Taking it all around, however, the civilizers agreed that having feechiefolk in Tambluff was much better than having Pyrthens, so the protests were few. One of the most notable protests came from Lynwood and his family. When it came out that feechiefolk would be attending Aidan’s coronation feast, Lynwood announced that he and his wife and daughters had socialized quite enough with feechiefolk and would miss the event.
Lynwood’s daughter Sadie did, however, sneak off to the coronation feast, where she sat next to Dobro Turtlebane and shared a rotten lizard egg with him. Dobro and Sadie shared many more meals in the succeeding years, by the way. But that is another story.
The Pyrthens decided that their ambitions didn’t extend to the island of Corenwald after all. That was just as well, for their army was in a weakened state after the disaster at Sinking Canyons. Besides, the Pyrthens had their hands full with a dozen rebellious subject states, which were now emboldened to fight against their masters.
Corenwald settled down to a long period of peace and prosperity under Aidan’s kingship. That was a good thing, for the work of integrating feechie Corenwald and civilizer Corenwald into a single kingdom took every bit of King Aidan’s wit and energy.
The day after the coronation ceremony, Brennus moved back to Longleaf Manor with his wife Gemma and their children and began reclaiming the family farm from the encroaching wilderness. Fershal of the Hill Country graciously gave up his claim to the land.
Maynard took a low-level position in his brother’s government. Thanks to his steady work and his unswerving loyalty, he eventually worked his way up to the position of Corenwald’s ambassador to the Pyrthen Empire.
Percy became Aidan’s Secretary of State, and Jasper accepted a position at Tambluff University, where he immediately began his life’s work: a seven-volume history of Corenwald, encompassing all of civilizer history and all of feechie history into a single narrative.
Dobro became Corenwald’s Minister of Feechie Affairs, but that didn’t stop him from sleeping in the treetops if he took the notion.
Bayard the Truthspeaker returned to his life of solitude in the forests and swamps, confident that his beloved Corenwald had been set to rights. Aidan hardly saw Bayard ever again. But he finally learned to take the old prophet’s advice. He settled down to live the life that unfolded before him.
The Way of the Wilderking Page 17
