Dream of Empty Crowns

by M. J. Sewall

  “Win what, exactly? My crown back? They already crowned the new king. Everyone thinks I'm dead. What exactly are we fighting for?” asked Gordon.

  “Something is deeply wrong in your kingdom. Don't you feel it?” asked Aline, “That kingdom used to be a place where everyone wanted to go, because you could be free to live as you wanted. You've read stories of the first thirteen kings. You know why they went there to start a new kingdom. But now because of Trunculin, and people like him, it's rotting from the inside; being re-made into something dark. It is so far gone from what the first kings envisioned, and it is becoming as corrupt as all the other kingdoms.”

  Gordon asked, “But how can we fight that? Isn't it natural that a kingdom changes over time? The ideas that the first kings put down on paper were hundreds of years ago. Isn't it natural that what they thought then, doesn't… I don't know, doesn't work anymore?”

  Aline said, “Of course things change over time. We have different ways to get around, like the airships. They didn't exist back then. We wear different clothes. Many things have been invented or discovered that they didn't know back then. The tools we use change, but basic truths do not. Look at the places you've been so far. The kingdom of Thure. It's a kingdom, similar to yours. What are the differences?”

  Gordon said, “Well, in our kingdom, the king is chosen by fate. Or at least is supposed to be. In their kingdom, a king is born from an important family.”

  Aline said, “Do you think that's fair? I mean the last king of Thure was a very good king. Everyone loved him. But his grandfather started many wars, tortured people, and put people in prison without a trial … all kinds of terrible things. But by their way of doing things, both men deserved to be king. There was no difference. They both had some sort of right to be king.”

  Gordon said, “What gave them the right?”

  Aline continued “Exactly. Does it make sense a king can do terrible things to people, just because he feels like it? A poor man and a king are both humans. All men bleed red, and all men are made the same. What makes one better than the other?”

  Gordon said, “I don't know. That's just the way it's always been there. The people have no power to change it, and the people in charge have no reason to change.”

  Aline replied, “That's right. What gives the right to any man to say to another, 'you do what I say. I rule, you follow'.”

  Gordon said, “But if the person doesn't do as the king says, the king could have them arrested, or killed.”

  Aline said, “So a king rules by fear, then? Some kings would arrest us just for having the conversation. Is that just? In your kingdom, it used to be that you could say anything you wanted to, even if it was something stupid. Nowadays, an army of people report back to Trunculin what is said. People are afraid to say what they think.”

  Gordon said, “But he probably thinks that it's his job to keep order…”

  “To keep order, not to control what people think. He's made changes over many years and is now turning the kingdom into something it was never intended to be: a kingdom ruled by one will. One man's will, choosing for all the people, and Trunculin wasn't chosen by anyone. He proclaimed himself in charge, and he's doing it all in secret,” said Aline.

  “But how can that be? We still have the laws from the first kings. There on display for everyone to see,” said Gordon.

  “Are they? Have you seen them? Have you been to the law room? They wouldn't let you in if you tried,” said Aline.

  “I didn't think to ask. I'm sure they would let the king go there,” said Gordon.

  “Even King Stathen couldn't get in. He was king for ten trials. We believe that the original words written by the first kings have been changed, forged, hidden or destroyed. If you control the history, you control what people believe,” said Aline.

  Gordon thought about that. “But that doesn't make any sense. There are old people who would remember the 'real' history and how it used to be. Trunculin can't erase people's minds.”

  Aline agreed. “That's true, he can't. But he has been on a secret campaign for years to intimidate people into silence. It's a vast conspiracy, but Mantuan believes it all leads back to Trunculin. We can only guess at what other plans he has.”

  “But how do you know for sure? If you've never seen the original words, how can you know that Trunculin's documents are false?”

  Mantuan joined them. “Because there's one person that has an original law book, the law keeper.”

  “Who is he? Where is he?” asked Gordon.

