History of Beauty

by Meraki P. Lyhne

  “Oh, Cub,” Savadin said, chuckling. She pulled him off the table to stand on shaky legs.

  Elakdon looked down himself, finally registering that his torso was plastered in dose. He’d made someone that strong lose a dose, and it stroked his ego to no end. “I need water.”

  A thrall came over and served them all water. “I’ll clean this up,” he said.

  “Mind the dose on the table. It is very potent,” Dendon said.

  “I will.”

  They moved further down the table to enjoy their cool water, and Elakdon got back into his clothes.

  “Did you really lose me in a bet?” Styrk asked.

  “Are you complaining about the terms of it?” Elakdon asked.

  Styrk shook his head wide-eyed. “Not at all, My Prince! Not at all!”

  “There is a reason why I chose you,” Nil-Savadin said. “I would have even if we did not have a game to make wagers on. You see, every Fountain needs a protector other than the Royal.”

  “Fountain?” Styrk mouthed at Elakdon, looking confused. Apparently, the Queen had chosen Styrk for the task since she brought up what she had earlier asked Styrk to leave the table to be able to tell Elakdon about.

  “A Fountain is someone a Royal doses heavily to promote the strengths we offer our people,” Elakdon explained. “It’s mainly through the Fountains that our strengths are distributed to the Cubi people, and I have claimed Foldon to be my Fountain, thus no one but I may dose him.”

  “Yet you are one who is very close with the young Prince, and you are dosed by him, too, correct?”

  “What little I offer now,” Elakdon said.

  “Oh, it’s getting stronger,” Styrk said. “And I look forward to trying your dose again after your time with Nil-Savadin.

  “I will happily offer to feed you, My Prince, while your lover is being empowered by the Queen,” Dendon said. “And I promise not to be so mean every time.”

  Elakdon chuckled. “I would enjoy that.”

  “But what does protector of a Fountain entail?” Styrk asked.

  “If a Royal and their Fountain are separated, it is your job to keep the Fountain dosed until he or she can be reunited with the Royal. Only someone heavily dosed by that Royal is allowed to dose a Fountain if the Fountain is in dire need.”

  Judging by the somber expression on Styrk’s face, he definitely understood the gravity of the task being laid upon him. “With all my might, My Prince, I will protect Foldon.”

  Elakdon smiled. “Thank you.”

  “My Prince, may I suggest that you meet your Royal Guard soon?” Dendon asked. “I am not the only one who has eagerly awaited to meet you.” He glared at Nil-Savadin.

  The Queen giggled. “I need my fun. But I agree with your Guard Lord. Building a strong bond with them from early on is a good thing. Oh, an bed them. A lot.”

  Elakdon glanced at the grinning Guard Lord. He wondered why she called them Lords. Either way, meeting his Guards was also something he looked forward to.

  “Should I wait for all to be here first?”

  “Only three are still on their way,” Dendon said.

  Thirty-four was there, then. “I will meet with them now, then. Once I cleaned up a bit.”

  “We will wait here,” Nil-Savadin said. “Dendon, make sure no humans are present, I don’t care who they are. Except for his human father. He has to be here.”

  “Yes, Nil.” Dendon nodded to Elakdon and left the Hall.

  Chapter Thirteen

  High Father, Elakdon’s mom, and Elakdon’s human dad stood by him as Nil-Savadin stepped into the circle of Cubi, consisting mainly of purple-eyed. A few other colors stood here and there along with a few Younglings. Styrk stood with Foldon on the opposite side of where Elakdon was hidden behind High Father.

  “The time has finally come for the Kingdom of the North to see the rise of a new Royal,” Nil-Savadin began. “You have waited and prepared for this day for almost one hundred and fifty years, some training with my Guards, others staying here to secure the Cubi people.

  “Now you will finally meet the young Cubus you must protect so that he can enrich his people. He is young and eager to learn as he also knows that his rise is a warning of strife to come.

