XXXIII. On the 22nd of the second month, first year in the reign of King Medrios, a mounted herald arrived at the Ceor, with an urgent errand from Culgarost, soliciting the now fully invested prince Elbracht to visit the capital and formally bend the knee to Medrios II, to thus fulfill the customary oath of fealty to the crown, every lord, both lesser and great, must take.
Little could it be foreseen, that this errand would awaken much uncertainty and doubt among the Clasthaur. They met in the residence to discuss the matter. Asadue was present there and made sure to note of their talk in his memoirs. Carédock was first to speak,
-“There is no need for prattle,” said he “our answer should have been clear. The king can remain in his capital as long he wants, but if he wants us to pay him a visit he should bring an army to bring us thither.” Elbracht was concerned that his voice was too alike his father’s,
-“And what do you suggest?” asked Elbracht, “will you have me send him his herald back empty-handed?”
-“we should send him his herald back, yes” said Carédock, “but little by little, limb by limb. Let the king know we are not a people to be meddled with. That way he may learn to mind his own business and keep his nose away from Keor. You saw it yourself in the trials, brother. The king was keeping correspondence with the Ealdorman, whilst he planned to have us all killed. How can we trust the crown after such a thing?”
-“the Ealdorman had said many times, that he and the king wrote to each other, that much is true” said Tulfric, “but he said that, so he could keep his position and power intact.”
-“what about the letters” said Carédock, “in them, he clearly referred to Elbracht as a threat. Should that raise no brows? I say we should stay here right where we are and follow in our father’s footstep”
-“what do you mean?” said Tulfric with frowned brow. Carédock then turned to Elbracht,
-“You are the rightful lord of Keor, and everyone in this city loves you, and the lords respect you. I say we crown you altogether, let us do this of our own accord. Let’s confront Culgarost once more and show the whole realm what we are made of. You, Elbracht, will be named Haradking, you shall be King of the South like in Asadue’s stories” the evoking of that title was surely a tempting prospect for the Edoran at the time. He dreamt of being the legend kings his tutor had taught him of. Was that a chance for him to be called thus? Was his childhood’s dream at last put before him ripe for the taking? Elbracht’s mind cooled and said,
-“You tempt me with those words, brother” said he, “but the people of this kingdom cannot afford another war. Our coffers are poor, emptied by rebellions and fancy feasts that lasted weeks. If we go to war now as you say, we will lose and who knows with what other family shall the king supplant us in the South?” Elbracht was confident of his words but his other options were not as clear.
-“We should go to the capital” said Tulfric “but not to kneel to the king, we must confront him in other ways. Whatever is discussed in the capital is eventually talked of in the other kingdoms. House Sentriary has a strong grip in the capital; they hold the throne, the largest banks, and even some valuable agents of the white tower, House Sovarós has the whole Fold of Sheep*(2) in its pocket—most Eniméres and High Hoods*(1) favour the house of the griffin—, regarding Neldor, they have a long history of supporting the Order, so their allies in Culgarost are firm. Lastly there is house Nillöre, they might not have much support in the city, but still they control the largest fleet, and for the Sentriary to get to the capital they need Nillörian ships, so their standing is very much secure. But, what of us? So far the only thing we have gained from the capital is contempt.”
-“Uncle Carédock lives there,” said Memlafar unsure of what to say.
“Besides him, we have no one, Mem” said Tulfric “They dislike us, they hated our father, to them we are what they call ‘a minor kingdom’, I don’t believe Carédock’s approach is any good, but it gives us some standing, nonetheless”
-“And what do you suggest?” asked Elbracht, “should we declare open was against Culgarost? Is that what you are saying?”
-“Not at all, brother” said Tulfric, “in fact I mean quite the opposite, we should do as the King asks, only to find some ground to hold on to in the Capital, we can bribe lords, or marry one of us to them, there are plenty of possibilities, but to find friends in Culgarost, we must go there”
The Lady Aveline was the most troubled by this discourse, in her mind she could not fathom any of her children going to the capital,
-“Why must we burden ourselves with this talk?” asked she, “I am sure a letter or edict signed by you assuring him of your allegiance will satisfy the king. But don’t go to the capital, Elbracht. That city is a nest of vultures, where the powerful prey on the guiltless. Not even a lord of your prestige is safe from those beasts in their palaces. To play the game of Culgarost is to die trying to gain some favour. Even your lord father with his immense pride returned trounced and humbled. I even thought, they had stripped him of his manhood; the poor man was so broken inside after returning thence, he barely had enough appetite to eat.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
-“How do we know you are not doing this out of love for your cousin?” asked Tulfric coldly, but he could only shrug as his mother then told him,
-“I have no love for the king.” said she, “He might be my kin, but I doubt he has any sentiment for our shared blood. If he did, he would not have sided himself with a man like Brenn Corgann” she then turned back to her son, Elbracht. “Just think Elbracht, what good will it bring you to go to Culgarost?”
