Gods Save The Queen: Book 4 - Stardance

Gods Save the Queen

Book 4 - Stardance

Created and written by Duleigh

Edited by KMaz317

Introduction

Gods Save the Queen Book 4 - Stardance

The year is 3432 on Kodu, a planet in the Thaal system, a star so far from our sun that conventional spacecraft will never reach it before the rigors of the journey destroy the ship. The sun in question is Thaal, a warm yellow star with two planets in orbit. Closest is Zigu, a gas giant. It has never supported life, but at one time it had a moon that did. The next planet is Kodu. A ringed planet, Kodu, has three moons; the two larger moons have rings like Kodu; the smallest moon is furthest out and known as the Day Star.

Half of Kodu is populated, but because of Kodu’s polar tilt, the land north of the equator is barren and impossibly hot, or sub-arctic cold. The only living things north of the equator are vicious and brutal. Residents of Kodu call the land north of the equator The Burning Lands. This was caused by a galactic catastrophe that almost destroyed both Kodu and Zigu. A rogue planet pulled Zigu out of its original orbit outside of Kodu into an orbit closer to Thaal. As Zigu passed Kodu, one of Zigu’s moons struck Kodu’s only moon. The event tipped Kodu’s rotational axis and showered Kodu with rocky debris from the destruction of two moons. The collision shattered Kodu’s moon into three smaller moons, and the shower of debris destroyed the elven cities and civilization that had ruled Kodu for thousands of years.

Up until this point, elves were the dominant species on Kodu. But a race of super-beings that the elves called gods took refuge on Kodu. Sometime during or after this catastrophe, humans made their presence known on Kodu. Eventually, as humans, dwarves, demi-giants, and humanoids rebuilt Kodu, their society was equivalent to 16th century Earth, with sparks of higher technology appearing. However, the gods truly control the planet, and while magic was allowed, technology wasn’t.

South of the equator, life was flourishing. All five continents were inhabited, and each had its own story. This story takes place on Edux, the second smallest continent, the smallest being Bovuka, which is close to the equator. On the western edge of Edux lies the foreboding Snowcross Mountains. High in those mountains lies the small kingdom of Uduithia, a mountain kingdom where more land is vertical than horizontal. This is a land of hardy men and women: farmers, woodsmen, shopkeepers. King Uric, a former minstrel, is the ruler of this land, and most of his people love him; the rest are politicians.

Uduithia was a land where your neighbor may be an elf or possibly a dwarf, and no one complained like in the larger cities. It’s not because the people of Uduithia could be considered progressive or forward thinking. Just the opposite, it’s because they’re too busy working for a living to worry about their neighbor’s species. All Uduithian believed that folks were folks, and neighbors were friends, regardless of their species. In the kingdom of Uduithia, everyone got an even chance to work hard, raise a family, and with luck, own a wagon and a well-trained mule. Uduithia was home to humans, mostly, but elves moved in and prospered at the foot of the mountain where their ancestors had taken refuge so long ago.

Magic is real here and takes several forms. There’s the powerful magic from wizards where almost anything can happen, then there’s the medicinal natural magic that the witches practice, where the magic is in the plants and herbs and used for the good of the rural communities. There’s the Kodu bound magic that gave rise to imaginary creatures of the first humans on Kodu: fairies, garden gnomes, brownies, and other small creatures that arose after the first Stardance.

The County of Hay-on-Wægn is part of the Wægn duchy run by Duke Nicholas Stein, once the finest swordsman on Edux. Nicholas started his career as the only male witch in recorded history and as head of the Royal Guard in Breaze. On the day that Nicholas married, the king re-married, and the army took that opportunity to mutiny during the new queen’s coronation celebrations. The king and Nick’s wife were murdered, along with the entire royal court, all led by the ranking generals who were under the control of the demon god Zeddicus. With the kingdom of Breaze in an uproar, Nick scooped up the new queen and ran off to protect her from the militants. The gods “blessed” Nicholas with magic from before there were gods on Kodu, and boundless knowledge that took Nick months to recover from. The magic of Polyeidus, the ability to change species.

With the queen safe, Nick gathered men he could trust, and they went after Zeddicus, but the queen followed and, being a sourceress she helped Nick slay Zeddicus, which earned Nick the title An-Belth, Godslayer. Returning to his home in Uduithia, the land of his ancestors, Nick and the young queen Octavia married and took over Nick’s ancestral farm. To reward Nick and fill a void in his royal court, King Uric II, ruler of Uduithia, knighted Nick, awarded him the Uduithian Star, the symbol of the Uduithian Medal of Honor, and made him duke over the Duchy of Wægn.

The gods have ways to test the iron in a man’s bones. Be it a rain when the crops need harvesting or a mad wizard that wants to sell you into slavery, Sir Nicholas and Lady Octavia continue to pass these tests. They’ve become a team. They’ve become astute politicians, warriors, lovers, and parents. And now the story continues.

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Chapter 01 - Tanithil Glynrie

Tanithil Glynrie crept along the eastern flank of Morna Oran. He had been alerted to the suspicious activities of Plains Elves on the sacred mountain, and he was asked to investigate and “invite” the Plains Elves to Tír na nÓg, the land of eternal youth and joy, the elven afterlife. Whether Tír na nÓg exists or not was not Tanithil Glynrie’s concern; if he found a plains elf on what he considered his mountain, he would purge Morna Oran of that plague.

A road! Barely more than a scratch in the dirt and a collection of ramshackle bridges, but it was a road. Did the humans make this to connect their petty little kingdom of Uduithia with the Gjorgiev River? It was not a sacred river, but it was running clear, which cannot be said about most of the rivers that humans touch. To the south, the road can only connect with a tiny village and beyond that with the tiny city of Waleston, the capital city of Uduithia, but what lies to the north? Did it end at the east to west flowing Gjorgiev River, or did it continue across the river to the independent duchy of Spatz Mountain?

He followed the road north across the eastern flank of Morna Oran. The further north he got, the more the road curved to the west. Soon he heard sounds of activity. The guttural voices clued him in that these were dwarves speaking that vile tongue commonly called Torwin.

Tanithil Glynrie moved as swiftly as he could and still remain silent. He was big for an elf, taller than the average elf, which made him taller than the tallest human. He was also muscular. Moving over the face of Kodu in full armor for decades caused muscles or death. He made sure it was muscle. Eventually he found a mine that was desecrating the holy countenance of Morna Oran. Dwarves were wheeling ore carts out of the tunnel mouth and dumping the mine tailings near the edge of the Gjorgiev River.

He strode into the center of the activity and called out in Mägede Keel, the language of the mountain elves, ”I fael sindarin edra?” (Who is in charge here?)

The dwarves stopped their work and looked at the towering elf. His large, pointed ears were tight to his head; his violet eyes and hair told the dwarves that he was a mountain elf. They didn’t answer but only looked at him in confusion. “Who holds dominion in this dig?” called Tanithil Glynrie in Torwin.

“I am Dorarben Flaskriver, the on-scene supervisor,” said a dwarf who was holding a clipboard rather than a pickaxe or hammer.

“What manner of excavation doth engage your attentions?”

