Herald of Rose 6: The Sovereign and the Dead (2)

In the same group that had come, they left the Foundry and made their way to their final destination, the southern wing of the castle. After a long hall of rooms filled with hustling servants, the southern wing ended in a single room with tall windows allowing Morgan to see the outside of the castle for the first time.

Each wing was as big as a castle on its own, connected in the middle by long ramparts used by guards as patrol paths as they monitored each area of cobblestone paved courtyard below that was divided into quadrants by each rampart. Crows loitered in the air above the castle, circling, cawing and perching on the heads and shoulders of regal stone warriors placed in the courtyards and tower tops. It felt like the crows were making a mockery of the sophisticated atmosphere the architects of the castle had intended and vocally claiming the ruin as their own.

"I think you have a crow problem," Tory commented as she peered out of a window.

"Without a doubt," King Luvia said, "but they are my house's sigil. We actually brought them when my family came to this land centuries ago,"

"Pardon me, my liege," called a short man with thick glasses. He was walking fast and struggling to maintain a calm demeanor as he squeezed past guards to get to the King with a bundle of papers. "We have prepared six different speeches, won't you at least look at them, maybe consider using one?" he politely urged.

"Nonsense, as their king I know the people of Korenth better than anyone. Our hearts are all the same, crown or not, riches or rags. All I have to do is speak from my heart, honestly and sincerely and they'll listen."

"Of course my liege….I'm just concerned since you haven't made a single public appearance in 15 years. The only people who've seen you this entire time are the royals you throw all those dinners for and the servants. Perhaps you should look through a few of our speeches and use some of the lines we've chosen to ease the tension…" he insisted.

"I don't need any political mind games or manipulation. But what I could do with is some assistance from our honored guests."

"Beyond waving when you call us? I'm not very good with speeches" Morgan said.

"Actions speak louder than words, especially when your audience expects that you're going to lie to them. I need you two to show them something special. Anything that will confirm your mystical nature, preferably something that really astounds," King Luvia said. He walked out on to the balcony perched above the crowd of thousands like a narrow cliff's edge jutting out over an ocean.

While the King took a minute to wave, Morgan turned to Tory. "Do you remember the trick Brunwin used to find his hammer whenever it was buried under scrapped weapons?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Then follow my lead."

After a rather somber reaction with no applause King Luvia moved on. "Citizens of Korenth, my faithful subjects, I have returned. More than a decade has passed since I last addressed you," King Luvia said, giving the end of each sentence a moment to linger before starting another.

"I know that there have been issues in our past. Today I freely admit that they were all failings of my own and the reason why I have stayed away. I felt unworthy to lead you. So I have not returned to assert dominion over you as your king or demand you fight for me or plunder to fill my coffers. Instead I am here to reclaim my role as servant to you all. And as your servant I will lead us to more wealth than any kingdom has ever seen, cures to every disease that has ever been claimed incurable, trade that will ensure every man and woman business and employment," King Luvia exclaimed, then added, "And I will do it all with a bit of magic."

Surprisingly he had had them in the beginning, hooked onto his promises, up to the moment he had mentioned magic. Now murmurings and whispers were passing through the crowd. They were withdrawing.

"Fear not. History will not be repeated because to bring these things into existence I have enlisted the help of two willing sea smiths from Khantani, a brother and sister. I present to you: Morgan and Tory the Peace-Sworn." They stepped out onto the balcony to stand on either side of the king and waved at the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, with these two at my side, I will herald a new era of peace and prosperity for all!" the King shouted and then turned his head and signaled Morgan and Tory.

Simultaneously they raised their hammers and said: "In the name of Avitide, I invoke my gifts!"

Their hammers rose from their hands and beams of pale blue light spilled out, bathing everything around them in their light. Thunderous applause erupted as astonishment washed over the crowd, in spite of stubborn pockets of worried and uncertain expressions.

King Luvia didn't say another word. He left the balcony with Morgan and Tory in tow, and returned to the room grinning widely like a child. "I think hosting festivities around the kingdom would have been a bit more effective, but Gwen's right hand allowed the cutthroats that came with you to escape, so we had limited time before they told people about your presence here. Regardless, that went better than expected!"

Vella and Tibbles were so cunning and slippery that Morgan almost wasn't surprised that they had escaped.

"My forge is ready, Tory is ready and we've revealed ourselves to your people and endorsed your plan. My three conditions have been met. Now it's time you honor yours," Morgan said, looking at Gwen.

