The King's Deryni

by Katherine Kurtz

  “Your Grace, it’s the king!” the messenger gasped, almost collapsing as he blurted out the news.

  “You mean, a message from the king?”

  “No, it’s the king himself! He’s here!”

  It was, indeed, the king, who strode into the hall hardly an hour later looking inordinately pleased with himself as Alaric and his regents came to greet him.

  “I had to get away, if only for a few days,” Brion said, looking like an errant schoolboy. “The first few months were wonderful, when we first knew she was with child, but pregnancy has not been easy, for either of us.”

  “Well, you’re here now,” Alaric said happily. “What would you like to do?”

  “Something I should have done months ago,” the king replied.

  What the king had in mind was audacious, but it was the main reason he had abandoned his pregnant wife and risked the quick journey to Coroth so close to her term. That evening, before sitting down to meat in the great hall, the king summoned Alaric’s regents into his council chamber and announced that he had decided to go ahead and declare Alaric of age in Corwyn.

  “The queen, quite frankly, abhors Deryni, and has made it clear that she will not tolerate your duke at court on any kind of long-term basis,” he said. “But without his assistance last year, to release the magic set in place by my father, I probably would not be speaking to you this evening, because I most likely would be dead.”

  A whisper of reaction rippled among the assembled regents, subsiding as the king went on.

  “I tell you this because you, in Corwyn, have long been accustomed to having a Deryni as your duke, and lesser Deryni among you.” He nodded to the young Jernian Kushannan, whose paternal grandmother was said to have been Deryni. “You understand the benefits that can come of benevolent rule. You have watched Alaric grow from boy to young man, because his father and mine made certain that, periodically, he would live and train among you. I gather that you have been reassured by what you have seen.” He glanced at Alaric. “Please stand.”

  Alaric slowly rose in his place at the king’s right hand. At the king’s behest, he had put aside his Haldane squire’s livery and wore a faded black heraldic mantle with the green gryphon of Corwyn emblazoned on the left shoulder, which mostly covered a stark black court robe. The mantle, retrieved from storage and only a little moth worn, had once belonged to his great-great-grandfather, Stíofan Anthony de Corwyn, the sixth duke, along with the Corwyn dagger hanging at his hip. On his breast he wore his father’s Lendour signet on its chain, though the St. Camber medal was inside his tunic.

  “Alaric Anthony Morgan,” the king said, “you are the son and heir of a loyal knight and a noble lady whose families have ever been unshakable in their defense of the Crown of Gwynedd.” He held out his right hand to Alaric, who took it. “Now be my duke in Corwyn, following in their illustrious example of service and devotion, to rule and speak for me in Corwyn. I declare you of age in Corwyn.”

  A little overwhelmed, Alaric dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the king’s hand, then lifted his gaze to the king’s. As the men of the council pounded on the table in approval, to cries of “Hear, hear!” and “Huzzah!” the king raised him up to a hearty embrace.

  “Do you think you need to swear me oaths again, after all that has passed?” he asked, grinning.

  All but overwhelmed, Alaric glanced at his council in question. “I have sworn many oaths, but I should like to swear this one, if I may.”

  “Give the oath!” said Lord Hamilton, his seneschal, obviously pleased. “It is for us as well as you, lad.”

  Sobering, Alaric sank back to his knees and lifted his joined hands to the king, drawing breath as the royal hands enclosed his.

  “I, Alaric Anthony Morgan, do enter your homage and become your man for Corwyn and for Lendour. Faith and truth will I bear unto you and your lawful successors in all things, so help me God.”

  “And I receive your homage most gladly, Alaric Anthony Morgan, recognizing you as Duke of Corwyn and Earl of Lendour, and I pledge you my loyalty and protection so long as you keep faith with me and my house.”

  Again, the pounding of hands flat on the table as Alaric’s regents affirmed the oath, interspersed with several verbal murmurs of approval as the king then extended a hand toward Jamyl Arilan, who passed him a gold signet ring.

  “This is a new seal I’ve had made especially,” the king said, slipping it onto Alaric’s left forefinger. “Since I wished to honor your father as well as you, I’ve had the double tressure from Kenneth’s arms added to those of Corwyn, encircling the Corwyn gryphon.” He smiled as Alaric glanced at the ring in pleased surprise. “Wear this as a seal of fidelity to the many oaths you have sworn in the past, and as a symbol of your authority.”

  He then took up a hammered gold circlet set around with emeralds, which Jamyl also offered, and set it on Alaric’s brow. “And wear this princely coronet as a mark of my esteem and trust, and as a symbol of your rank. And stay down; there’s one more thing,” he added, and received from Llion a sheathed sword, which he laid across Alaric’s hands.