Dorarben Flaskriver looked at another dwarf and shrugged, then said, “’tis a horizontal shaft measuring four by three and continues twelve hundred yards to a vertical shaft where…”

The technical specifications were not what the elf wanted. “What manner of ore do you unearth?” shouted Tanithil, reaching the end of his patience.

Dorarben shrugged and said, “The usual. Iron, mithril, coal, and gemstones.”

“Thou implies that ye seeks mithril?”

“Seek? No. Seek implies that we don’t know where it is.” He pointed to a heavy-duty ox cart that was laden with a gray stone that seemed to shimmer. Tanithil walked to the cart and picked up a lump of the rock, and his hand tingled - raw mithril! The elven warrior didn’t realize that mithril in its natural state still existed on Kodu. “We have to wait for spring to haul that to Waleston where a mithril forge is being built. Come spring a train of iron ore, coal and mithril will be heading south to Waleston.”

“Humans will forge mithril?” gasped Tanithil. Just the thought of humans forging mithril was heresy to an elf.

“That’s up to the mayor of Irla Stein Anore and Duke Stein.”

Tanithil’s brow lowered; Irla Stein Anore means a peaceful elven village, but the name Stein was attached to it. “Pray, who doth hold the office of Mayor, and pray tell, who is this person, Stein?”

“The mayor is Vesstan Aedi and…” the rest of what Dorarben Flaskriver said was drowned out by the laughter of the dwarves that had gathered around to see what the elf in steel armor wanted.

“He doesn’t know who Duke Stein is,” they laughed.

“I admit, I find myself a stranger in these parts. Pray tell, who might be Duke Stein?”

“He is the Duke of Wægn which includes Black Mountain. He is the one that permitted this mine,” said Dorarben.

“He wishes to rape Morna Oran for its treasure of Mithril and iron?” roared Tanithil.

“No,” said the head dwarf, and he produced a small sack of gemstones and said, “The duke wants these.”

Tanithil looked into the small cloth sack and withdrew a small handful of gemstones. Sapphires, emeralds, alexandrite, tourmaline, aquamarine, moissanite. “These are mostly worthless!” snarled Tanithil.

“Not to the duke,” said Dorarben. “He presents a gemstone to every new mother in his duchy.”

“Humans,” scoffed Tanithil. “Sentimental simpletons. To excavate a mountain for baubles to bestow upon a female? Such foolish dalliances are not the wont of Elves, I daresay.”

“Yes they are,” said Oaksdauter Flaskriver, an obviously pregnant female dwarf and wife of the supervisor of mining operations, Dorarben.

“What nonsense speak you woman?” demanded the angry elf warrior.

Oaksdauter almost dove at the elf, but her husband Dorarben held her back with a gentle hand on the shoulder. “She means that Duke Stein, called Enethor by the elves, presented the elf wizard Seldanna of the Rofir a pure diamond to mark the birth of her son Jhaan Torlar just months ago.”

“Her new husband is friends with the duke,” said Oaksdauter.

Saldana has a new husband? And Enethor - the ruler? Tanithil’s mind spun at these revelations. “Who is this new husband?”

“They’re not married yet, they’re waiting for the triple full moon in spring,” said Dorarben, trying to hush his wife.

“I don’t understand, what of Vaeril Wynfir?” demanded the elf warrior. Vaeril Wynfir was the husband of Seldanna of the Rofir and a fierce warrior.

“He was slain by Amrynn Iarra,” said Oaksdauter.

“Has the world gone mad?” demanded Tanithil. Amrynn Iarra was not an elf of honor; he was a cheat and a liar, but he was an elf! A mountain elf, and he should have held himself to a higher standard. “Elf killing elf? Did the wizard Seldanna render Amrynn to ashes for slaying her mate?”

“No,” said Dorarben. “She would not perform magics of any kind while bearing a child. Vesstan Aedi swore an oath to champion her and raise her child as his own. He and his brothers tracked down Amrynn Iarra to the cesspit of humanity, Torwin-Armistad. There he gave his teammate Hugues Du Gouey the honor of killing the criminal.”

“What kind of name is Du Gouey for an elf?” asked a confused warrior.

“Hugues Du Gouey is a demi-giant. Vesstan Aedi refused to compound the sin of elf on elf murder and gave the honor of avenging Seldanna’s mate to Hugues.”

Tanithil Glynrie vowed to find this mysterious village of Irla Stein Anore and Duke Stein and return the elves to the path of purity. The plains elves, those filthy mongrels. Each one carries the blood of a human! They would be cast out, along with the forest elves who are just as bad, leaving peace in the community of the remaining mountain elves. And if the duke didn’t like it, he would be cast out as well, Enethor or not. He returned to trudging through the snow, this time following the route that the mine wagons would use come spring, around the western side of Morna Oran.

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The snow was falling heavily on the western slopes of Black Mountain, known to the elven kind as Morna Oran. Tanithil Glynrie worked his way through the pine tree-covered slopes. He was on a mission. A human claimed to be the king of the elves, and he took up residence on the sacred mountain Morna Oran. Snow fell, filling the branches of the pine trees with heavy, wet snow. Occasionally a branch would let go of its burden and drop the snow on Tanithil Glynrie’s head.

The elf was soon lost and hungry as he trudged along. He eventually came to what looked like a tunnel entrance. On the face of a sheer cliff that blocked his path, sat the top end of a tunnel arch. Maybe he could get out of this weather. There was a statue on either side of the tunnel arch; one appeared to be an ancient warrior, but his head was missing. The other was dressed in ancient robes, but he was missing head and shoulders. These statues had to be thousands of years old, which meant they were elf artifacts.

He drew nearer to the tunnel and suddenly a black eagle exploded out of the half-buried entrance and dove straight at him. It squawked and bit at him and drove the elf off. He watched the eagle disappear off to the south, and he tried again to enter the tunnel, and again an eagle exploded out of the narrow opening and attacked him, pecking at his face and eyes.

He now had to climb to cross over the ridge through which the tunnel had been drilled. As he climbed, a fat white rabbit bounded out in front of him. Elves don’t normally eat meat if plants are available, which was not the case. He drew his bow and loosed an arrow. He hit that rabbit perfectly; it died instantly and felt nothing as the arrow pierced the rabbit’s heart. Tanithil trudged through the snow up the steep slope to where the rabbit lay. The snow was falling so heavily that the rabbit was covered, and the only way Tanithil could find it was by the arrow shaft that stuck up out of the snow.

Just as the elf neared the rabbit, a wolf trotted up and grabbed the rabbit and headed uphill. It wasn’t running; it was taunting the elf who had to climb in the wet, heavy snow while wearing armor. The wolf would look back over his shoulder as if to make sure the spouting, swearing elf was following. At one point Tanithil quit, and the wolf sat down and waited for him to change his mind and continue the chase.

The wolf dug in the snow, then without looking back, it picked up the rabbit and slid down the hole it had dug. Tanithil dove into the hole after the wolf and slid down a dirt lined tunnel, then suddenly he was lying on a stone floor. He looked around and realized he was in a man-made tunnel, easily twelve feet high and twice as wide. The walls and floor were perfectly fitted stone blocks; the roof of the tunnel was glossy, reflecting every speck of light. Ahead of him lay the rabbit, and beyond that burned a small campfire in the middle of the floor. Tanithil picked up the rabbit and looked at it. It was a good size coney, and should roast nicely on that fire.