  “I've been searching many years for him. We think he was a councilor who turned on Trunculin and fled with an original law book. Everywhere I've gone searching, I just seem to miss him. He has been hiding a long time,” said Mantuan.

  The pilot walked up to Mantuan urgently and handed him a long spy glass. Mantuan scanned the sky and finally settled on a dark speck far away.

  “Is that…?” Gordon began.

  “Yes.” Said Mantuan.

  “Where do you think they're headed?” asked Aline.

  “Well, if they keep the straight line, the airship must be going to Artoth, just like us. They should get there a full day ahead of us,” replied Mantuan.

  Mantuan handed the spyglass to Gordon and pointed to where he should look, “Why would an airship be going to Artoth?” asked Gordon.

  Mantuan said, “Not sure. Maybe someone else believes you didn't poison the king. We have to be especially careful. There are few that are loyal to our cause in Artoth, and it will be harder to get around with the airship guards watching. If they let the airship in at all, that is. The two kings of Artoth both hate airships. They offend all of their gods.”

  Chapter 39: Annoying Guest

  The airship was over open waters. “I want two men at each arrow gun. Keep an eye out for shadow fins and yell out if you spot one,” Brenddel ordered, as Darion stood nearby.

  “I thought those things were only legend. You mean they're actually out there?” asked Darion.

  “We all thought that they were legends,” confirmed Brenddel. “But since we've created the airships, they have come back from wherever they were. Airships seem to make them angry… or crazed. They don't seem to attack waterships, just us. In the early days, nothing. One of the two brothers that created the airships reported seeing a fin once, but he went mad before he died, so no one believed him. Recently, they have made themselves known, and they're getting bolder. I'm sure it's the sound of our rotators that brought these things out of legend, some say it's the shadow the ship casts on the waters. The superstitious say it is a punishment for men daring to fly. And they are as big as the old books say they are.”

  Darion suddenly took a new interest in the waters below and stood scanning. Abruptly, Brenddel heard yelling coming from inside the canopy. “… Where is he, then?” said the firstcouncilor's assistant Arasta. “There you are!” the small man said as he snapped his fingers in Brenddel's direction. “You there, firstman. The sleeping arrangements are unacceptable. I cannot sleep in a primitive hanging bed made from ropes. I will be taking your bed, is that clear?”

  Brenddel stood at the railing without speaking as the man approached him. Darion decided the conversation might be amusing and wandered toward the two men. Darion looked with interest from the small man to Brenddel.

  Brenddel did not look at Arasta as he spoke. “I don't have another bed for you. I sleep in a rope bed just like my men. And you seem to be a little confused. I am the firstman of my kingdom, and I command this ship…”

  “Excuse me firstman, but I will not be spoken to that way. Councilors always outrank soldiers. I must have a good night sleep before I tend to my business tomorrow,” said the small councilor.

  “Firstly, if you interrupt me again, little man, this will not be a happy trip for you,” Brenddel warned, “and secondly, what exactly is this business? Our kingdom is not overly friendly with Artoth…”

  The little man said, “It's a delicate matter I'm sure
you couldn't possibly understand. When we land I will…”

  Brenddel quickly went to the man and lifted him against the inner canopy. Brenddel's nose almost touched Arasta's. “That is the last time you interrupt me, little man. Let me be clear, you will tell me about your mission. I will know everything that goes on aboard my ship. And you have no rank on my ship. You are nobody to me. So, if you bother my men again, or don't do exactly as you're told, you will be punished. Is that clear?”

  “How dare you… you insignificant…” the man began, squirming against the canopy.

  Before the man could finish his thought, Brenddel quickly extended his other open palm, hitting just under the man's throat. The pressure was not hard, but the man was immediately grasping for air and Brenddel let him fall to the deck.

  “We spotted one!” said an arrowman.

  “Arrows at the ready. How far?” replied Brenddel.

