014 At the Basilisk’s Table

{Excerpt}

The lion is considered to be the king of mortal beasts, and the eagle the king of mortal birds; hence, the gryphon is thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since antiquity, gryphons were known as astute guardians of treasures and priceless possessions, protectors from evil, witchcraft, and secret slander, symbols of great power and guardians of the divine.

According to the ancient scripts, gryphons are said to have a body upward as an eagle and beneath as a lion; truly they say sooth, that they be of that shape. But one gryphon hath the body more great and is more strong than eight lions, of such lions as be on this half, and more great and stronger than a hundred eagles such as we have amongst us. For one gryphon there will bear, flying to his nest, a great horse, if he may find him at the point, or two oxen yoked together as they go at the plough. For he hath his talons so long and so large and great upon his feet, as though they were horns of great oxen or of bugles or of kine, so that men make cups of them to drink of. And of their ribs and of the pens of their wings, men make bows, full strong, to shoot with arrows and quarrels.

In size and strength they surpass lions, and having this advantage over them that they have wings, they will attack them, and they get the better of wyverns and of dragons and of phoenixes. But they have no great power of flying, not more than have other great beasts of short flight; for they are not winged as is proper with birds or phoenixes, but the palms of their feet are webbed with red membranes, such that they are able to revolve them, and make a flight and fight in the air; the basilisk alone is beyond their powers of attack because its swiftness in the waters of Morgar rivals the winds.

…

Ser Lucius Mandeville's musings on the legend of the Gryphon

{END}

20.02.1624

Mallowston.

'…My son hates me; loathes my very presence.'

'The young lord doesn't hate you, My Liege. Cunning beyond his age he may be, he is still a boy wet behind the ears; he will act unreasonably, more so when fearing for his life. Death's breath has done far worse to men far grizzled than he shall ever be. With time, his lordship's dread and righteous anger shall fade and he shall surely return to his father's bosom… We both know he always does… always will.'

'…Sean repaid my benevolence with this? For the sake of the friendship between myself and his deceased father, I took him in and raised him as my own; when Levi showed no interest in my title I went as far as to name him my heir… and this is how he repays me?'

'Aden—'

'It seems I have been too lax in my ways and allowed the realm to forget the terrors of the Dark Gryphon. There would be a price to pay for harming my child so; their debts eternally grave, pleading bloody recompense.'

***

THE great hall of Mallowston fort was alive with activity. Servants bustled about, laying out a feast for the young lord and his guests. The air was thick with the aroma of roasted meats and spiced wines, and the sound of laughter and conversation echoed off the stone walls. At the far end of the hall, a large fire blazed in the hearth, casting flickering shadows across the room. The young lord himself sat in a high-backed chair at the head of the long wooden table, surrounded by his closest confidants and advisors. He wore a richly embroidered tunic and a fur-trimmed cloak, and his inky curls for once appeared to be groomed.

As the first course was served, a group of troubadours entered the hall, strumming their lutes and singing ballads of heroic deeds and tragic love. The lord's guests clapped and cheered, and some even began to dance in the open space between the table and the fire. In a nearby alcove, Vaiu and Lovell sat on cushions with one Lady Junita and her lady-in-waiting, a governess by the name of Jin, embroidering and gossiping. They wore finely woven gowns and jewels that glittered in the firelight, and their laughter and chatter added to the festive atmosphere. The Matriarch's phoenix-like gaze panned around the hall, neither Aden, the Queen nor the crown princess were anywhere in sight, hidden away in the rooms above.

Vaiu found, to her pleasant surprise, the meal a lavish affair, with much laughter and conversation. Apparently, the earl, besides unexpectedly possessing superior strategic acumen, was an outstanding aristocrat. The Matriarch smiled as her gaze caught the earl's wandering ones. The young man excused himself as he rose to his feet, sauntering in her direction with a relaxed smile on his face.

"I take you ladies are having a pleasant night," the earl asked, plopping himself down beside the lady's governess and sliding one mischievous arm around her waist. The governess blushed, glaring at him but made no further objections to his faux pas. Vaiu's left brow rose at the scene.

"Please, pardon the young lord's impudence," Lady Junita said with a smile as she leaned over to whisper into Vaiu's ear, "he just recently took a fancy to my dearest Jin and seems to be having trouble keeping his hands off her."

"Alas," the earl moaned with some dramatic flair, "I am but a man still suffering from the throes of passion. M'lady here did so thoroughly sard me this mornin' that I feared I might miss my own party."

"How uncouth!" Vaiu said in mock outrage, an amused light flickering in her eyes. "And here I was wondering if you had taken a fancy to my niece here. Not that I could be blamed for reasoning such given you've had your men shadowing her around the town ever since you laid your eyes on her."

Vaiu smirked as the earl's gaze on her narrowed sharply. "I was just concerned about the young miss' wellbeing. I mean, what sane man would watch a young dame such as herself wander the town alone, unguarded and without aide?"

"Well then, I must express my gratitude to My Lord for having such foresight and forbearance. I will make sure to ensure my niece doesn't have a repeat of this." The earl nodded, unfazed. "Walk with me," he said with a pointed glance as he placed a light kiss on the governess' knuckles before raising to his feet. Vaiu's brows jumped slightly at the request but she otherwise complied, following him out of the Great Hall into the bailey outside.