That’s when the elf noticed a man standing on the other side of the fire, looking at him. The man was leaning on a walking stick and calmly sipping a cup of tea as if he were out on a Sunday perambulation.

“Human! What affair doth bring thee upon this mountain’s crest?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing, Tanithil Gwaewen.”

Tanithil’s eyes flew open. “Who hath imparted such a notion unto thee?” demanded the elf.

“What’s in a name?” shrugged the man. “ Tanithil Gwaewen… Tanithil Childslayer.” The man spat on the floor to get the flavor of that name out of his mouth. “Your reputation precedes you.”

Tanithil slowly lowered the rabbit carcass to the floor, took the bow and quiver from his shoulder, and slowly drew his sword. “Methinks you possess the upper hand, as you are acquainted with my person. Pray tell, who might you be?”

“What’s in a name, Childslayer? When you knew me last I warned you never to step foot in Breaze or I would cut it off. Breaze is no more, but my offer still stands. Can I offer you a cup of tea before I kill you?”

“I know thee not, human. Pray, what is the purpose of this deadly intent towards my person?” Tanithil drew his sword and slowly circled the fire, but the human didn’t move. This is when an opponent would circle to keep the fire between them. Instead, the human remained motionless and finished his tea.

“It’s excellent tea. My wife makes it with pomegranate and hibiscus. Sweet, but with a tart bite, which is just like her.” He raised his cup to the elf. “Sure you don’t want some?”

“KEEP YOUR DAMN TEA!” roared the elf. “Make known your identity good sir so I may mark thy grave properly.”

The human finished his tea, then slipped his china cup into a coat pocket. Then he took his outer coat off and dropped it disdainfully to the floor. He wasn’t wearing armor; he had no sword. Just an ebony walking stick with silver tips and a dagger strapped to his left leg. “I’m called Aulendil, by the elves that were with me at the battle of Tähelepanek Point but to the Maethor Nos, the warrior class I’m called Aen-Belth but they both mean God Slayer. Behind my back the elves of Irla Stein Anore call me Enethor, he who commands because I told them to stop calling me Beren - king.”

“It is My prerogative to name him thus,” came a woman’s voice from deep down the tunnel.

“How precious, that thou hast brought thy wife to witness thy death,” sneered Tanithil.

“That’s not my wife, we are friends, however. The fairies here in the tunnels call me Viimane Päkapikk Kuningas, the last king of the magical realm. In Xuantang I’m known as Huoteng, the Dragon of Fire, or Long Won Di, the Dragon Emperor.”

“Thou art a vainglorious bastard! Thy tales do grow tiresome. Tell me! Who mightst thou be?”

The human grinned and held his walking stick like it was a heavy broadsword. “My wife calls me kitty, isn’t that cute? Even you had a name for me when we last spoke. You called me Pommy.”

“Pommy? Wait… NO!” Memories came pouring back.

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Tanithil Glynrie was a guest of the new queen, and he had a plan to purify the bloodline of the elves in Teurnia. King Lars had just assumed the throne and married four elven women; all forest elves raised on the seashore. The king said that all elves were welcome in Teurnia, and Tanithil was in the court. Tanithil merely said, “How did such a witless fellow ascend to the throne, pray tell? Only a dolt would harbor the notion that all elves are cast from the selfsame mold.”

The palace went silent in shock. The new king called witless and a dolt by a guest of the queen? There was a series of shocked gasps, and Tanithil Glynrie boldly said, “It is the truth; why would someone become so incensed to hear the truth? Plains elves are scarce worthy of the name, becoming fair game for any keen blade, as is any soul foolish enough to defend their person. Their blood is poisoned with the blood of humans, as will your children be dear Rania, you smitten and foolish female,” spat Tanithil.

“King Lars is no mere human,” said Queen Rania Haldir of Clan Neithaor. “He is a…”

“BE SILENT! You chattering magpie. Your vocalizations do grate the auditory senses of grown elves.”

Lieutenant Leomaris Autumnfall of the King’s Guard stepped forward and bowed. “Sire, let me avenge your honor.”

The king, who appeared to be human, was about to say yes when Queen Rania Haldir of Clan Neithaor whispered in his ear. “Thank you my dear, I didn’t realize that.” He turned to Leomaris and said, “I cannot allow that honor Lieutenant. If you should kill him your soul will be forever stained.”

“But sire! I must avenge my queen!”

“No lieutenant. I will not allow elf on elf killing, even an accidental killing to happen under this roof.”

Then the new head of the Breazian Royal Guard stepped forward and knelt, offering King Ranzau his sword. “Sire, allow me to remove the trash from your palace.”

King Lars turned to his guest, King Alfrich of Breaze, who just smiled and nodded and gestured to Lieutenant Pommeraie de la Montesquieu. “Have at it Pommy, and enjoy.”

“Thank you sire!” The young officer called Pommy leapt up then boldly saluted Tanithil Glynrie. “May your death be as inelegant as your mouth,” said Pommy with a sneer.

“You arrogant bastard!” shouted Tanithil Glynrie as he sized up Pommy.

“Pommy please,” groaned Queen Rania. “Just kill him and get it over with.”

“Yes my lady.” He looked at Tanithil Glynrie and said with a smirk, “I always aim to please the ladies,” and he suddenly dove at Tanithil Glynrie with his beat up, scarred, and nicked government issue cutlass. He pressed the attack and never let up. Swords swung so fast you could hear the whoosh of them slicing through the air until colliding with the other blade with an ear ringing clang. All the while Pommy continued with a litany of jokes and jibes. “How does it feel to be prey Sir Elf? Does a rabbit face his end with as much courage?”

“You shouldn’t stick your nose into elven politics, human.”

“Call me Pommy,” said the human guard with a grin. “Would you like it on your grave marker? Died by pissing off Pommy?”

“You insolent bastard!” Never had Tanithil met an opponent like Pommy. He was fast, strong, and big. And he kept grinning the whole time. Then Tanithil noticed that Pommy would switch his blade from one hand to the next so he could take a sip of wine from a glass offered by Olah Ulavaris, Queen Rania’s handmaiden. How could he beat a human who was reaching for refreshments in the middle of a sword fight?

The worst part was when he got close and whispered, “I know you and people like you. Plains Elves aren’t the only elves on your death list. When do you come for the forest elves?”

How did he know? But suddenly Pommy had Tanithil’s sword arm wrapped up with his free arm, and Pommy jabbed the hilt of his sword hard into Tanithil’s gut, and Tanithil went down like a net full of dead fish. Pommy crouched over him with the tip of his cutlass at Tanithil’s throat, his foot on Tanithil’s sword arm, their eyes locked to each other’s eyes. “Let him up so he may leave,” said King Ranzau.

“King Ranzau saved your life here in Teurnia,” whispered Pommy. “But if you ever set foot in Breaze I will cut it off.”