The prince pondered in solitude a while, until his eyes glinted as said,
-“We still have the matter of our coffers” said he, “they have run dry and it would take years for us to get back on our feet. When our father came back to Keor, though drunk and half-sane, he spoke of a deal he had struck with the King; it involved some sort of trade route. He said it would bring us many riches. Perhaps the King remains of the same mind, and we still can find some common ground to improve our relationship with the crown.”
-“Nay, Elbrach” said Aveline, “Medrios will try to find a way to humiliate you, to humble, he will do whatever he in his power to belittle, like he and his counselors did to your father”
The ghost of Elreck appeared once again as a shade in the mind of Elbracht, haunting his every thought and alluring him ever to follow on his steps, was it the curse of his title, that he might be faced with the same questions as his father? Or was it else, the fates jesting with is already tormented soul? Elbracht stood firm and took the hands of his mother, he looked at her in the eyes saying,
-“I am not my father,” said he, “I will go to Culgarost, and talk to the King, I will stay there weeks if need be, but I shall not come back empty-handed, I swear. They will not break my spirit, mother” the Aveline fell to her knees perplexed, Memlafar tried to console her, but she would not respond, it appeared as she had lost a battle.
XXXIV. On the 23rd of the second month, Elbracht held court in the castle, declaring, he would journey to Culgarost to take the oath of fealty to the King. This prompted a sour discontent among his loyalist supporters; general Caradon was among those disillusioned upon hearing of this. There was an encounter between the two men, so gossip tells, in which discourse the ghost of Elreck seemed to have haunted the prince once more. They met in the Armory according to Caradon, lord Elbracht had just returned from hunting,
-“did you find any prey?” asked the general,
-“We found a boar,” said Elbracht, “though we did not catch it. The beast was too wild and swift.”
-“that is not the answer I hoped to get, my lord” said the general, “In Culgarost you either hunt or are hunted. Now you might be as quick as your boar and escape from the hunter, but who is to say there aren’t better stalkers in the woods to will catch you from behind?”
-“I am not going hunting, general” said Elbracht, “I am going to take an oath”
-“O but you are going hunting, my lord” said the general, “the capital is a hunting-ground, just like any woods or fields. The difference is the huntsmen won’t catch you from your behind, side or front, they will snatch you from above, ‘tis why they call the city, the Vultures’ nest”
-“I am aware of that, general” said Elbracht recalling his mother’s words, “still I have taken a decision. I shall take my chances, but there is no better alternative”
-“of course there is, my lord” said Caradon, “you can stay here, where you have plenty of allies and friends, where no man can hurt you, and if they dare come hither and drag you to their capital, the whole south shall rise up in your defence”
-“Caradon,” said Elbracht emolliently “I know you care for me, but I will not risk another war. This kingdom has had enough of it. Let the people rest, let the armies breath, let us labour the land, let us trade with south and north, we need to heal our many wound, in any case we don’t have the money to afford another rebellion.”
-“let me at least go with you, my lord” said the general, “I will be your sword in the capital, and keep you from harm’s way”
-“I am afraid, I won’t allow you that either” said Elbracht and before he could say anything,
-“prithee, my lord” said Caradon, “I was dispatched back to Keor, as your father most needed of me. In my absence, they humiliated him and destroyed his standing and name”
-“I do not doubt, that I could not ask for better sword than yours,” said Elbracht, “but I will be taking my brothers with me, and in our absence, who shall look over this city and indeed the whole Kingdom?” the general startled and Elbracht then said, “there are too few men, I truly trust, I am glad you are one of them,” Elbracht gave him a parchment in his hand,
-“I had it already signed” said he “I hereby name you Earl Marshal and Bearer of the Principality while I am gone”
Later that day, Elbracht met with his council of governance and instructed its members on the details of his journey to the Capital, he give some directions to general Caradon regarding the care of the city Ceor; some in the Council suggested, it would be wiser to give sir Tulfric charge over the city and kingdom, but lord Elbracht had decided to take all his brothers with him. The lady dowager was also counted among those who would accompany him in the convoy. Asadue writes regarding Aveline in his memoirs, the prince had convinced his mother to go with him, so as to calm her sorrows and stress, yet some scholars now believe, Elbracht had other uses for her in the King’s court conveying that her kinship with the king would prove profitable as a reminder of their unity and shared blood.