by T J Trapp
“I would think that it was a crank message, except that I don’t know how anyone would know my cell, and it has the old banner from the North Atlantic Institute, where I used to work. Look at the message.”
“Read it to me.”
Alec fingered the cell and put it into voice mode.
“Here’s the message.”
“I can detect your transport test. Elves can also. Elves will go to extreme measures to locate and stop you. Cease your testing immediately.”
Part Three
37 – Gott City
Varra waited in the enclosed observation pavilion that her drones had set up. Suva entered, slightly late as usual, and took the seat next to her. It was warm in the pavilion. Suva was bundled against the cold weather outside but shed her outer robes in the warmth of the enclosure: however, she did not remove the fur hat covering her scarred scalp.
“Mother Suva,” Varra said from her chair, “join me in refreshments. We can enjoy them before the feeding starts.” Her drones brought a warm liquid and a selection of delicate baked morsels on a plate.
“At least we can have warm beverages in this poor land,” Suva said, as she took a sip of the steaming drink. “I don’t know what we are going to do for cold beverages in the heat of the next season.” She took one of the morsels and smelled it, then touched it to her lips before she put it in her mouth. “These, however, are not too bad. Good, actually. Your cooking drones have not forgotten how to cook, unlike mine.”
Varra raised a finger and a drone brought her a steaming cup also. “Yes, here in Gott City we do not have the necessities that we deserve. We all miss New Haven.”
“When do we return home?” Suva asked. “I need my pleasure bed. What is the delay? Why is the new crystal not done yet? We need to go home.”
“There is no delay,” Varra snapped. “The crystal-building is coming as well as can be expected. The crystal mother is still training the drones. They tend to burn out, you know. They are a long way from actually starting to build the new crystal. It takes a lot of drones, and they all have to be fed and housed.”
Suva huffed. Varra glared at her.
“I suppose that this place is better than the places you sent the other mothers. But the crystal building seems to consume everything. Is that why you refused to allow any other mothers to settle here in Gott City?”
“It is. We are straining the abilities of this place to support our mothers who have already settled here. This is the biggest city outside of our lands. We needed to move our nursery and our primary Disca members here, as well as our dragon. Letting more clutches come here would just be more of a hardship on us all. I am directing them to go to the river valley towards morning from here, and reside in the villages and towns along there, poor though those places are.”
“I have looked at some of those places,” sniffed Suva. “Terrible. They live like vermin. Villages filled with dirty hovels. I have heard that even their main city, the one by the river, is not nearly as nice as here, even though this one is repulsive.”
“True. It is unfortunate that the paltry resources of this city can sustain only a few of us. But there is room for all of us when we spread out to the lesser places.”
A trumpet sounded to mark the beginning of the feeding. Varra and Suva expectantly looked down at the field below: a large open expanse of dirt lined with a fence to define its perimeter. On one side of the field were four pens, containing naked orbs. On the other side, a large crowd of the local wild orbs had been assembled to watch the spectacle.
A clutchman in a heavy coat opened one of the pens and the five orbs in the pen were whipped until they moved to the middle of the field. The clutchmen left them and secured the gate to their pen so that they could not return. The orbs stood shivering in the cold.
“That is an orb group that tried to escape?” Varra asked.
“It is. The two large ones are a mated pair, male and female, and the three smaller ones are their litter. We captured them last week with some others as they tried to cross over the mountain pass,” replied Suva.
The large male orb stepped forward as if to defend the others; the other four huddled together behind him, arms around each other. They looked nervously around the field, knowing that they were in danger. Then a shriek reverberated through the cold air and a shadow fell over the area. The wild orbs looked up and screamed in terror.
The dragon came floating down from high above and the elf clutches in the assembled audience cheered loudly. The large male orb stood his ground and raised his arms in defiance of the dragon. The dragon swooped down and picked the orb up with the claws of one foot, unfurled its wings, and rose a hundred arns into the air. If the orb made any sound, no one on the ground could hear it. Then the dragon released the body, watched it fall, and playfully dove after it, again grabbing the body just before it hit the ground. Again and again it repeated the game, and each time the body fell, the wild orbs screamed with fear and the clutchmen cheered the beast on in delight. Suva laughed gleefully.
The fourth time, the dragon let the body slam into the ground with a bone-wrenching thud. The dragon lit nearby and grabbed the orb in its long teeth, chewing it whole; the crunching sound of crushed bones carried clearly to the pavilion where Varra and Suva sat. Suva clasped her hands in anticipation as the dragon slithered across the field towards the four remaining orbs. The female pushed her orblings behind her and stood facing the dragon, arms outstretched to shield the little ones. With a snap, the dragon neatly removed her head; her body took two steps before collapsing in a pool of blood. The dragon stared at the three orblings. One started to run. The dragon let it run for a few steps and then pounced, shearing the side of the young orb open with its long teeth. The other two lay petrified on the ground, yowling, arms covering their faces. The dragon slowly slithered over to them and one by one, finished off the orb kits and completed its meal. The dragon then proceeded to curl up in the middle of the field and close both eyes. The crowd of orbs and elf clutches slowly dispersed into the snow-covered streets. The daily dragon feeding was over.