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As quick as a dart, the human’s walking stick became a broadsword, and with a lightning fast swipe, he sliced Tanithil’s mithril sword off at the hilt. The elf looked in shock at the bladeless hilt in his hand. “Gods damn it, I’m going to use you for my purposes,” growled the Duke of Wægn. “And if I can’t use you I’m going to kill you.” He placed the tip of the enchanted Broadsword of Elandorr Cailee at Tanithil’s throat and shouted, “You do not enter my duchy and brag about your plans to kill my friends.”

“I threatened no human,” sputtered Tanithil.

“I didn’t say human, I said FRIENDS!” His shout echoed through the empty halls of the long forgotten dwarven keep known as Rkund Hold. “In case you didn’t know, Seldanna of the Rofir, the wizard you follow, is a plains elf, and I delivered her son Jhaan Torlar. If harm ever comes to either one I will strangle you to death with your own guts.”

Suddenly the broadsword became a walking stick, and Nick poked Tanithil in the gut with it, right where he had poked Tanithil seven years ago with his beat up old training cutlass. “I have reason to believe that I will need you in the future. If you are not ready I’ll still use you, I will use your death as a delaying tactic.” Nick picked up his overcoat and put it on. “I saved your life you know. That tunnel you tried to climb into was full of sleeping bears and hungry mountain lions. I had to lure you up here so we can start your training. Enjoy the tea.”

Nick suddenly became a black eagle and with several powerful flaps of his wings he shot out of the tunnel. The moment Nick was out, the floor of the tunnel rose to meet the ceiling, trapping Tanithil inside Rkund Hold. Tanithil stared at the blackness of the tunnel, then he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw a goddess step into the firelight. She was a twelve feet tall elven woman with ivory skin, silver hair, green eyes, large breasts, slim waist, and was wearing a toga that left one breast exposed. Her nipple as well as her fingernails were the emerald green of her eyes.

“Saatus?” asked a shocked Tanithil Glynrie.

Saatus, goddess of fate, patron goddess of Morna Oran and benefactor of Duke Stein, nodded. “Follow me. We have work to do. And bring your rabbit.”

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Chapter 02 - Izhar of the Fading Realms

Izhar of the Fading Realms was a wizard of incredible knowledge; unfortunately, he feared people, so he rarely got the chance to show off that knowledge. Only three people in all of Kodu could get him to open up and talk. King Uric because Izhar had learned to respect the king. Duchess Octavia because he knew her and truly loved her, and Duke Stein because he was afraid Nick would turn into a lion and eat him.

Izhar’s top skill was hiding. Often when you entered his laboratory, all you would find was a large, empty room with an old, discarded door leaning against a wall. However, if you grabbed the ancient bronze door latch on the discarded door just right and opened it, you would find nothing, unless you were the king, or Dame Octavia, or Sir Nicholas. Those three people would find a fully functioning scientific-magical research laboratory.

Izhar of the Fading Realms always answered the king’s questions fully, every question. Octavia and Nick didn’t always get full answers, but they would get what they came to him for. The difference being that Octavia and Nick knew what he was talking about; the king didn’t know enough to ask dangerous questions, and he paid the bills.

Izhar’s key skills were precognitive and post-cognitive astronomy. He could not only tell what a celestial body was going to do but also what it had done up to millions of years ago. He was also a proto-geneticist. There were small cages with hamsters scurrying about; the males separated from the females, and then those two groups subdivided into subgroups that King Uric didn’t understand. The groups were named by percent, and he listed solid white hamsters as human and solid brown hamsters as elves. “Humans and elves do not propagate with the alacrity of rodents, such as hamsters,” said King Uric.

“Clearly you’ve never met Uther and Desmona Borenson,” said Izhar.

“Indeed, I have had the pleasure of their acquaintance; pray tell, are they anticipating the arrival of another progeny?”

“They are Duke Stein’s best customers,” said Izhar. Being a witch in a rural duchy, Nick Stein was there to deliver each child. His services were often paid for in livestock.

“Pray tell, are you engaged in the study of cross breeding with the elven folk?” asked King Uric.

“No,” said Izhar, and it was nearly the truth. “Humans and Elves have social taboos preventing that from happening except on rare occasion. We know it has happened in the past, and from what we can tell, the females of both species carries the dominant traits. If a male elf mates with a female human, their children would be primarily human. If a male human mates with a female elf, the children would be primarily elven. However, in society, those traits will disappear as here in Waleston, we are mostly human, and in places like Reme Thalas, the population is primarily forest elf.”

“Pray, what transpires should the son of an elven lady and human gentleman encounter the daughter of a similar pairing?” asked King Uric.

“That’s a good question; I believe one of three distinct possibilities will happen. One is they’ll reject each other. Another is that they’ll be attracted to each other, but I believe the third option will be what happens most often.”

“Allow me to hazard a guess,” said the king. “Pray, does aught of consequence transpire?”

“Exactly. But my studies are mostly on plains elves, they interbred with humans relatively often in the past. It is said that all plains elves carry some human blood. Forest elves rarely breed with humans and mountain elves refuse to associate with humans.”

“Pray tell, does the sum of your hamster-based experiments lead you to such a conclusion?” asked the king.

“Uh, no. I just like hamsters. In Breaze we had them everywhere.” He scooped a hamster out of a cage and petted it.

“Your presence is required at the court assembly. The Almanac has been released, and questions are anticipated.”

Izhar groaned. He knew what the questions would be. The mid-spring stardance, three months from now, will be the topic of conversation for months. “Yes, your majesty. If you request, I will attend; will Lady Stein be there?”

The king shrugged, “It is difficult to ascertain; this being her firstborn, brought forth under rather arduous circumstances.”

Izhar stroked his beard and said, “One would think giving birth in a peaceful bamboo jungle would be tranquil. Her husband said it was a pleasant experience.”

“Husbands and wives oft employ disparate adjectives when recounting the selfsame event,” said King Uric. “I should scarce describe young Marlon’s arrival as a delightful affair, not after such a lengthy conveyance by dragon. She may harbour a differing view, you see,” said King Uric.

“How very odd. Lady Octavia is quite levelheaded,” said Izhar. As he pondered the king’s obvious confusion about the birth of Marlon Stein, the king threw another question at him.

“Pray tell, what doth render this stardance so exceedingly spectacular?” asked the king. “The newly released almanac doth proclaim a spectacle of grand proportion.”

“The stardance is going to be the same as every spring stardance,” said Izhar. “Maybe the sky will be clearer.” The king just glared at the wizard, forcing the rest of the story out of him. “Ok, for many people it’s going to be terrifying.”

“Pray, continue,” said the king.

“It’s not going to be unlike anything ever seen before… with a difference.”

“Pray, what is it you postulate? Shall matters change, or shall they remain thus?” demanded the king.

“Every eighty-eight days while orbiting our sun Thaal, our planet Kodu and the giant planet Zigu pass close to each other, causing the core of Kodu to shudder, which makes the stars look like they’re dancing to us. It happens four times a year,” said Izhar.

“Indeed, indeed. Every child upon Kodu is cognizant of this and begs their parents to remain awake during those very nights.” said the king with a sigh.