  “Finally, as a sign of my charge to defend the lands I have entrusted to you, I present you with this sword, which belonged to your Uncle Ahern. I wish I had known him better. May you wear it with honor and grow in honor. Arise, Alaric Morgan Duke of Corwyn.”

  Epilogue

  “. . . Unto us a son is given . . .”

  —ISAIAH 9:6

  THE following day, the king would ride out with Alaric Morgan to survey some of the lands just entrusted to him. And while inspecting ancient ruins long associated with Alaric’s Deryni ancestors, Brion Haldane would receive news of the birth of a son, brought by courtiers traveling out from the king’s capital by way of a second fast galley, sent out a day after him.

  It was the powerful Ewan Duke of Claibourne who led the band, red hair flying wild and red beard a-glisten in the autumn sunlight, who seized the Haldane banner from its bearer as he saw the flash of the king’s crimson riding leathers against the grey stone ruins and waved it joyfully as he approached at the gallop, shouting his paean to the heavens as the king and his Deryni duke stared in amazement and Duke Ewan’s bellow finally reached them.

  “Sire, you have a son! An heir for the throne of Gwynedd. The queen is safely delivered of a prince!”

  And the king, his mouth agape in awe, seized Alaric’s two hands and joyously danced him around in a half circle, shouting, “A son? My God, it was supposed to be another month! Alaric, do you hear him? I have a son. I have a son!”

  • • •

  OUT of deference to the queen, Alaric did not accompany the king back to Rhemuth that day, but he was present six weeks later, when the new prince was christened before all the court at Twelfth Night. He did not dare to attend the christening itself, but the king brought the infant prince to him later that evening, in the withdrawing room, and proudly laid the babe in his arms.

  “Alaric Anthony Morgan Duke of Corwyn, I present my son and heir: Prince Kelson Cinhil Rhys Anthony Haldane. Yes, the ‘Anthony’ is from you. May you be to him as you have been to me: a protector and mentor, and a staunch defender against those who would wish him ill.”

  “I swear it, my Liege,” Alaric said softly, gazing down into the wide grey eyes. “God willing, I shall keep him safe, and make of him a king whose name will live in legend.”

  APPENDIX I

  Index of Characters

  *Indicates a deceased character or one only mentioned indirectly

  AEAN MORRISEY—a page promoted to squire.

  *AHERN JERNIAN DE CORWYN, LORD—deceased Earl of Lendour and Heir of Corwyn, Deryni; brother of Alyce de Corwyn, uncle of Alaric, and briefly the husband of Zoë Morgan.

  AIMONE, FATHER—chaplain brought to Rhemuth by Queen Jehana.

  AIREY REDFEARN—twin to Prys, son o
f Sir Jiri Redfearn; page, then squire at the Haldane court.

  AIRICH O’FLYNN, SIR—Earl of Derry, succeeded by Sir Seamus O’Flynn.

  AIRLIE KUSHANNAN, LORD—Earl of Airnis, one of Corwyn’s regents, father of Jernian.

  ALARIC ANTHONY MORGAN—eight-year-old son of the late Alyce de Corwyn Morgan and Sir Kenneth Kai Morgan; half-Deryni.

  ALAZAIS MORGAN—youngest daughter of Sir Kenneth Morgan by his first wife.

  *ALICIA MCLAIN, LADY—stillborn daughter of Jared and Vera McLain.

  ALIX HELENA, BARONNE DE HAUT-LEON—wife of Jamyl Arilan, Deryni.

  ALPHONSE—a squire at Pwyllheli, then at Rhemuth; a keen archer.

  ALUN MELANDRY, SIR—son of the murdered former royal governor of Ratharkin, and cousin of Sir Wilce Melandry.

  ALWYNE—a Haldane lancer present at Brion’s assumption of power.

  *ALYCE JAVANA DE CORWYN MORGAN, LADY—deceased Heiress of Corwyn and Lendour, Deryni wife of Sir Kenneth Morgan and mother of Alaric and Bronwyn.

  ALYCE MARIA CHANDOS—daughter of Zoë and Sir Jovett Chandos.

  ALYS LITHGOW—daughter of Geill Morgan and Sir Walter Lithgow.

  AMIELLE, LADY—Countess of Zaria, betrothed of Illann King of Howicce and Llannedd.

  ANDREW TAIRCHELL MCLAIN, DUKE—Duke of Cassan, father of Jared.

  ANSELM, FATHER—a chaplain at Rhemuth Castle.

  ARBAN HOWELL, SIR—Baron of Iomaire, later Earl of Eastmarch; cousin of Rorik Howell Earl of Eastmarch.

  ARRAN MACEWAN, SIR—a knight of Claibourne.

  ARTHEN TALBOT, SIR—youngest son of Sir Lucien Talbot, royal governor of Ratharkin.

  AUDE, PRINCESS—Dowager Princess of Meara, mother of Princess Caitrin.