'I will have you know," Vaiu said, "your father, regardless of how tolerant he is of your antics, would not take too kindly to his son courting his former mistress."

The earl made no outward reaction to the revelation. "You have no need to worry, My Lady," he said, expressionless, "unlike my father, I for one have no interest in bedding a woman so dangerously beyond my reach. I called you aside to put forth a proposition for us to work together."

Vaiu paused in her stride, the evening breeze blowing back the lock of hair dangling over her face. "I was almost certain you would want absolutely nothing to do with me or the Creed, My Lord. Or are you simply just more naïve than you seem?"

Levi shook his head before turning to stare at the moonlit night sky. "At the moment, I would not delude myself into thinking I could somehow manage to keep myself beyond the reach of The Creed or its Nameless. I have no standing conflicts with the Creed and have no intention of having one for the foreseeable future, but how can I be sure I would not blunder into your path or simply make myself a nuisance to be removed by proxy? I would rather open channels for communication and dialogue early and avoid needless conflict than do otherwise and wind up in a feud with a shadow I neither see nor grasp."

"...What do you propose?" the matriarch asked, intrigued.

"I could induct a representative from the Creed into my court, officiating them and permitting some liberties and immunities that, beforehand, would have been otherwise impossible… at least unless done covertly. In exchange, they would serve as my conduit towards accessing—even if limited—the Creed's information network."

"Would erecting a publicly accessible chapel to the Divine Siblings in Mallowston and Faywyn be a part of that deal?"

"Yes. The Creed would be permitted to erect chapels in all territories under my jurisdiction; not just Faywyn and Mallowston. Said chapels would also be exempted from taxes and allowed to solicit money from the populace… The Creed does possess a Holy book or scriptures of some sort, correct?"

"Yes, we do," Vaiu said, liberating a small, elegantly made tome from her bosom. The earl nodded, receiving the book from her before leafing through it.

"The only condition I have though is that the version of this scripture that would be used to indoctrinate my people be submitted for vetting and perusal. A few minor changes would be made to it before it would be delivered to the chapels for use. Also, said chapels would be subjected to a few sporadical inspections every few months to avoid the issue of distrust building between our two organisations."

"...You wish to profane my Creed's holy book?" Vaiu asked, her tone dropping dangerously. The earl laughed, gesturing for her to relax.

"Profane?" he asked incredulously, "No, no. All I ask is for my people not to be brainwashed into believing the Creed is somehow the supreme authority even in my domain. That I would not tolerate under any circumstance. This very reason is why the faith of the Twins has been struggling to find any overt foothold in Udoris; no ruler would tolerate a challenge to their authority. I would not either, but I am willing to make a compromise hence the need to edit your scriptures before my people would be permitted to consume it."

"I will consider it," Vaiu said, her expression ponderous.

"Thank you," Levi said with a smile. "In a show of good faith towards our future cooperation, I would commission the construction of the first three chapels in my domain; namely the ones that would be in Faywyn, Mallowston and Towleigh. I would also permit the Creed to parade my image as a faithful follower; I believe that would help towards growing your influence in these parts?"

Vaiu stared at the earl for a long moment, unable to see what he was playing at. She was already aware the young man was no fool. Cunning as he is, there was probably some overreaching goal he desired to sacrifice so much for, but to her displeasure, she failed to see it. The thought that she was probably falling prey to some elaborate scheme irked her.

"I should thank you then," the Matriarch said, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "To not repay this favour would seem petty of me, so I will give you some information that would probably prove valuable to you. Duke Tristan, the Lion of Khule, raised an army two thousand strong with the intent of marching east to claim Aden's lands. The exact composition of his army would be sent to you in writing come morning."

"...A army two thousand strong you say?" the earl said, his lips curling into a strange smile. Vaiu remained silent, unsure what to make of it.

"You are a very strange man, Levi," she said finally, a smile soon forming on her lips. "I eagerly look forward to what bodacious schemes you come up with next…"

***

Helsbury, Verum.

The castle's great hall was silent except for the sounds of clinking cutlery. The table was set simply, with plain linen cloths and simple pewter plates. The food was hearty but disturbingly mundane, reflecting the practical nature of the king's reign. A roasted chicken was served with root vegetables and thick slices of bread, along with a hearty stew and a simple salad of greens. The candles flickered on the walls, casting dancing shadows on the tapestries that hung there.

"I have decided." Princess Alina heard the king say. She looked up, her eyes meeting her father's stony ones. "You will be getting married to that Everhard boy," he said, not explaining further. The princess's heart clenched at the proclamation and she suddenly found herself squeezing the handle of her fork, her knuckles blanched white. She heard a short guffaw from across her on the table, she could feel his heated glare on her form, but she refused to give Brandon, her accursed half-brother, the barest courtesy that was a glance.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied, forcing the words out of her throat.

"Don't disappoint me," was all the king said in response and that was it; her fate sealed with nought but a word. The princess glared at her dinner for a long moment.

Then, suddenly, as if as an illusion, her rage all but vanished; gone like smoke in the wind…