Izhar led the king to his back room, where a model of the Thaal system was set up. There was a large white orb in the center, representing Thaal, the star at the center of the system. Next was the large reddish orb representing Zigu orbiting Thaal, and outside of that was the smaller blue/green orb representing Kodu, their home world. On the wall was a box with a display that showed the day, month, and year, and a crank. Izhar turned the crank, and the date indications spun; the three moons began spinning around Kodu, and four moons began spinning around Zigu, and the two planets moved around Thaal.

“Zigu possesses four moons? I was under the impression it only had one,” said King Uric.

“As lens grinders become more skilled, better telescopes reveal more to us. Researches now believe that at one time Zigu had many more moons,” said Izhar. He paused and considered how much more he should reveal. In for a penny, in for a pound, might as well try to bury the king in facts. “Let me show you the past first.” Izhar led King Uric to another room. In there was a similar setup to the Thaal system that he had in the main laboratory, but on this model, Zigu was the outside world and Kodu was the inside world. “This is what the planets and Thaal looked like a thousand millennia ago.”

“It doth appear that Zigu possesses a multitude of moons.” said King Uric.

“We have no idea how many moons but some scholars estimate over twenty four,” said Izhar. He turned a crank and Kodu circled Thaal twice before Zigu turned a quarter orbit around Thaal. Then another moon came up from below Zigu and struck Zigu on the equator. Izhar stopped turning the crank and said, “We believe this happened only twenty thousand years ago.”

“Pray tell, merely twenty thousand years hence?” asked the king.

“Your majesty, when speaking of celestial occurrences, events counted in the hundreds of thousands of years are fast. In celestial terms, what you are about to see happened in the blink of an eye. The moon or small planet or whatever it is knocked Zigu out of its orbit. The unknown object has been named Gion 01 by researchers.” Izhar turned the crank slowly. “Please note that Kodu only has one moon at this point. Researchers have named this ancient moon Hiphus.”

“Hiphus, the deity who perished whilst safeguarding the island nation of Barrtou,” muttered King Uric. It was an ancient tale; a tsunami rose to destroy Barrtou, a small island northeast of the Edux continent. Hiphus stood on the shore and rose to seventy feet tall and strode out into the ocean and divided the wave protecting Barrtou, but Hiphus was never seen again.

“Hiphus the moon died protecting Kodu,” said Izhar. He continued to turn the crank. “The planet Zigu wobbled out of control toward the sun Thaal. Then, two Kodu years after impact with Gion 01, Zigu crossed the orbit of Kodu. It was clear that the planets were not going to collide, but the sight of Zigu filling the sky must have terrified the inhabitants of Kodu at the time.”

Izhar pointed to Zigu’s largest moon and said, “This moon, the largest moon of Zigu, was called Aestea. It was going to strike Kodu. It was big enough to destroy every living creature on our world. However Kodu’s moon Hiphus was pulled out of its orbit by the pull of Zigu and it struck Aestea, smashing it into fragments. Somehow Kodu captured two moons from Zigu, the moons we now call Kuu and Rahn. The rings around Kuu and Rahn are actually the remains of Aestea. Our smallest moon, Livi is the largest remaining fragment of Aestea.”

“Pray tell, what befell the denizens of Kodu?” asked King Uric.

The wizard shrugged. “Their cities burned, and they ran to the mountains. It was only elves at this time; but soon the gods made themselves apparent. Researchers believe they came from Aestea and made their homes on Kodu before their home was destroyed.”

“No dwarves? Pray, where are the humans?”

This was the hard part. It’s not taught, nor is it spoken about; few wizards know the truth. Izhar only found out because Octavia mentioned it to him, and he spent years trying to prove her wrong, but in the end, all he did was uncover more ancient writings that proved her correct. He cleared his throat and continued. “The other races soon started to show up as the gods created slave races. The first slave race was dwarves. Then came trolls to do heavy work, then gnomes to do delicate work. Fairies and brownies were created for some purpose known only to the gods.”

“Pray tell, what of humankind?” asked the king.

“Humans are not native to Kodu.”

King Uric tried to understand what the wizard had just said. On many continents, like their present continent, Edux, humans are the dominant species. “Are we, perchance, denizens of another realm?”

“Some other world, some other moon, maybe even some other time or dimension. All documents that pertain to the arrival of humans are stored in the Library of Nolmë, but rumor has it that humans arrived sometime after the gods. All we know is that humans were here before Esimene Tähetants, the first Stardance.”

“I have heard tidings of that matter, albeit in the distant past,” said the king.

“In celestial terms, just the blink of an eye. For ten thousand years Kodu was safe, Zigu moved about inside the orbit it now holds. Then something happened and it moved outwards, closer to Kodu. Everything the elves built was destroyed when Zigu first passed Kodu. Elves, humans, dwarves, and gods rebuilt, but Zigu was on the move again, it is believed that it was pushed away from the sun and came roaring back at Kodu, nearly hitting us before settling in its present orbit.”

“There was, perchance, a second near-miss?” asked the king.

Izhar was on a roll, and he continued. “Exactly, sire. This casting out and nearly hitting us a second time is called the Esimene Tähetants by the elves. Stars fell from the sky lighting Kodu bright as day as they fell, they set the forests ablaze, mountains fell, cities burned or were washed out to sea by floods. Crystal cities holding hundreds of thousands of humans, elves, dwarves, trolls, were destroyed in the blink of an eye.”

“And then?”

“When everything was over and Zigu settled into its present orbit, the gods took over. The gods banned all advanced technology,” said Izhar. “We’re free to do what we can with what we have, but there are rumors of technologies that boggle the mind. The big one has something to do with amber.”

“Amber, pray tell? The fossilized resin of trees?” asked the king.

“Yes. Archaic sources written in ancient Vespil hint at electrum, which means amber. You can always tell when another ancient tome is found mentioning electrum because the price of amber shoots into the sky. Research wizards everywhere want a new chunk of amber to see what was so fascinating about it.

As they returned to the outer laboratory, Izhar noticed a shadow at the bottom of the door to the outer dungeon area of the castle’s basement. He closed his eyes and with his mind he reached out to the spy gem that was embedded in a beam above the outside door. This was his secret to avoiding people he didn’t want to see. He could use this gem to tell him who was out there. But the gem saw nothing. Yet there was a shadow the wizard could see under the door that showed someone standing out there. Were the rumors true? Was Neth Skelm here?

“Pray, you were about to enlighten me concerning…” started the king, but the wizard waved his hand, and suddenly the king could no longer speak. Izhar waved his hands again, and words appeared in the air before the king.

We are being observed. I believe it may be Neth Skelm. Speak naught of Neth Skelm or the Stardance to all but Dame Octavia.

With that, Izhar pushed the king out of his laboratory and into the dungeon, where the king found himself alone. The door slammed behind the king. He wheeled and pounded on the door as his voice returned. “Wizard! I implore thee, address me!” and at some point the door unlatched and swung open. As he expected, the wizard’s laboratory was empty; even the spare door that hid the real laboratory was gone. Hundreds of years of cobwebs and an inch of dust were left in the wizard’s wake.