  AUDE, PRINCESS—second daughter of Meyric King of Bremagne, sister of Jehana.

  AURELIA, MOTHER—Abbess of St. Brigid’s.

  BAIRBRE—maid to Vera Countess of Kierney, who also looks after Duncan and Kevin McLain.

  BARRETT DE LANEY—blind member of the Camberian Council.

  BAYARD—a brindle hound given to Alaric by the king for his fourth birthday.

  BAYLOR DE PAOR, SIR—elder son of the Baron of Trurill.

  *BEARAND HALDANE, KING SAINT—pre-Interregnum Haldane king who pushed back the Moorish sea lords and consolidated Gwynedd.

  *BLAINE EMANUEL RICHARD CINHIL HALDANE, PRINCE—second son of Donal King of Gwynedd, 1083–1092.

  BRICE DE PAOR, SIR—younger son of the Baron of Trurill, knighted by King Brion at Trurill.

  BRION DONAL CINHIL URIEN HALDANE, KING—King of Gwynedd, eldest son of King Donal.

  *BRIONA, PRINCESS—only child of the last Prince of Mooryn, wife of Prince Festil Augustus.

  *BRONWYN MORGAN—a sister of Charlan Kai Morgan, who died in the service of King Javan Haldane.

  BRONWYN RHETICE MORGAN, LADY—five-year-old daughter of Alyce and Kenneth Morgan, younger sister of Alaric.

  BROTHEN DE PAOR, SIR—Baron of Trurill, father of Baylor and Brice.

  CAERIESSE—one of King Brion’s ships, named for the lost land that sank beneath the sea.

  CALIX HOWARD, SIR—one of Kenneth Morgan’s knights living at Morganhall, married to Alaric’s former nurse, Melissa.

  CAMILLE FURSTÁNA, PRINCESS—daughter of Prince Zimri Furstán and Chriselle, a Festillic heiress; aunt of Prince Hogan Furstán; also known as Mother Serafina, a nun at Saint-Sasile, an all Deryni monastic establishment.

  CASPAR TALBOT, SIR—third son of Sir Lucien Talbot, brother of Sir Arthen Talbot.

  *CHARLAN KAI MORGAN, SIR—distant cousin of Sir Kenneth Morgan, loyal knight in the service of King Javan Haldane, with whom he died in battle.

  CHARLAN PETER CHANDOS—second son of Lady Zoë Morgan and Sir Jovett Chandos.

  CHARLES—a squire at Rhemuth.

  CIARÁN MACRAE—a page at court, son of Sir Tiernán MacRae.

  CILLIAN, MASTER—a royal physician at Rhemuth Castle.

  CLAARA MORGAN WINSLOW, LADY—widowed younger sister of Sir Kenneth Morgan.

  CLARICE FRASER—a granddaughter of Claara, and grandniece of Sir Kenneth Morgan, sister of Kian Fraser.

  CLAUD DE SAEVA, SIR—a newly made knight, son of Sir Robert, castellan of Rhemuth Castle.

  CLEMENCE, SISTER—a sister brought from Bremagne by Queen Jehana.

  CLORIS, LADY—wife of Morian, Deryni.

  COCKLEBURR—a retired warhorse selected by Sir Llion as a first training mount for Alaric Morgan.

  CONSTANTIN FURSTÁN-ARKADIA, COUNT—a younger son of the Torenthi Duke of Arkadia.

  CORMAC, PRINCE—youngest son of Illann King of Howicce and Llannedd, a new page at Rhemuth court.

  CORNELIUS SEATON—a page at court, son of Sir Errol Seaton and Merlise de Nore; nephew of Bishop Oliver de Nore.

  CREODA, FATHER—a scholar attached to the court at Rhemuth.

  CRESCENCE DE NAVERIE, SIR—special counsel to the Regents of Corwyn.

  DEINOL HARTMANN, SIR—seneschal at Castle Cynfyn.

  DELPHINE MORGAN—unmarried older sister of Sir Kenneth Morgan, chatelaine of Morganhall in his absence; an accomplished poet and painter.

  *DESMOND MACCARTNEY, ARCHBISHOP—Archbishop of Rhemuth, brother of Archbishop William.

  DILYS—a steady and reliable mare belonging to Sir Calix Howard, occasionally ridden by Alaric at Morganhall.

  *DOMINIC DU JOUX, SIEUR—son of Richard du Joux, a follower of Prince Festil of Torenth, and Princess Tayce Furstána, a first cousin of the first Festillic king; first Duke of Corwyn.

  *DONAL BLAINE AIDAN CINHIL HALDANE, KING—late King of Gwynedd, father of Brion, Nigel, Xenia, and Silke.

  DONNARD, MASTER—battle-surgeon to Duke Richard.