“Nap time,” Suva said. “This is so much more entertaining now that a coercer is controlling the beast. That was a good show!”
“Yes, it was,” Varra agreed, “and perhaps a lesson to any others thinking about trying to escape.”
Suva spat on the floor of the pavilion. “Pah! Maybe if you weren’t so soft on them, these wild orbs would work harder and not try to run away. We might have less food for our dragon, but she is fat and lazy anyway. If we had more drones, they could better sustain us.”
Varra bristled. “You don’t think I have enough heads on pikes decorating the city streets? That’s what we do with the shirkers, to make an example of those who flee.”
Suva looked at her, eyes squinting. “You have enough heads on pikes, although you haven’t dispatched all of the ones who avoid work,” she said. “It is the ones that you allow to whine about their imagined insults that I don’t understand. Why do you waste your time judging their petty grievances? Feed them all to the dragon, I say! Fat though she is.”
“You don’t agree that I should be a judge over issues of the wild orb herd?”
“No! I do not! If they have enough time to get into disputes, they have too much time that could better be spent working to serve us! And,” she said, looking sideways at Varra, “it is a waste of your time to address their problems. Don’t you have a Disca to manage? Let the wild things snap and bark and settle their own issues.”
Then it was Varra’s turn to spit. “Pah! You are wrong. They need some way to settle their disputes. We have disbanded their privy councils, and if we let their grievances build, they will tear at each other and disrupt our work here. It is easier to settle a complaint here and a bruised self-image there than to address a full-blown melee.” She glared at Suva. “Besides, they only bring the big issues to me. If they aren’t real disputes, they know that I will punish both sides. There aren’t many other
choices; we need them to be docile, and if we allow them to organize themselves, we risk them rising against us. Wild animals though they be, there are more of them than there are of us, and we don’t want to risk a stampede.”
“Then don’t allow the animals to have any organization and punish all that misbehave. That’s what I would do,” Suva said. “A few more flights of the dragon over the outlying towns will cow them all!”
“You don’t understand. Someone here has to maintain the roads and the wells and mete out the limited resources. If I do not have a system to do it, and to manage their problems, then we will all suffer shortly.”
“Just punish all of them! Feed a few more of them to the dragon and things will start to work.”
“You have never had to run anything, Mother Suva. It is much more complex than you dream.”
“You insult me! I understand complex things!” Suva said angrily. “We used the dragon to destroy the Gott army, puny though it was. The dragon should be able to scare everyone – coerce them to provide us with whatever we need!”
“Mother Suva, the wild orbs do not work that way,” Varra said, rising from her chair. “When I was young, before I was clutched, I served as a herder. My mother made me do it, because she thought it would be good training to understand the dragon, and insight into how the wild orbs behave. She was right.” Varra pulled her cloak around her shoulders. “Suva, I know your plans. I know that one day you and your coercers will run the Disca. When you are in charge, remember this lesson: if you try to frighten the wild ones, they will either fight, run, or cower in fear. None of those will provide you with the things that you need.”
Suva also stood, exasperated. “Hah. Orbs and the dragon are totally different. Since we have fixed it, our dragon is now more like a compliant drone. Your old dragon would never have put on a feeding show like we just saw.”
“No, Suva, you are wrong. We do not have enough time nor enough bands to convert the wild herd here and establish a drone culture. We are not here on a cull, although you act as if we were. And we are not here to train drones. We are here to build a crystal and reclaim our city, our New Haven. We do not need to coerce or subdue these orbs; right now we need the wild herd to provide us with many things. Food. Clothing. Houses and roads. If they are content, they will settle down and go placidly to their fates. If they are upset, things will not go well. I learned that when I was a young herder among them.”
“Mother Varra, I do not agree. Of course I think like a coercer, because that is who I am – the power of coercion is mine! You think we should cater to their whims and determine who is at fault – who misbehaves and who tries to mislead – before we put their heads on pikes. I think that is a waste of time! Our time could better be spent pleasing ourselves instead of stopping to figure out who among these curs is ‘right’ and who is ‘wrong!’ I think that it is much more effective to just put all who snivel onto pikes until the ones who are left behave!”
“If, instead, we put only those who misbehave on pikes, and not indiscriminately coerce them, it would encourage the others to behave, and save us time and trouble later on,” Varra replied.
Suva sighed and donned her cloak. “Mother Varra, as long as we have the dragon, we don’t need to waste all this time figuring out who is misbehaving.” She pulled her large hat firmly down over her ears. “Are you sending the dragon to the morningward river valley to help pacify the wild herd there?”
“No, it is dangerous to send the dragon that far from its controller. My memories tell me that the herd in the river valley has a few members with the knowledge and ability to break the dragon’s resistance. Besides, I don’t think the dragon will be needed. Mother Pequa is more than adequate to neutralize the resistance among those weaklings.” She looked firmly at Suva. “You think the dragon is worth more than it really is.”
“How can you say that!” Suva snorted. “You of all mothers know the power of the dragon! You were the Dragon Queen for so long!”