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King Uric found his way to the prison section of the dungeons. He found the guard’s office, and in there a skeleton sat in an ancient chair at an ancient desk. The skeleton wore an armor breastplate and a helmet that went out of style four hundred years ago. The skull was tilted back, staring up at nothing, the jaw dropped so the skull’s mouth was wide open. “Pray, how do the prisoners fare?” asked King Uric.

“Excuse me sire,” said the skeleton as it stood and snapped to attention. “I apologize for napping on duty sire. I will report to the rack.”

“Pray tell, what action shall ye undertake whilst strapped to the rack? Perchance another nap?”

“Busted,” muttered Stan.

“How fare our prisoners?” demanded the king.

“Filib Duff and Roddy Barclay the two mercenaries hired to kill the duke and duchess are hale and hearty, and their chess game is advancing quite well,” said Stan, the skeleton guard.

“And Private McAllister?”

“He probably won’t last the winter, your majesty. His mind is gone; he barely knows how to speak. Duff and Barclay watch him as well as they can but he’s fading.”

“Thank you, Stan. You may resume your previous activities.”

“Aye sire!” and Stan sat down and went back to sleep.

At the base of the main staircase that led up to the main floor of the keep, King Uric found his four guards waiting exactly where he had told them to wait for him. “Pray tell, are any amongst you skilled horsemen?” When they all shook their heads no, he just muttered, “Blast!” Up on the main floor he found Captain Sean Fahy, head of the palace guard. “Captain Fahy, dispatch a steed forthwith. Advise His Grace, the Duke of Wægn, that his attendance is required for the Royal Council convening this afternoon.”

“This afternoon sire? You told the duke…” The king had told the duke and duchess to relax after the birth of their infant son, and all that was needed was to pick up Dame Octavia’s beloved mentor, Doctor Tidor Dhukonn, Presiding Viceroy of the Temple of Saehrimnir University of Mystic Arts from the tramway station in Slate Bottom Creek

“I am aware of my discourse with the Duke; however, alas for us all, the needs of Uduithia must take precedence.”

“Aye sire.”

“Pray, inform your rider to first make inquiries at the temple in Elm Springs and the Blacksmith’s establishment, ere he proceeds to his farm. Such locations are favoured haunts of the duke, you see.”

“Yes, your majesty,” and with an indoor salute (right fist to the heart) Captain Fahy departed. Soon cries of “Open the gates!” were heard as a rider thundered out of the stables behind the palace. The portcullis gate rose high enough to pass under just in time for the horse and rider to flash through the portcullis and off to the road which would carry him out of the Barkridge Defile and over Breeders Peak.

The king headed up to his apartment to change into a formal uniform for the court meeting. How did his father, King Frodo, make it up and down these stairs in his later years? Uric the Second was barely past forty, and he felt every step on the staircases as an enemy that fought valiantly to prevent him from climbing the staircase. He stepped into his apartment, and his girls looked up from their needlework to greet him: Queen Elinor, still as beautiful as the day he met her, and Princess Sophia, the first infant he ever held. He loved his boys, Prince Exavier and Prince Abraam, but Abraam was asleep on the couch next to his mother, and Exavier was in classes with Emperor Jia.

Elinor threw a pillow on the ground in front of her and demanded, “Sit!”

“Yes, my queen,” said King Uric, and he sat between her feet, and she began to massage his tense shoulders.

“Ahh, my beloved Blair, you should pick up your lute more often,” she said as her fingers worked away the tension in his shoulders and neck. “You’re always at your best when you’re playing.”

King Uric scoffed. He had forgotten his birth name. Blair McLeod, son of a liaison between Seona McLeod, a maid in the kitchen staff, and the lecherous old King Frodo. Blair McLeod was raised as a minstrel, and only on his deathbed did King Frodo acknowledge Blair as his rightful son. By that time, Blair was in love with a young witch, and they were expecting their first child. Life was so simple when his only worry was which pub to perform at that evening…

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Chapter 03 - Nick’s Family

Looking up from the brand-new Uduithia Farmer’s Almanac for the year 3432, Nick Stein, the young Duke of Wægn, looked confused. It was written by an ancient wizard named Ridcully the Brown, who claimed that he preferred flat worlds over round worlds. On flat worlds, he reasoned that you could walk in a straight line and get somewhere. On a round world like Kodu, you would eventually end up where you started. Nick asked his wife, “You’ve been to different worlds, can people go insane walking in a straight line on round worlds?”

“We’ve been through this. Yes, people go insane on round worlds, but not for reasons in that article. I read that article too,” said his wife, Octavia, the Duchess of Wægn. She looked up from their nursing son, “flat world or round, you could go to jail if you can’t walk a straight line, and I think Ridcully the Brown wasn’t able to walk a straight line when he wrote that silly article because there are no flat worlds.”

Nick loved the Uduithia Farmer’s Almanac; so much information! So much entertainment! And such soft paper! “It says there’s going to be a spectacular stardance this spring.”

“Yes, dear, a comet or something.”

“It doesn’t say anything about a comet.” Ever since he got nearly blown into space when he saved the entire world from being overrun by an insane god, Nick has been a “space nut” and he looks for any news regarding the stars, moons, and their neighbor planet Zigu. He’s constantly bothering Izhar for information about new discoveries Izhar made with his modern telescope.

“That’s nice, dear, now hang the almanac in the privy, you have a court meeting to get ready for.”

“Yes, dear…” Nick shouldn’t complain. They have a magically heated outhouse. It’s not the only one in the Snowcross Mountains; somehow Octavia’s close friends began talking about their heated outhouses. Even Queen Elinor has mentioned a “Windproof, heated, self-cleaning midden” in her apartment in Waelmore Castle. The snow swirled around outside as he hung the almanac on the nail on the privy, then he watched the snow fall on his farm before going back into the cottage. It’s winter in the mountains. Soon they’ll have to break out the snowshoes if they want to go anywhere.

Returning to the house, he watched Octavia coddle and sing to their son, Marlon. “Sorry you missed Yuletide little one. Next time, mommy and daddy will try to schedule things a little better,” crooned Octavia as she sang to her baby.

“Yuletide? It was nice and quiet,” said Nick to his sleeping son. “Mommy and daddy slept right here in front of the fire and you slept warm and safe in mommy’s womb.”

“Next time Daddy is going to put a welcome mat in front of the hearth, so Saint Heldus doesn’t leave sooty footprints on Nanny Peacock’s floor,” said Octavia as the shade of Nanny Peacock leaned over to watch her great-great grandson sleeping. Saint Heldus was the common name for Maz Dracus, the god of charity.

Octavia turned so Nanny Peacock could see Marlon better. “You two make such pretty babies. He’s going to be such a wonderful big brother!” said the ghost.

“Dear, get your uniform on, that young lad will be here any moment,” said Octavia as she moved into the kitchen to prepare lunch for the king’s rider. She left Marlon sleeping on the davenport with Nana Peacock watching over him while Octavia fussed in the kitchen and Nick went upstairs to put on his uniform. With modifications, his dress blue Breazian Royal Guard uniform was accepted as the official uniform of the Duchy of Wægn. It’s very similar to the dress blue uniform of the Uduithian Guard.