  *DUCHAD MOR—Torenthi Deryni general who unsuccessfully attempted to invade Gwynedd in 985 on behalf of the Festillic pretender of the day.

  *DULCHESSE, QUEEN—childless first queen of Donal Haldane.

  DUNCAN HOWARD MCLAIN, LORD—son of Jared Earl of Kierney and Vera Howard (secretly Alyce’s twin sister), cousin of Alaric and Bronwyn, age eight.

  EDGAR OF MATHELWAITE—a baron’s son and heir, squire at Coroth.

  EDMUND LORIS, BISHOP—newly elected Bishop of Stavenham.

  ERMENGARD, SISTER—gatekeeper at the Abbey of St. Brigid.

  ERROL SEATON, SIR—father of Cornelius, in service to his brother-in-law, Bishop Oliver de Nore.

  ESMÉ HARRIS, BISHOP—Bishop of Coroth, and member of Corwyn’s council of regents.

  ESTÈPHE DE COURCY, SIR—a young cousin of Michon de Courcy.

  EULALIA HOWELL, LADY—daughter of Rorik Earl of Eastmarch, married to Sir Rhydon Sasillion Baron of Coldoire.

  EVAN SULLIVAN, SIR—father of Paget, a neighbor of Oisín Adair at Arkella, near Ratharkin and the Mearan border.

  EWAN DE TRAHERNE, SIR—Earl of Rhendall, father of Meraude and Saer.

  EWAN MACEWAN, DUKE—Duke of Claibourne.

  FAAS OF GLYNDOUR—a local baron near Cloome and Castel Edain.

  FANTON MURCHISON—a squire at Rhemuth.

  FAXON HOWARD, BISHOP—an itinerant bishop, kin to Vera Howard McLain.

  *FESTIL, KING—first of the Interregnum kings of Gwynedd, a younger son of the King of Torenth.

  FISKEN CROMARTY, BISHOP—itinerant bishop elected Bishop of Marbury in 1096, in succession to Paul Tollendal.

  FROILÁN LASCELLES, SIR—a young knight of Kierney in Jared’s service.

  GABRIEL, ARCHANGEL—guardian of the element of Water.

  GARETH—a guard in the service of Bishop Oliver de Nore.

  GEILL (MORGAN) LITHGOW—middle daughter of Sir Kenneth Morgan by his first wife, married to Sir Walter Lithgow, a knight of Kierney.

  GERALD RALSON, LORD—a Haldane lancer present at Brion’s assumption of powe
r.

  GEOFFREY DE MAIN, SIR—a young knight of Gwynedd, non-identical twin to Thomas.

  GEORDAN, FATHER—Duchess Vera’s chaplain at Culdi.

  GEZELIN, COUNT—ruler of county of Fianna.

  GILES—a groom at Coroth.

  GILLES CHOPARD, SIR—son of Sir Miles Chopard, a Corwyn regent; knighted by Kenneth.

  GODREDD COLBERTSON, CAPTAIN—an officer of the Marley heavy cavalry, father of Godwin.

  GODWIN GODREDDSON—a senior squire at Rhemuth, budding tactician, knighted by King Brion at Rhemuth.

  GRAHAM MACEWAN, LORD—eldest son and heir to Ewan Duke of Claibourne.

  GRYPHON—a sleek Corwyn cargo cog.

  HAKIM, PRINCE—heir to Qais Emir of Nur Hallaj.

  HALLORAN DU JOUX, SIR—eldest son and heir of Morian, Deryni.

  HAMILTON, LORD—seneschal of Coroth.

  HARRY—a squire at Rhemuth.

  HENRY, FATHER—a chaplain at Rhemuth.

  HENRY KIRBY—first mate aboard the Gryphon, an avid cardounet player.

  HIRAM—a page from Llannedd, a shirttail relative of King Ronan.

  HOGAN GWERNACH, SOMETIMES HOGAN FURSTÁN, PRINCE—Festillic pretender to the throne of Gwynedd, posthumous son of Prince Marcus (nephew of Princess Camille/Sister Serafina) and Jonelle Heiress of Gwernach, by which right he was sometimes known in later life as Hogan Gwernach.

  HORT OF ORSAL—Overlord of the Forcinn Buffer States. (See Létald.)

  IAN HOWELL—son and heir of Arban Howell Baron of Iomaire (later Earl of Eastmarch), and squire to him.

  ILLANN, KING—King of Howicce and Llannedd; brother of Queen Richeldis.

  *IMRE FURSTÁN OF FESTIL—last Interregnum King of Gwynedd.

  INNIS DE PIREK (PIREK-HALDANE), SIR—a senior squire at Rhemuth, knighted by King Brion.

  *IOLO MELANDRY, SIR—murdered royal governor of Meara.

  IRIS CERYS—a sister of Arc-en-Ciel.