  “I feel optimistic, though. I feel optimistic as I have spent time with the young Prince, and he is a focused young man. He is someone who does not back down when faced by a challenge.

  “I feel mostly optimistic in the fact that he, at the age of twenty-three, does not think himself knowledgeable. There is room for much new knowledge in his life, and I have come to know a young man not afraid to ask questions.

  “And here he is. Your Prince to protect.”

  Elakdon stepped into the circle to stand next to Nil-Savadin and look around at all the people. All around the circle, Incubi and Succubi took two steps forward and fell to one knee, each holding a blank shield and either a sword, an axe, or atgeir, yet Elakdon figured the weapons were for show since they all left a spear behind, standing in the ground.

  The people remaining in the circle all knelt and bowed their heads, even Elakdon’s dad, and he found that strange. Yet, the proud look on his face warmed him to the core.

  The inner circle of kneeling Incubi and Succubi recited an oath in sync, yet Elakdon couldn’t make out all of it. It was in Cubi, that much he knew. He heard the words of loyalty and Royalty and how a people would rise and become strong.

  “Thank you. Please, rise, all of you.”

  Everybody rose, the Guards staying in the inner circle.

  Elakdon turned and looked at each Incubus or Succubus, counting them. “I know you have all been excited about meeting me. That feeling is mutual. I think the biggest difference is that, at this moment, you have a far clearer view of your tasks in the future than I do. Because I am young, as Nil-Savadin said, I am inexperienced with the world and what my rise means. But meeting you, I feel confident. I feel stronger from having you around me.”

  Elakdon walked a bit closer, looking for Dendon. When their gazes met, the Guard grinned, and a blush colored his cheeks.

  “I have much to learn about my Kingdom. I have much to learn about the world. I have to rise quickly, too. I feel confident that all this can be accomplished, while I also get to know each and every one of you. I wish to learn from you the great many things that are expected of you, as it will teach me much about myself and my role in the Cubi society.

  “What I have learned so far is that the rise of a Royal always predates coming upheaval to that Cubi Kingdom. With the men of a cloth spreading a word that no longer gives us the place as sons and daughters of the gods and pushes a world view that diminishes the worth of a Succubus and makes our feeding something to be avoided, we as a people are threatened.

  “But I do have hope. My hope comes from getting to know my House Brother, Foldon, who gave my mind something to ponder.”

  Elakdon waved him in to stand next to him, and the usual determined posture was in place as Foldon and his trusted sword found his place in the center of the circle.

  “Every battle needs a brave warrior. One brave enough to meet whatever tests the gods put in his or her way, one skilled enough to take down a foe, and one knowledgeable enough to know his or her place in a hird so that that warrior may also be of aid to the one fighting next to him.

  “No battle can be won without a warrior’s bravery and fearless heart. Any and all Cubus with a heart filled with that should definitely go see my Royal Guard because our people will soon need your spear, sword, and bravery.”

  Elakdon turned to place his hand on Foldon’s shoulder, the young man straightening proudly at the touch. “This is my House Brother, Foldon, who is now my Claimed Youngling. He is the first of my age I have ever felt a warrior’s traits in. I have admired him since I met Foldon Gunnfúss and his sword, Bót Fastfrid. He was willing to teach me to wield my sword. As we talked, he pointed out aspects that made me think about battle.

  “Skill is ne
eded to cross that field, and I looked up to my House Brother for his skill and bravery. I feared that skill will never be mine. But as we talked, I came to realize that skill is nothing without a direction to unfold said skill in.

  “My name was Elakdon the Daydreamer. I once found it a name I wanted to be changed by knowing battle and earning a name that my kin would remember proudly and tell of great deeds when repeating. But now I know I was made to be something different. I was never meant to run head first into a battle at his side and claim glory and know the halls of Valhalla. I was even ashamed of telling people the name of my sword.”