“What is so important that they want one of us present at their silly court meeting?” demanded Nick from upstairs.

“I don’t know. They probably want to make plans for next year,” said Octavia.

“Next year? It IS next year. Next year is a year from now,” groused Nick as he pulled on his riding breeches. The date was Monday, Astra sixteenth, two weeks into the year 3432.

“Yuletide, honey,” said Octavia. “Yuletide is a big money maker for the kingdom. All those cities up north have Yuletide songs about snow and ice skating, and up there by the equator there’s no proper winter, so they travel down here and Waleston is a Yuletide wonderland.”

“I know, I know,” groaned Nick. “Half the city moves out to the country so they can rent out their houses to visitors from Wädendris and Enkmaar. We make money renting our barn to house people renting their house to someone from the sunny north. I’ve got a couple of ideas, if they want to talk about Yuletide I’m going to put them forth at the meeting.”

“What ideas are those?”

“One - I have a warehouse full of lumber. I divide it up into rooms, put some beds or mats in the rooms, light a couple of pot belly stoves and charge ten bucks a head per night.

“And what is the other idea?” said Octavia, trying not to laugh.

“There’s dozens of unused rooms in the castle. We could charge a premium price to spend Yuletide in an actual castle.”

“What’s the premium price?”

“Whatever you have the guts to ask, add twenty percent.”

Octavia thought about it, then said, “That’s an enormous security risk, but it’s a good start. How about all those nobles, royals, and elected officials who come here for the big Yuletide feast. Offer the same thing to them and they can charge it back to their government and we can charge whatever we dare.”

Nick swept down the stairs and took Octavia in his arms. “That’s why you’re the brains here.” Nick and Octavia Stein look like they were made for each other. Both were tall, taller than average, with rich, thick black hair. Nick was muscular and handsome, and he had a youthful innocence about him that made him welcome even when collecting taxes. However, he was a firm believer in peace at all costs. Woe be anyone who tried to stir up trouble in Hay-on-Wægn county. When he was captain of the Breazian Royal Guard, he was known as a swordsman of the highest caliber.

Nick is not only the Duke of Wægn but also the only male witch in Uduithia and possibly in existence. Nick is the last in a long line of witches, and he inherited the soft magic that comes with the sisterhood from his mother, who was beaten to death by the man Nick was forced to call father. He always had a love of healing, and, given his druthers, he would prefer to be just a witch and farmer. He has powerful magic in him, but it only does one thing.

Octavia is as tall as Nick, and breathtakingly beautiful. She was raised to be a second wife to elite men who grew tired of their first wife, were widowed, or just wanted another wife on his estate. She won the lottery, so to speak, and was selected by a widowed king to be his new bride. She was also the only female wizard on the entire planet of Kodu. As she was being trained at the temple orphanage to serve rich men, she found her classes boring, so she crept into the University of Mystic Arts and listened in on their classes. She was eventually discovered by the future university viceroy, Doctor Tidor Dhukonn, who became her mentor and father figure. When he saw her levitate her entire classroom while writing out the process she used on the chalkboard, he knew she would become one of Kodu’s leading wizards.

Both Nick and Octavia were orphans. Octavia was abandoned at an orphanage as an infant, and Nick was tossed out onto the streets at the age of four and lived by hiding in a junk pile with his puppy, a young wolf named Pepin. They survived by sneaking into the temple and stealing food left for Saehrimnir, the god of divine fools and the leading god in the pantheon. When there were no rain puddles to drink from, they would also drink the holy water, which kept them from aging for four years. Nick was eventually discovered and brought out to his grandmother’s farm, but his grandmother was already dead. So, the ghost of his great grandmother raised him, and he was educated by the ghost of his ancestor Grigeor de la Montesquieu. When Nick went off to school in Breaze, Grigeor gave him the name Pommeraie de la Montesquieu, which he held until Breaze fell.

When Octavia and Nick met, he was serving Alfrich, King of Breaze, as captain of the royal guard, and she had been selected to become queen. She fell in love with Nick, and he saw her as a threat to his king because of her magic. On the same day that Octavia married King Alfrich, Nick married his lieutenant and sweetheart, Franziska Thornhammer. That was the day Breaze fell. A rebel faction in the army rose during the wedding feast, and they killed the king and Franziska as they danced. Nick put his feelings aside and escaped with the queen, and on that long, perilous journey to safety, he fell in love with her.

Neither knew that the prophecy of the virgin widows had been fulfilled, and the magic community on Kudo was keeping an eye on them. She was known in the prophesies as the Sapphire Flame, and he was known as the Mithril Blade, and they terrified the wizards and witches of Kodu. When Nick slew a god that had gone mad, he was rewarded by being named Duke of Wægn by King Uric II, not only as a reward but also as an extended middle finger to those who wanted to use Nick and Octavia for their own political purposes.

The Duke and Duchess of Wægn live in a simple witch’s cottage on a mid-size farm, which was normal enough. They have a cabin full of demi-giants to work the farm, a pair of dwarves out front providing security, and out back on the shoulder of Black Mountain was a village of elves who emerge from the forest to assist with Nick’s apple, peach, and cherry orchards. Their kitchen garden is attended to by actual garden gnomes, and their yuletide decorations include a dozen fairies who sing and twinkle in different colors.

Needless to say, this has the non-magical community watching them as well, but when you get to know Nick and Octavia, they find that the duke and duchess are “just plain folks,” which is what both simply want to be.

Nick came down the steep, narrow stairs in uniform. “How do I look?” he asked as he strode up to Octavia, who was making lunch for the king’s rider.

“I like the crimson ascot, is that new?”

“The king wants it worn during the winter months,” said Nick. He took his wife into his arms and kissed her deeply. “I don’t want to go,” he said as their lips parted.

She kissed her husband again, then whispered, “Your king calls,” and there came a knock at the door behind them. With a sigh, Nick kissed his wife goodbye, then turned from her arms to open the door.

“Come on in and warm up by the fire,” Nick said to the shivering, snow covered rider.

“Take those boots and that riding jacket off before you catch your death,” said Octavia to the confused rider. “Honey, don’t forget this young lad’s horse.”

“Yes dear,” said Nick, and he snapped his fingers, and an ebony walking stick with silver tips leaped from the oliphant foot umbrella stand and into his hand.

“The… king…” gasped the shuddering young rider as he shivered in front of the fire, trying to get his message out through chattering teeth.

“Yes, yes. The king needs a fourth for bridge or something,” said Nick as he stepped out the door. “I’m on it.”

“He will be there at the castle before you finish your lunch,” said Octavia as she set out a bowl of stew and a slice of freshly baked bread for the young man. “You were sent before you could eat a proper meal, weren’t you?”

“T-t-t-th-the K-k-k-king…” started the freezing young man again.

“Yes, yes, the king wants Duke Stein’s presence at the meeting of the royal council because I cannot attend, isn’t that right?” said Octavia cheerfully as she draped a warmed robe over the man’s shoulders. “Your message has been delivered, now rest and warm up.”