  The arrowman said, “Four hundred feet. It's breaking the surface now.”

  Down below them, the water was churning as they saw two great wings rising from the water. The creature breeched the surface and was headed straight for them.

  The large arrow was aimed at the beast, which was coming up in a straight line. “Wait until it gets to within fifty feet and fire. Just like the drills. And please… don't miss,” Brenddel said.

  The small councilor was up on his feet again barely able to speak. “You… you can't touch me like that,” the man croaked.

  Darion was over at the railing again, watching the finned beast come towards them. It was coming up very fast, its enormous wings leaving a rain of sea water spraying behind it. The huge mouth was open, showing its rows of deadly teeth, ready to take a bite out of anything in its way. The beast was very close, certainly within fifty feet, Darion thought urgently.

  “Fire!” said Brenddel and the large arrow let loose, hitting the creature where a wing connected. The beast made a strange sound, faltered and fell back to the deep waters. All the men yelled and shouted. Brenddel smacked the back of the man who had fired the arrow. “Good shot. Get another arrow ready. There's more than one out there.”

  Another shout came from the opposite side of the airship. “Another one! I see a fin.”

  Brenddel turned his attention back to the small councilor. “What is happening?” the small councilor began to say as Brenddel dragged him by his shirt.

  Brenddel told his arrowman, “Tie him to the large arrow bolt there.”

  “What?” said the small man, beginning to realize his true rank on the airship. Two men were already lifting him onto the arrow, and a third grabbed a coiled rope from the railing. The soldiers started to tie him to the arrow as the small man was screaming, “Take your hands off me…”

  A second man was watching the waters closely. “Breech! I see wings breaking the surface, shall I fire?”

  “Not yet.” Brenddel turned back to the soldier who was tying the small councilor to the large arrow. “Is he secure?”

  “Yes. The ropes will hold.”

  “What is your mission?” Brenddel asked the councilor.

  The small man replied, “Trunculin will have you killed. You're insane …”

  “Yes I am, and Trunculin is not here. What is your mission?”

  The man did not answer.

  Brenddel said, “Okay men, load him up.”

  The men placed the large arrow bolt on the arrow gun, pointing it straight down towards the beast. The man began to scream.

  “How close?” Brenddel asked.

  “Three hundred feet and coming fast,” said the arrowman.

  The small councilor reconsidered his position. “I'm… I'm meeting with an agent from Extatumm. I'm to meet with the contact in Artoth and then move on to their lands to negotiate. Now un-tie me…. please.”

  Brenddel said, “That's better. It took all of this just to get a 'please' from you. What else?”

  “I can't tell you anything else. The firstcouncilor would kill me,” he said, looking down at the beast flying directly at them.

  Brenddel replied, “But if you don't tell me, then I'll kill you. Kind of a bad situation for you…”

  The beast was coming fast. The small man was screaming again as he saw the beast and its giant teeth.

  “Tell me quickly, that beast looks hungry,” Brenddel said over the piercing screams of the man. The beast was getting closer.

  The man looked around feverishly, realizing he had no choice. “It's about airships.”

  Brenddel leaned far over the railing and extended his arm. He let loose a bolt from his arm arrow gun. Before it hit anything, he had reloaded and another arrow was fired. Both found their target, one near the fin and one pierced through the beast's eye. As the momentum continued upward towards them, the beast came nearer the airship.

  The beast's body slowed and started back down again. The water from its body hit the face of Brenddel and the councilor in a fine mist. Brenddel watched the beast fall back down and splash into the waters far below.

  The small man was still on the arrow, screaming. The man's wild eyes darted around, his face wet with sea water. A man went to untie the small councilor, but Brenddel stopped him and said, “What about airships?”

  Arasta said, “They have been building airships. An army of them.”

  Brenddel said, “You lie. Only our kingdom knows how to build airships. Only our kingdom has the gas. Explain.”

