The Snow Song

by Heath Pfaff

  "You're not the first to think this was a good idea." Snow said to me as she began to circle. "Yet, do you ever see any of the others carrying such a big weapon?"

  "No, but the others were not me." I answered. I didn't honestly know how my experiment would turn out, but I needed to think of something. I had been trying to adapt to fighting with one arm for a long time, and I had yet to find a successful method.

  Snow and I charged at the same moment. Her blade moved quick, circling in for a decisive kill. I brought my weapon up before me, turning my side to my enemy as I did so. My larger blade turned her smaller one aside with ease, but she did not slow her movements. Her deflected momentum turned around in a flash, and her blade was coming back at me again almost before I could respond. I called upon my endless strength and forced the massive blade through the air to counter the new incoming attack. I deflected her again, but the large wooden sword had dragged me off balance, and I had to follow through its momentum with my body to avoid stumbling. I kept its flat surface between myself and Snow, and she was hard pressed to push her attack through.

  The big blade had its disadvantages, but it had its advantages as well. To get within range of attacking me, my enemy had to cover a good deal of ground directly through the path of my weapon. If moved quickly enough, the blade was an effective shield. With my strength, the sword did not slow me down enough to be a hindrance, but with my missing arm, the large blade was even more likely to overbalance me on my right side. Could I make it work? I wasn't sure.

  Snow stalked in, her blade tip never quite still as she weaved her path towards me. She sprung, her entire body uncoiled, seeming to double in length as she burst forward with surprising agility. She was past the point that I could create an easy defense in a flash, and I was forced to risk retreating, or closing and shortening her striking range, rendering her attack less effective. No, there was another option. I heaved my giant weapon in close to my body and drew it across and downward, in front of me as fast as I could. The opening that Snow had been driving through came closed just as she was nearing striking distance, and her blade deflected from the cross piece of my wooden sword and spun wide, only grazing me where it should have struck a powerful blow.

  I was not so lucky on her follow up swing. I was so caught up in the triumph of my deflection, that the next strike hit me hard across the neck, and I fell to the ground, collapsing on my left side that had no way of bracing for the fall. Snow stood over me, looking down and shaking her head.

  "The fight isn't over until one of us is lying on the ground. Try not to forget that next time." She paused for a moment, probably replaying the fight in her head, and looking for what aspects needed criticizing. "Your big sword makes a great club, if you're into that kind of thing. Of course, I guess that a brute like you was never really meant to handle a refined weapon. You may continue to train with your Sow-fork, but I want your active weapon changed to reflect the new direction of your training. There is no point in learning a new sword on the training field, and not taking what you learned to the battlefield."

  That, I knew, was the closest I was going to get to approval of changing weapons. Snow had learned her sword skills in multiple places, and believed the skills she'd obtained were an art. I had been told on many occasions that I did not have the will to break my training and accept the flow of the sword art, but maybe it was only that my art was different from theirs. I would need to find my own way.

  "Well, don't just lay there. I'm not done humiliating you yet." Snow broke my line of thought, tapping her practice sword in one palm. I stood up and dusted myself off. It would be a long morning.

  I was nearing the end of training, when Ethaniel walked out onto the sparring field. The tall powerful leader of the Knights of the Ethan was grim faced. He had been so for years. He rarely ever smiled, and had few pleasant words to say to anyone. He had two sets of eyes, two the black of a Knight of Ethan, and two located just above his brow line that were gray and smoky. Those gray eyes oozed a perpetual mist of darkness. His head was crowned with a pair of large spiraling horns, and upon his back were black webbed wings. They were folded over his shoulders like a cloak. Beneath his lower set of eyes were two pits, an acquisition whose origin I was not certain of. They gave him an instinctual ability to perceive fluctuations in hot and cold. He was the first of the Knights, and had always been considered the greatest of them. He was my primary advisor, and my only political supporter, though I'd grown to dread speaking with him. His moods were, anymore, always dark.

  I remembered when I had first met him. He'd had a warm, if not sad, smile that came easily to his face, and a demeanor that welcomed talk, and encouraged a bond whether one meant to establish one or not. Ethaniel had changed, and I knew not why. Every time I gazed into the second set of gray eyes upon his forehead, however, I wondered if they had something to do with his descent into bleak drear. They always seemed to stare outward with malevolent rage, as though watching a world they hated. Those eyes should have had no bearing on Ethaniel's personality, for all additions to the body of a Knight of Ethan were supposed to be bound by the Knight's mind, but I had learned much about that bond over the years. I had my own demons dwelling within me. Did Ethaniel fight such darkness within himself? Was he winning?

  Of course, I knew it was possible that the political situation alone was to blame for his constant dour mood. Castle life had been difficult since I'd taken the crown. Ethaniel worked constantly to maintain the peace between myself and the heads of the various loyal clans. Some few supported me whole heartedly, but for the most part they all would have preferred if another had ascended the throne. If I hadn't needed the ships to sail and find Kaylien, I would have been happy to let someone else take the position from me. The grim faced warrior approached me. He seemed more agitated than usual.