A few minutes later in the village of Elm Springs, Trei and Wayne Metsker, the village black smiths worked at the forge to create a set of new axle brackets for Luke Ivers’s hay wagon. As always, whenever the hammer rings against the anvil, The Boys come out to watch the show. Wayne and his father, Trei, had Luke Ivers, Merle Rorie, and Sieffre Merrick watching the show, regardless of the blowing snow.

As they watched, a huge figure in white, a Snowcross Mountain Lion, leaped out of the swirling snow toward the men. It roared and snarled and struck a pose, ready to charge. Trei didn’t look up from his work. “Your grace,” he said between hammer swings.

“Hey Nick,” said Wayne.

The audience turned to look, and Sieffre Merrick said, “I wish you would stop that.”

“Aww, why?” said Nick, returning to his human form. “This is so much fun.”

“What happens if the next time it’s a real mountain lion and I say, ‘Hello yer grace’ halfway down his throat?” said Sieffre Merrick.

“Don’t worry Pommy,” said Wayne. “We know you, they ain’t no other one-eyed mountain lions on Black Mountain.”

“Thank you,” sighed Nick. “Thank you very much Wayne.”

Nick had lost an eye in a livestock stampede over a year ago, and he wore a golden replacement eye that had magical properties that allowed him to see, and to see through things… like the eye patch he wears. Because the solid gold eye causes people to either stare at him or avoid eye contact, he wears a patch over his golden eye. It’s a hard leather eyepatch made from the skin of a Bovukan crocklegator. Crocklegator was the Bovukan nickname used by poachers for an alligator killed in crocodile season and vice versa.

Then Nick discovered that he could see through clothing and tissue. He could see hidden wounds, internal bleeding, broken bones, blood clots, and tumors. Most of that merely made him sad because he was not a surgeon, so discovering a tumor on an old friend’s lung would send him into a whirlwind of depression that only Octavia could cure.

Nick turned to Sieffre Merrick, the senior member of The Boys and the unofficial mayor of Elm Springs. Sieffre loved to tease and poke fun at Nick. Back when Nick was eight-years-old but only the size of a four-year-old due to drinking the holy water at the Temple of Saehrimnir, Sieffre caught him rooting through his garden looking for something to eat. Sieffre carried the squalling, squealing little boy all the way back to Nanny Peacock’s cottage to prove to him that nobody was there, and that he was making up the story that he lived there.

The inside of the cottage was empty; it was a tiny one-room cottage with no stove, just a fireplace with a pot hook. In front of the fireplace was a rumpled blanket and a pillow, and in the fireplace were the remains of a fire made of twigs. “Breakin’ and entering were ye?” roared Sieffre.

“No the acolyte told me to live here!” cried young Nick.

“I’m gonna tan yer hide!” roared Sieffre until a familiar voice spoke up.

“Sieffre Merrick, you’ll do no such thing with my great grandson!” Sieffre looked around, and sitting in her rocking chair was the ghost of Nanny Peacock. Next to her crouched a wolf puppy, which was growling softly.

“Nanny?”

Nanny was known to Sieffre. When he was little Nick’s age, Nanny was quite adept with a switch in her hands when she caught young Sieffre fishing in her pond without permission. “That’s Catrin’s boy and now this house and land is his. Someday you’ll be handing your tax money over to him!”

Sieffre sighed; he couldn’t deny Catrin Wolfe’s boy. Once upon a time, young Sieffre courted Nanny’s youngest daughter, Gertrude. They were a thing for three summers, but Gertrude’s older sister, Agness filled Gertrude’s head full of lies about Sieffre and with a broken heart, Gertrude ran off to Tallywiffle county with Norm Wolfe. A few years later she returned a widow with young Catrin in her arms. Sieffre tried to rekindle the fire with Gertrude, but Agness continued telling her stories to Gertrude until the day she died. Gertie allowed Sieffre to act as an uncle to little Catrin until she too left him. Sieffre spent his life alone on his farm. No heirs to tie him down, no love to complicate his life, he just longed for the day when he could be reunited with his “Gertie” and tell her the truth.

This was Nick’s family: two ghosts, plus Sieffre acting as grandfather, Trei Metsker acting as father, and Wayne as brother. Nick was raised by the village, but mostly those three men helped mold their future duke, and only Sieffre knew what he would become thanks to Nanny Peacock. Nick learned to farm from Sieffre, and he fell in love with farming and the old man. Trei taught Nick how to fix things, how to maintain his farm equipment, and how to raise and train mules. Trei’s wife Erin fed Nick and bandaged his wounds. Wayne taught Nick how to fish and hunt and be a boy, and Silver taught Nick how to love. Nick always knew Silver would marry Wayne, but he could dream, couldn’t he?

“Sieffre, I want to know what you want for that old barn and house on the southwest side of the intersection,” said Nick. “I can pay a fair price in cash gold right now.” The house and barn had been abandoned for decades, and he and Wayne and Silver played in there until Nick went off to school in Breaze.

“What do you want with that place?” asked Sieffre, as he always did.

“I want to purchase it for the county,” said Nick, as he always did.

“I don’t know. I have a lot of memories tied up in that place,” said Sieffre, as usual.

“We all do. I want to fix it up and put highway guardsmen in there to protect travelers up and down the Widdershin Pike road from Slate Bottom Creek in the east to Pennshire in the west and up to the top of Breeders Peak.”

“Ask me again in the spring,” said Sieffre.

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Chapter 04 - The Royal Court

Yuletide! That merry, mystical time of joy and happiness celebrated in the cabbage covered fields of the Pirangi lowlands to the craggy Snowcross Mountains, in mysterious Elbreshowth on the Moor and all places in between. It’s even celebrated on the subcontinent of Bovuka. The joy of the holiday encompassed the mountain communities of the tiny kingdom of Uduithia and confused the Duke and Duchess of Wægn because they knew very little about it.

To young Nick, living in the slums of Torwin-Armistad, the first half of the sixteen day long season of Yuletide was his gold mine. Everyone knew that if you gave a penny to a beggar before Yuletide eve, you’d get your Yuletide wish. It was charity based on greed. However, on Yuletide, the pennies stopped, and he wouldn’t receive another coin for months. When he lived in Nanny Peacock’s cottage, he knew about it, but all he ever got was firewood on the Wednesday before Yuletide and a meal at Metsker’s house on Yuletide evening.

When Nick lived in Breaze, he didn’t have anyone special in his life until he started seeing Ziska. However, she always went on leave visiting family, so he didn’t learn to celebrate Yuletide from her. It was the same thing for Octavia. The orphanage didn’t celebrate any holidays, and the university just didn’t hold classes on a holiday, so when the young couple started receiving food and baby items such as blankets and diapers, they were grateful, but they didn’t connect the largess with the holiday. For them, the joy started on Astra 5, 3432 in a remote bamboo jungle in the wilds of Xuantang when Marlon was born. When the word got out that the Duke and Duchess had returned from foreign parts with a baby, everyone had to go to their cottage to see the baby and hear the tales. That is what cemented Nick and Octavia to Elm Springs. New friends were made, and old friends suddenly realized that the Duke and Duchess were just plain folks.