Morgan had to admit that it hadn't taken much back and forth for King Luvia and his advisers to convince him to agree to the deal. They had promised them that their weapons wouldn't be used for war or violence of any kind, the protection of Khantani from further attacks and safe passage.

However, when Morgan accepted they moved on to Tory with twice as much zeal. The King's advisors offered gold, entire castles and a dozen other ridiculous things, cumulatively, for her to be part of the deal as well. It made Morgan realize that she was the main target of the deal. So Morgan had named a price that he never imagined they would have agreed to, until King Luvia himself did, and Morgan hadn't been strong enough to take it back. Besides, he was sure that if anything went wrong Tory's ability to craft would be to their advantage.

"Father, you aren't actually going through with this?" Gwen said glaring smugly at Morgan. The large circle of guards tightened around her.

The King's shoulders sagged and his grin faltered as he faced his daughter, the satisfaction of winning the crowd over, washing away. "Given that you've committed one of the gravest crimes possible, I don't think I have a choice, Gwen. I have tried to shield you from your mistakes your entire life and I thought about doing the same for this one. Since Tory and Morgan got here I've considered pulling strings and lining the right pockets to cover your trail but now I think this is for the best. You must accept the repercussions of your actions."

"Father! You can't be possibly be serious. I'm your daughter, the Mantle of Korenth!" Cassidy who had followed them there was even more surprised. She had sat outside the throne room while they had worked out the deal, so all of this was new to her.

"Gwen…my dear," he started but the next words caught in his throat as a tear trickled down his cheek into blonde stubble. He took a slow shaking breath and stood up straight, doubling down on his conviction to see it through. "Gwen Korendell, Mantle of Korenth and my first advisor, for the second highest crime of Collateral Instigation between our Kingdom and the Isles, I hereby strip you of all titles and sentence you to imprisonment from this moment till you can be transported to the Twin Peaks. Once there, the Tribunal will issue your judgment so that there can be no claims that I meddled in the trial nor that you did not receive a proportionate punishment." King Luvia stepped forward and pulled the silver circlet from his daughter's head as their identical hazel eyes met. Gwen glowered up at her father, her eyes full of disbelief and resentment while even more tears pooled in the King's.

"The Tribunal?! Father, how could you do this to me?! I did this for you! This was what you wanted."

"You did this, for me? I entrusted you with your mother's vision and you did nothing but pervert it! You hired pirate scum and Harcovians to kidnap people from their home and half of them were killed on the way here. Don't you see how wrong that is? Don't you see how you got here?"

Gwen's glare hardened and tears of her own trickled down her cheeks as reality set in. "But does it even matter how we got here? We have them. The people have accepted them and they've agreed to work. We can make the peace mother wanted."

"If you had the perspective Elaine and I tried to give you, or even half the foresight, you would know that what you did defeated the point. But…I guess my legacy as a King and a father has amounted to nothing but negligence," King Luvia said then turned his back to his daughter. "Take her away."

"Uncle Lu-," Cassidy started to plead but the King cut her short: "My decision is final. She knew the cost of her actions and this is the cost we must pay for peace."

Two of the four guards that had been with Gwen since Morgan had met her, were the ones that took her by the arms and dragged her out of the room as she kicked and screamed. Cassidy ran after them and Morgan wondered if she would hate him for what he did.

"What is the Tribunal?" Morgan asked the short man from earlier.

"The highest court in all of the Common Kingdoms situated in Twin Peaks, west of the Knife Isles. They're an independent body focused on prosecuting those whose ambitions grow too large, specifically in the direction of the Knife Isles. It's all to keep us in line, King or not, lest we forget that war with the Knife Isles, as disjointed as they may be now, would be our doom."

When Gwen had been hauled out of sight, King Luvia was prepared to go as well. "Morgan, I've done my part but last the two conditions will have to be fulfilled another time. I need some time to think and to rest. I trust that in the meantime you will proceed with preparing your forge while my sailors search for the materials?"

If they left that day it would be a six day round trip to the edge of the Knife Isles where they could scavenge for materials the easiest, assuming they found the materials the same day they arrived. That gave Morgan more than enough time to get his Deep Forge up to full capacity. "I'll be ready by the time they return."

"Good," the King mumbled and then left.

That afternoon Morgan and Tory returned to the King's Foundry and began their preparations. When the pirates had forced Morgan to make a weapon with Tory's life on the line they were fortunate that it was a Naturalist weapon. They were the most dependent on high quality materials but didn't require all of the set up unlike those that Morgan and Tory spent two days doing for their other classes. During that time Morgan didn't see Cassidy or the King even once, not at dinner or breakfast.

