the Throne of Men?”
-“Nay, my lord Guardian” said Elbracht, now looking back at the king “and yet I have found that those who bow and bend, often hide from your grace their eyes so as to conceal to themselves their thoughts and lies, to later turn their back against you. I do swear that I will mind my oath, and I look into your eyes, your Grace, to show you that I have spoken plainly and mean what I have said.”
Elbracht, physically at least, did not bend the knee, much to the outrage of both the young king and many at court. Lord Osguald tried to quell his master’s wrath; he later stated in the King’s council that ‘solely by taking the oath in spite of not visibly humbling before the throne, he showed himself subservient to the crown’. In the eyes of Medrios, however, not bowing down to him was an insult to his person. Both lord Osguald and T.M.R. Wold attempted to divert the king from those thoughts, yet the Senn-lord was determined to deprecate Elbracht by any means necessary. Lord Oswald ever shrewd persuaded the king to summon the lords of the realm for the ‘council of princes’, so as to once and for all implement the plan King Medrios and the White Tower had convened almost three months ago, this way Elbracht would be forced to bow down to the king along the other prince-electors of the council, as it was customary.
Regardless of these efforts, news of the incident rapidly spread across the city and by the next day, every backer and craftsman, every priest and soldier knew of the prince who refused to kneel. The reception of this news as in any other gossip that travelled the city was varied, though generally there was a cloud of mysticism about the person of Elbracht and many saw him as man of prowess, there was faction among the citizenry, especially the older folks and those close to power in the gentry, who found it insulting that Elbracht would not bow to the hallow authority of the King. They began to outwardly make comparisons with his father, since many of them remembered the man who had conquered the eternal city, after the death of Elorio III, and his men who attacked every brothel and tavern in the capital and unlawfully taxed trade in the city markets. This faction of people called themselves the officialists, for they upheld tradition and shunned anything new. They began mockingly calling Elbracht ‘Elreck II’ and ‘son of the rogue conqueror’.
Nevertheless, the officialists for people were used to hail the prince whenever he pranced through the city, maidens gifted him flowers and bards sang of his name in many tunes. But there was a manner of folks which took this love to the extreme. Quite of the opposite pole of the officialists, this commune was obsessed with Elbracht and revered the man as holy, they claimed that the mistake made by Susére Vaxar V in King Medrios’ coronation was preordained and proof of Elbracht’s divine right to rule. These people were simply referred to as the Fanatics by the common folks and Elbracht would intelligently try to distance himself from them.
XXXVI. On the 8th of the third month, Medrios sent word to all the kingdoms, summoning the prince-electors to attend the King’s court on the matter of the Realm’s debt to the Order of Neldor, a topic that had not been solved and two wars and the death of a king had delayed. But the Council of Master had pressed the crown ever harder, and had already withdrawn some of their services from the realm; mages and knights of the Order were slowly disappearing from the streets and many of the trained Neldorian physicians and apothecaries that kept cities from the illnesses of the age, were dispatched back to the White Tower, leaving large tracks of the population ailing and unattended.
House Clasthaur was already in Culgarost and the king held the titles of Lord of Arthalyon and Prince-elector of Harador, so there was no need for the Sentriary to attend, yet the house was still divided. Aveline feared his son would not count with enough friends among the other houses, so she sent word to her brother lord Dundos Alcobos to come to the capital as representative of the king’s house. Lord Osguald Guelmo later became aware of this and soon after lady Aveline was called to an audience with the King, to which she refused. In her stead, lord Elbracht attended the audience, the lord of Ceor following that encounter told Asadue and his mother of what had been discussed, in response to her actions the king asked for his kinswoman, Aveline to leave the capital. Elbracht wrote of this episode in his memoirs that he hated to see his mother depart, feeling remorse for not having knelt to the king if indeed having done so could have prevented her from being banished.
Elbracht 'stands' before the King [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928675464401281116/1090923333547208704/Elbracht_stands_before_King_Medrios.jpeg]