  Elakdon unsheathed it and held it out on his hands. “Hal Lep-do’in. Of the first Royal union. What I dreamt about was a people united. Standing here now, knowing my place in the future, I see that union differently. Knowing that Nil-Savadin and Nol-Plydon have tended to this Kingdom until my rise, the first union was not only to strengthen us as a people—it was a union of loyalty to our people as a whole. That was my interpretation and thus the reason for naming my sword to be a defender of our people out of the loyalty I have always felt.

  “I am no longer ashamed of being known as a daydreamer because my dream is a people united. And it is my place to come to know all your dreams, as I strengthen you with what the gods meant for me to be as a gift to you. Through knowing all of you, I will always ask your dreams for the future. As it is my place to provide the vision that my warriors, the warriors of the entire Cubi people, will charge our foe with to secure us peace and plenty, then I must know your dreams.

  “A sword blindly swung will get you anywhere, yet direction will be the only thing that can get you to the other side of the field of foe to stand victorious.” Elakdon sheathed his sword again. “For the foreseeable future, I will surround myself with my Royal Guard and learn from them all I can. I will learn all that is needed to be able to help direct our future to not be threatened by the men of a cloth. Anyone with knowledge of this new God and what it could mean for us, come and tell my Guards that you need to teach me.

  “Everyone else, pick up a sword, a bow, an axe, or a spear. I fear I will call you to arms before my eyes turn golden.”

  Elakdon hated having to leave it with a threat of war, but what High Father and Lokdon had spoken of, even the way he’d heard Cubi being treated while traveling, then he didn’t doubt that whatever unfolded would turn bad. His very rise proved that he had to get ready for something like that.

  “But what do we do, when the gods decide to test us?” Elakdon asked.

  “Accept the challenge and prove ourselves worthy of their respect!” Foldon said loudly.

  Elakdon felt pride at his House Brother’s exclamation, as the Guards roared in agreement and held their weapons high.

  “We know that we are being tested now, so let us show them we are a proud people,” Elakdon said. “Show them games as we prepare to face whatever they throw at us! Show them our strength, show them that whatever they think up will be met with a smile and the heart to win every challenge. And among you all, especially Younglings and red-eyes…prove yourself worthy of a place in my Royal Guard.”

  The young ones howled and jumped around.

  Elakdon left it at that, motioning for his Guards to move closer. It was like letting kids free from a boring task. All Cubi sought to the middle, and Elakdon found himself the center of his people plus whoever Nil-Savadin had brought, because there were more than the ones living in their village. They’d been just under fifty at High Father’s House, and thirty-four had just arrived from both the Kingdom of Nil-Savadin and from all corners of his own.

  “My Prince!” someone shouted and raised a hand.

  Two Guards stepped aside to reveal a blue-eyed Succubus in clothes that were foreign to the area.

  “I have knowledge of the God you speak of. I travel with Nil-Savadin from lands already under this God’s influence.”

  “I will learn from you now, then.”

  She stepped closer, and Elakdon had help from his Guards, one of which was Dendon, to secure them passage through the ring of people.

  A few Guards were already gathering the Younglings to begin challenging them, and Elakdon saw Foldon joining them.

  They made it to High Father’s Hall, joined by Nil-Savadin and Father.

  Elakdon took a seat in the high chair, the rest taking their seat around them.

  “Serve us beer and then leave,” Father said to a thrall, who immediately did as asked and left.

  “Please, tell me of your experiences,” Elakdon said to the Succubus.

  “Yes, Nol. I was asked by Nil-Savadin to join in the journey here to share what has happened in our village. First, the men of the cloth came and spoke of a merciful God who would open his doors to His everlasting Kingdom if people would believe in him and follow his commandments. They would stand in the center of town and shout for people to join the one true God.

  “At first, no one took them seriously, and a few men even threw stones at the men for dishonoring the gods. But then more arrived, and notes were put up with new laws. The officials had taken to the new God, and laws prohibited us from honoring ours. Men with crosses around their necks began going to homes and take figurines of the gods, and they would destroy them in the streets and stomp on them.”

  Elakdon felt rage built in him as he listened.

  “Then women were told to not speak in public. A Vølv was run out of town.”

  Father gasped.