So on the morning of their seventh day Morgan was standing on a stepping stool next to his forge, carving runes into an obelisk, wondering where she was. The square-shaped pillar had a triangular top and was fashioned out of white stone. Bertram had had it brought in from stone masons who usually worked for the King and then insisted that he helped Morgan finish carving it up. Ultimately it had led to Bertram on a stool of his own, despite the obelisk being just a head taller than him, sanding down the last side for Morgan.

Meanwhile on the far left of both forges, Tory was doing work of her own. With the return of the workmen and Morgan's help carving the runes, Tory's Deep Forge had been established within a day and a half next to her brother's. And now with the help of Abby Verendale she was putting the finishing touches on her divining table; a round table with rings of sockets holding ores, designed to summon and enhance every know element.

Every once in a while Bertram would shut one eye and lean in different directions, trying to inspect his work from every angle. He was moving fairly slowly but Morgan put it up to the blacksmith wanting to impress him.

"You really don't have to go through all of this trouble. I'm sure the King's Head Blacksmith has more important things to do." Morgan said.

"I don't mind at all, it's an honor really. And once again, I'm happy that you chose to stay so that I can continue to have experiences like this."

After a pause to consider his words Morgan said: "I'm still not sure it was the right choice. I'm not sure what I was supposed to choose or if there were other options I just didn't notice,"

"And that's completely fine. You're young and this situation has been thrusted on to you too suddenly for you to be ready for it, assuming you could be. Things like this are rough on the soul; especially given how all of this came to be. Either way you seem happier now. I heard you've been issuing a lot less death threats of late." Bertram chuckled.

"But should I be? After everything I've gone through and what was done to my parents to get us here it feels wrong. It feels like a betrayal." Morgan shook his head.

"I can't tell you that it's wrong to feel that way, but in a humble old man's opinion you shouldn't be ashamed. The heart will always long for companionship and love. Things like grief, rage and vengeance can only temporarily divert our path from that. So if your heart is returning to those things, then that just means that you're healing and finding your path again."

"Regardless of all of that," Morgan said dismissively. "I don't know if I actually am happier or not. At most I'm relieved that Gwen is facing consequences for what she did. For a while I was sure she wouldn't."

"Why? Did you think our lands were so barbaric that she wouldn't face any punishment for what she did?"

"I thought you wouldn't care. Even when I actually met you all for the first time in the banquet hall no one made any indication that she would be punished. On top of that, there was all of the applause and laughter and the horrible joke King Luvia made."

"Well, Gwen is…I mean was the Mantle. Prosecuting someone like that can't be done on a whim. But the King did eventually do it. He's without a doubt the best of us and especially the kindest. Though I suppose that being drunk all the time does help," Bertram chuckled.

"From everything I've seen lately I can't doubt him anymore, as much as I'd like to. He may have his quirks but he has never forced us to do anything we didn't want to and he even sent his own daughter to face judgment for what she did to us, for the sake of the peace we can make together. I don't think I know many people, if any, that would have done the same. So much for being the Heathen of Stone."

Bertram shook his head and his lips tightened into a frown within his brown beard. "He didn't deserve to be branded as the villain of that story. He was as much of a victim as any of us. In fact, he was the first victim. Ironically it was the Mantle at the time that did most of the damage, a slimy backstabber named Corvus Drake. If anyone deserves the title of Heathen it's him. Although, title or not he's paying for his crimes as we speak."

"How could he have done so much damage if he wasn't even king? Couldn't King Luvia stop him like he stopped Gwen?"

"I've said too much already, their story isn't mine to tell. I suppose you can ask the King yourself if you want. But he has a habit of turning away anyone that asks."

"He agreed to tell me, albeit as one of the conditions that I demanded before I would begin crafting. I figured I needed to hear what happened to the Onyx tribe before we go any further, to be sure that we aren't repeating the past."

"You have good sense for your age, better than most people with twice as many. Anyway, with Gwen gone, I think things are going back to the way they were before all of this plotting and scheming. It feels like the King's peace is finally coming after fifteen years."

Morgan couldn't help but wonder if Bertram was right. He felt the same way, there was a feeling of calm in the castle, like the last few days had been an earthquake and the room had finally stopped shaking. Yet it just made Morgan feel worse. If there were no threats left, if this was how things were always going to end up, then what did their parents die for? So with regret bloating his chest and nuzzled up against his heart he said: "It feels that way to me too."