“And that is precisely how I can say that. I understand the power of the dragon, and, better than you, I know the limitations of the dragon.” Varra motioned for her drones and left Suva standing at the doorway of the pavilion.
38 – At the Residence
“I’ve heard enough.” Queen Therin pushed away from the table, leaving her ministers and advisors. She walked down the stone hallway and left the Residence, mulling over what she had just learned. The latest news regarding the elf incursion into Theland was dismal. The elves had taken control of all the towns and villages below the Elf Mountains and had isolated everything on the morning-side of the Ryn River from Freeland City and the rest of Theland. Her people were in a panic, she was told, and just this morning her ministers were trying to verify rumors of an elf force approaching the city gates. Colin had taken most of her Queen’s Guard and gone out of the city to investigate the rumors; he had advised her to wait for him at the riders’ headquarters, but the stress of the day was as much as she wanted to take – waiting in a military headquarters for reports from her guardsmen made things seem even more tense.
She crossed the foregarden and headed for her favorite path through the Queen’s Woods. It had been a long time since she had taken a walk without a cadre of retainers and guards around her and she welcomed the solitude. It was a beautiful late winter day. The sun was shining brightly, and the snow lurking in the shadows of the trees caught the rays of bright sunlight and glistened. It is too easy to get lost in the concerns of the world and not enjoy the little things that you have, she thought. Ariana would love to see this sparkling snow.
The fresh air and sunlight helped to clear her mind, and after an hour or so she made her way back to the Residence, crossed the kitchen garden, and entered through one of the back doors. The lone guard jumped up in surprise at the sight of the Queen, saluted, and opened the door for her.
Thoughts of her grandchildren still fresh in her mind, she decided to make an unscheduled visit to the nursery. The amah sat on the floor with Ariana; the toddler was standing with her back to the door, the sunlight from the window highlighting her tawny curls. But just as Queen Therin opened the door, Ari turned and took a few steps towards her, clearly expecting her arrival.
“Gamma!” she squealed in delight.
She sensed me coming. Just like her mother could. Ariana gave her a feeling of satisfaction and comfort when she had time to spend with her. Ariana can sense the mood of the city; I wonder if she feels the unrest that I feel.
The amah pulled out Ari’s favorite set of blocks and dumped out the pieces. Ariana brightened and immediately took a block and placed it on the floor, then looked at the queen and waited. The queen took a block and placed it on top of the first. Ari took the next block and tried to put it on top, but she was still too uncoordinated, and the stack fell over.
Leon came running into the room.
“Grandmother, can I play too?” He grabbed a block and set it in front of Ari. “Your turn,” he said to his sister.
Ari cooed and smiled and took another block from the pile. Leon helped her to stack it on top of his block. The queen stacked the next block on top. Ari reached out and almost knocked over the stack again, but Leon caught the errant block and put it on top, in its place.
“Can you tell us the old stories, Grandmother? Mamma always told us the old stories every night. Do you know the old stories that Mamma told us?”
The Queen smiled. “Yes, I know the old stories. I taught them to your mother when she was the same size as you and Ari.”
Leon gave her a strange look. The concept of his mother ever being his size had never occurred to him.
“Here’s one that I thought of today,” she said, drawing her grandson to her lap.
“The sun upon the snowdrift white
Will cast away the dark of night –
T’will end the evil battle knell
And come to tell us ‘All is well.’
The good that shines in sorrow’s wak
e
The greater strength in all will make.”
“That’s a nice verse, oh Queen,” said the amah. “A good one for today.” Ariana clapped her hands and laughed, and Leon nestled closer to his grandmother.
They miss their parents, she thought sadly. They’ve been gone so long, and no word from them. And they must be very far away – Ari doesn’t sense her mother’s moods. She hugged Leon again, then whispered in his ear, “Let me show you a game that I used to play with your mother. She was never very good at it, so I used to let her win, but you will be better than your mother!”
A pained expression crossed Ariana’s face and she made a little noise. Queen Therin looked at her with alarm. Did I say something upsetting?
Just then the amah collapsed onto the floor, seemingly in a sudden, deep sleep, and then Ariana and Leon both collapsed near her. The queen quickly sensed that she was the only one who was awake. She picked up Ari in one arm and half pulled, half dragged Leon with the other. Leon roused as she pulled him.
“What happened, Grandmother? Why did I fall over? Why are you pulling me?”
“Come, Grandson, hold my hand. Quickly. We are under attack by the elves, and we need to get rings for you two before I go and see what is happening.” Still carrying Ari, Queen Therin hurried down the hall to her dressing room. There she opened a carved box and took out two rings. “Put this on, and do not take it off,” she said, handing one to Leon. He obediently put it on his small finger. The second ring she threaded on a gold chain around Ari’s neck.
Now let’s see what is happening.
✽✽✽
The queen sensed and could feel that there were only a few people around them who were moving, and many who were unconscious. Then she heard a commotion coming from the formal parlor adjoining her personal quarters. Still holding the baby, and leading Leon by the hand, she walked out into the front parlor.