  “The town succumbed fully a year ago, and two Cubi were killed for feeding.”

  Elakdon looked at Nil-Savadin, her eyes shining brightly from anger. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing yet. If I do anything, I would start a war. I will not go to war with a religion as fast spreading as this one without Nol-Plydon and especially not before you are ready, or my hasty actions would crush this Kingdom.”

  Elakdon sat back, nodding to himself. She was a wise Queen, and he appreciated her priority being the people and his new Kingdom’s opportunity first to fortify and then grow strong.

  “So we should ask Nol-Plydon to come here?”

  “He is already in route, young Prince,” Nil-Savadin said. “He left the moment he heard of your rise, as I did. We always do that for a new Royal.”

  Elakdon nodded again, thinking. He wondered if the one God religion had spread to Nol-Plydon’s Kingdom to the east, too, or whether it was mainly spreading upward.

  “Please, go on,” Elakdon told the Succubus. “What social changes have been most pronounced other than banishing the memory of our gods? What new laws under this God has the greatest impact on the Cubi people?”

  “Its laws about women, mostly. All have to stay pure meaning no man may touch a woman before she is…it is close to some of the laws about how a thrall is locked to a master, except it is women being locked to her father or brother as her guardians before she is traded for a dowry to become a husband’s property. She has no right to free herself of him.”

  “The dowry is not hers?” Elakdon asked.

  “No. It is what a husband pays her family. And if she is not pure, he may pay less.”

  A wedding was a bride’s day of joy, the gifts for her to own and enjoy as she took over the household of the man she married to run for him. How could a God that was called merciful reduce the favored gender of the gods?

  “Why did they run the Vølv out of town?”

  “Because of her magic. Woman who hold magic are…killed.”

  “But all women have the spark of magic, that is why they are favored.” Elakdon couldn’t wrap his head around that God, and no one would ever be allowed to look down upon his mother or sisters or any Succubus he knew. No man could look down upon a woman and…

  He finally got it. “The new God is a male, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And He has no goddesses to balance Him?”

  “No.”

  “Then I see why it is easy for that religion to not revere women. They have n
o goddesses’ wraths to suffer because there is only one male God to give all power to male followers.” He shook from anger at imagining the strong Succubi in his Kingdom be subdued by men to…

  “Easy, young Prince. You must keep a clear head,” Nil-Savadin said.

  “You may remember that I have always strived never to act when angry,” Father said.

  Elakdon nodded. “I shall draw back for clarity first. But if the human men who begin to follow this God who hates women, then Succubi must be very careful. If men think so little of women that they become something to be traded like a thrall, then the energy can quickly turn sour.”

  Nil-Savadin, unfortunately, didn’t look like the thought was new to her.

  “Does it?” Elakdon asked.

  She nodded. “Enough times now for a few regions to have a group of high-level purple-eyes stand ready to rush to her aid.”

  Elakdon covered his face, trying to reel in his anger. “Are you the children of the gods in your region?” he asked the Succubus.

  “Only in the land bordering your own. In another, we are gods. In the new regions of this God, we are apparently creations of evil to tempt and twist mankind away from the word of their God.”

  “How do you feed in those areas?”

  “The same we always have, and that is why they call us evil,” Nil-Savadin said. “The nature of mankind and their need for sex has not changed just because a new religion comes and calls for them to remain pure and chaste. It goes against what humans are, so humans will always fail and seek us out. But we are hunted. It is not bad here, yet. I have seen that as we traveled here, but I fear it will be over the next one hundred years.”

  “A hundred years?” He wondered about that number as it was also the number Nil-Savadin had used when formulating her three questions. Did they have to do more with the threat moving in on them than the estimated time for him to rise to take over the throne? “How long has this single God poisoned the minds of man where you live?”

  “There are different words for the beliefs in that God, and even the men believing in that same God will kill each other for calling Him something different,” the blue-eyed Succubus said. “But all have in common that they will slay all who do not believe in their God, and they will especially slay us for being what we are.”