  "My King, may I have a word with you." His voice was clipped, his eyes, all four of them, glinted with anger, though the gray eyes glinted with more than just general anger. They gave Ethaniel the ability to see things that were too far away to be seen by the naked eye. With them, Ethaniel could gaze from one side of our lands to the other, or even further, across the Great Salt Seep that stretched from our shores into forever, as far as most were concerned. The problem was that the eyes only worked occasionally, and only showed some things. Ethaniel had worked for years to master the art, but he'd never been able to tame the ability. It was yet another source of frustration for the Knight.

  "Of course." I answered promptly.

  "In private. . ." Ethaniel added, gesturing to the side of the practice field. I nodded my agreement, though I certainly wasn't excited by the prospect of a private chat with my angry advisor. I turned to Snow, bowed respectfully, and then followed Ethaniel to a more private setting for our conversation.

  We stepped into the covered overhang of the double doors which led back into the castle interior. I could tell I wasn't going to like what Ethaniel had to say before he even opened his mouth. The set of his jaw and the clip of his voice had given every indication that he was in an especially foul mood.

  "Lord Lheec was here today." He began, his anger, I could tell, was boiling just below the surface. How he had learned of the events of the morning I didn't know, but it was obvious that he had. News traveled fast in a castle. It was as though everything that happened within the walls echoed through the very stone. "I don't suppose I need to even ask if what I've heard is true. You turned down Lheec's offer to wed his youngest daughter, Bellena." If it was meant to be a question, it wasn't stated as such.

  "Yes," I replied, attempting to keep my calm. My anger flared inside me though. That Ethaniel would be angry at me for turning down such a disgusting offer enraged me. "She was a young girl, too young to marry, and I am not interested in wedding."

  A low growl issued from Ethaniel's throat, and his eyes smoldered.

  "Lheec is one of the very, very few people who stand in support of your rule, at least publicly. Do you have no love of yo
ur country? By insulting Lheec, you put yourself in a very precarious situation." Ethaniel's voice was like a whip, tinged with the strange powerful vocal disharmony known amongst the Knights as "the voice." Like the arms and legs our kind take from other creatures, some Knights have taken the very voice of another monster, and it is as much a weapon as the claws of the Fell Beast. Ethaniel normally hid the voice when in public, but agitated, it shined through, lashing at me like a physical attack. I was, however, no fragile child to be so easily intimidated.

  "I serve this country as I see fit, giving what needs be given for the betterment of the people. Marriage to Lheec's daughter would serve no purpose other than to put me further into Lheec's pocket. He wants total control of the throne, and Bell was just another tool to get him that. I would be no man at all if I had taken that offer. What would you expect of me?" I responded in my coldest tones.

  Ethaniel's gray eyes cut at me, ripping me to pieces with hidden malice, and his black eyes, once tinged with blue, were like two lumps of coal staring out from his tight-jawed face. I wondered for a moment if he was about to strike me down.

  "I would expect you to do your duty and make Lheec's daughter scream like a whore if it's what was necessary to secure a stable political situation." His words were bitter and hard, and it seemed for a minute they almost shocked him as much as they did me. He paused before continuing. "To serve the country, you must be willing to make sacrifices. You've insulted Lheec, and there is no doubt that we will pay a heavy toll for that.

  "I spoke with my informants today, and they bring me troubling news." The leader of the Knight's of Ethan grew calmer as he spoke, but I could tell the anger had not left him, merely been suppressed through some titanic effort.

  "Lheec has amassed a sizable force at the borders of his clan's holdings. My spies tell me, and I have confirmed this with my vision, that there are representatives from all of the ten major clans, and many of the minor ones as well, including some of the rebel clans. It seems obvious to me that Lheec is not merely bolstering his clan's defenses." Ethaniel's voice was almost calm by the time he finished.

  I stood in silence. There was only one reason that Lheec would amass an army, and its presence boded ill for me. That was troubling. What was more troubling was that all the clans that had sworn allegiance to me were backing him. It came as a strong blow to discover that those I thought trusted my judgment, were secretly plotting my downfall.

  "I have tried to serve them well." I said, suddenly feeling the weight of the world upon my back. "My decisions have always been for the betterment of the country."

  Ethaniel nodded. "You have. Every choice you've made has been the right one, in regards to how you're handling the countries business. However, every choice you've made politically has been the wrong one, and that is what really matters in the end. Lheec, for what it's worth, apparently was willing to offer you one last chance, in the form of his daughter's hand in marriage. No doubt when he learns of what has transpired, we will see what the purpose of this army he is building really is."

  "I've done the right thing." I muttered in disbelief, unwilling to accept the betrayal that loomed before me.

  "In hard times, like we've had while we recover from the Hungering attack, the common people need a villain. You've allowed yourself to be placed in that role, Lowin." He used my name, and not my title, a rarity for Ethaniel. I looked to his black eyes, and it seemed that there might be compassion somewhere beneath his anger. His moods seemed to flow as swiftly as a flooded river.