  “They have been building them for years, based on our plans. We used to sell them gas quietly. Now they have found a way to make a different type of gas. Their airships are bigger, more complex. They test them where other kingdoms can't see them.”

  “If they already have airships, why go? What else are you doing there?” asked Brenddel.

  The man said, “The firstcouncilor is building an alliance. A treaty. He wants our kingdom to join forces with Extatumm.”

  Brenddel looked at the man. “The contact. Is this a man you've dealt with before?”

  Arasta shook his head. “No. He's a new contact. I'm to meet him in the old part of the kingdom at the ruins of Tanlum. We are both to wear a red cloak.”

  Darion had been watching the events, and said, “Councilor, you should have lied and said it was someone expecting only you.”

  “What? Why?” said the small councilor.

  “He means, because now I am free to do this,” said Brenddel as he motioned for the arrowman to point the arrow gun back down at the sea again.

  Panic rose in the man again. “But you said if I told you the truth, you would let me go,” the man said, nearly hysterical.

  “I said nothing of the kind. I made no promises. I simply said I hate secrets,” replied Brenddel calmly.

  “We will be taking bets on whether you'll drown, get eaten, or die from the fall,” said Darion.

  The small man found his arrogance again. “You wouldn't dare. Not really. This was just to scare me. How would you explain it to Trunculin?”

  Brenddel replied, “People fall from airships. The slaver king fell from an airship, and the last firstman fell. It happens. When you don't make it back, I'll have a story ready.”

  “But…,” said the small councilor, “…but, you're just a soldier. You can't possibly negotiate…”

  Darion asked, “Can I say it?”

  Brenddel said, “At your pleasure…”

  “Fire,” said Darion to the arrowman.

  The arrow bolt, and the man tied to it, went straight for the waters. Because the arrow was not meant for so much uneven weight, the arrow did not go straight. It made a strange looping circle as it descended. The man's screams could be heard for a surprisingly long time, until the arrow finally hit the water with a distant splash.

  Chapter 40: Like a Friend

  “So tell us about your kingdom. We hear so very much about kings and councilors, but what are the people like? Are there many poor in your kingdom?” asked the queen as the fourth course was being served.

  Asa had just
taken a mouthful of food and decided to finish chewing first. “Sorry, my queen, I don't mean to be rude. Everything is really good, by the way. I'm sorry, what was the question again?”

  The grandmother interrupted, “I think what my granddaughter is trying to ask is, what are the poor villages like there? Isn't that where you came from, before this… choosing ritual?”

  Asa answered, “Well, my villages aren't really that poor. We live pretty close to the palace city and all my family get enough to eat. My father's a stone layer, and we have a small farm where we grow food.”

  “Oh, how charming. You come from a long line of builders, then? No other kings in the family?” asked the grandmother.

  “No. No one in my family has ever been chosen before. I just hope I can be a good king when I get back.”

  “I'm sure it will be very challenging with so little education and no royal blood. It's always been a very curious system, your kingdom,” added the grandmother.

  Trunculin was sitting next to the grandmother. “It must be very odd for you, who comes from such a distinguished line of kings and queens.”

  The grandmother said, “Very odd indeed. I don't see how you can ignore good breeding and just 'choose' kings from the crowds. Although, I suppose it's a little better than elections where you have to trust the uneducated mobs to pick a leader.”

  Asa said, “It is interesting to learn about all the different kings and queens. One of our first kings said something about 'when all the kings come from the same family, that eventually, the stupid cousin will be king one day'.”

  The queen smiled, “That is an interesting point, my young king.”

  Asa felt good that he remembered a lesson and continued. “Was it your kingdom that had Jorann the blood king? The one that killed all those people when he first became king?”

  Trunculin had just taken a bite and started to cough.

  “Yes, King Asa, I have heard of him. He ruled in the kingdom of Dard,” replied the queen, smiling.

  Asa continued, “They say he was actually crazy, that he talked to people that weren't there, right?”