  "Lheec gives to the country, for he has nearly endless resources, and he does so as boisterously as possible. The people know where their relief supplies are coming from, and even they believe his family should sit the throne. Every problem is laid at your feet, and every success is laid at his." Ethaniel added.

  ". . . and I would serve the country better by pandering to Lheec's corruption?" I asked, still trying to stifle my indignation and anger at the situation.

  "Yes. You would serve the people better by doing what was necessary to assure that they received the supplies and resources they need to grow and thrive. What's more, you could bring about another war, simply because you're not playing the games of state. Do you think the people need another war?" Ethaniel's words brought up questions I didn't want to face.

  When I had agreed to become the king, I had never anticipated that I would spend so much of my reign fighting to keep the nobles happy. As a Knight, I had seen the king as an absolute authority, but as king, I saw that, in truth, the position was only as powerful as those who supported it.

  "I don't understand how they could even consider the possibility of another war. We're still recovering from the damages wrought by the Hungering. What is wrong with Lheec? Would he really take us into another war simply because he wants more control over the crown?" I could hear the anger in my words, and knew that my temper must also be obvious to Ethaniel. I tried to cool the fire burning inside me.

  "You are the Maimed King, Lowin. You are a monster to them, and not even a strong one. They see you as a warrior past his prime, who preys upon the weak for pleasure, and uses his position to live in comfort while the common man suffers. Lheec withholds supplies to the people, except for when he's visiting, and has his underlings whisper lies about how he would send more supplies, if only King Noble would allow his caravans into the cities more frequently." Ethaniel explained dryly.

  "Those are lies!" I snapped, my anger boiling forth again. From the darkness inside of me, the sounds of teeth gnashing rang through my mind. "He's . . ."

  "Preparing for your fall and you're just making it easier for him. Why don't you at least take a new arm? We could have a Fell Beast brought in from the mountains. If the people saw you whole again they might . . ." Ethaniel began, but we had gone this course many times before.

  "No," I cut across his words. "I won't do that." I refused to explain to Ethaniel that I feared that joining my body with another Fell Beast would make it even more difficult for me to keep the darkness at bay within me. Already my dreams were haunted by the memories of the creature whose limbs I wore, and I did not wish to risk losing anymore of myself to the beast.

  "There are other options." Ethaniel said, and I could tell by his tone he was growing frustrated with me. I knew, as well, where his next suggestions were going. "The Uliona still wish to reestablish their contract. They see your position as a Knight, as an assurance that their sacrifice would not be abused."

  "I will not do that." The anger was bare in my voice with this denial. My first love, Kyeia, had been a Uliona bound by the contract. She had given her life so that I might have the eyes which had granted me all my strength and abilities. I had loved her, and in the end her death had destroyed some part of me. The only thing that remained of Kye was her eyes, and our daughter, born of her dying mother, who was lost to the Hungering, somewhere far across the sea.

  "I will not allow others to die so that we can build a new army." I growled the words as I spoke them.

  "The people need the Knights, Lowin. They need to feel that their king, and his military force, can provide them with safety in even the most dangerous of times. The Uliona see this as well. That is why they are offering the contract again. Don't let your personal feelings get in the way of making a choice that would be best for the people. The Uliona want our protection." Ethaniel pressed.

  ". . . and I've offered it to them." I shot back. "The kingdom of men shall be at their beck and call if they need assistance. We don't need the contract of bonding to assure that."

  Ethaniel continued to push, unwilling to give in. "You're ignoring the greater problem. You've made the creation of the Black Patch Brigade illegal, and you refuse to allow the creation of more Knights of Ethan. The kingdom of man's forces are already weakened, and you're not allowing us to grow any stronger. You steadfastly refuse to allow the people that which would make them feel secure again. Among all the choices you've made, this is the one that they see as most
unjust. You're denying them their heroes."

  "I'm denying them more monsters, Ethaniel. You know what we are, or have you lost the last remnants of your humanity? Creatures such as we should not exist. We have too much power. The people fear us." I'd played this argument over and over again in my mind. Every time I came to the same conclusion. The Knights of Ethan, while a valuable military asset, were too powerful to be safe. One corrupt leader could make of them a terrible weapon. One man like Lucidil could tear the world apart to reach his ends.

  The first Knight's eyes flared with murderous rage, but his hand did not so much as twitch towards his weapon. I was not wearing my sword, and I felt suddenly vulnerable without it.

  "The people fear us, but they love us as well. They feel better knowing that we exist, but if you will not be compelled by sense for their good, do it for your own. If you accept the Uliona contract, you could take a second binding, and your arm would . . ." The Knight of four eyes began, but I had to stop him.

  "What do you mean by, 'take a second binding?' That's not even possible." I had never heard of such a thing.

  Ethaniel shook his head. "You're wrong. We've known it was possible for some time, but the original contract forbade such a practice. We could make an exception this time. It would grant you almost twice as much power as you already have, and your body would heal. With a revitalized, strong, king before them, the people would have to accept you."

  I took a step back, shock rippling through me. "But the eyes. . ."