by Sharon Gibbs
Lack of crops meant there wasn’t enough to feed the vast amount of animals the farmers normally would keep and as the farmers cut livestock there became less money and so the spiral into decline continued. Times had for a while improved for the people when Gerard had fallen in love with a woman called Hela. She’d a young daughter, Athena and as Gerard fell in love with Hela, his whole outlook on life changed. With his wife’s guidance he took hold of the reigns of Reist and pulled his lands from the void they’d descended into.
Before long Gerard and Hela rejoiced at the birth of a son, Arnak. They’d thought ahead to his prosperous future as the new Lord of the realm. Life was good for the Antrobus’. Athena was four when Arnak was born and she loved her little brother. She could always be found near Arnak and when he cried she was there to make him laugh and when he was sick she spent many a sleepless night, along with her mother, at his bedside. Gerard was happier than he’d ever remembered and was the ever doting husband and father.
Gerard spent time with his children and one day he noticed something unusual about Athena. When she was upset or annoyed, objects broke. He spoke to the young girl and discovered her uncontrolled ability to mobilise objects. Gerard talked with his wife about their daughter, but Hela wouldn’t acknowledge Athena’s gift. No daughter of hers would be swayed under the powers of magic, not while she was alive and so Gerard left the matter alone. But when he was alone with Athena, he’d encourage her to practise and monitored her progress.
Over the matter of a few months Athena had improved and could move small objects at will. If she concentrated she could make Arnak’s ball roll across the floor and this pleased Arnak. He looked up to his sister and was in awe of her.
When Arnak was in his sixth year, Gerard had been overjoyed at the news Hela was with child again. They hadn’t thought there’d be any more children born to them. Hela blossomed during her time with child and Athena and Arnak eagerly awaited the new addition to their family.
Hela’s time drew near and during a thunderstorm in the early evening her labour began. Gerard called for the midwives to attend his wife. These were the same women who’d brought Arnak into the world, and so the long night began. The labour took hours to progress but finally the time came to birth the child. The midwives cooled Hela’s brow with damp cloths and freshened them often as she laboured.
Hela pushed for an hour, and with no child in sight, the midwives began to worry. They called for Gerard to fetch the old woman Cora who lived nearby. As Cora examined Hela she found the baby to be in the wrong position. After Cora repositioned the child, Hela pushed again. The babe began its descent and their child was born, but no cries came forth from it as it entered the world.
Cora worked on the little boy. She cleared the mucus from his mouth and nose while the other midwives cut his cord. She blew in his nose to expand the baby’s lungs. Still no breath came. The child was a mottled shade, and his little body had run out of time. The child was wrapped in a blanket and given to Hela to hold. She lay there with him in her arms and cried.
Blood drenched the end of the bed and seeped onto the floor. Over the next few hours Hela became weak and her breathing slowed as her body succumbed to the failed birth. Gerard held his wife. There was nothing the midwives could do to stop the blood that came from deep inside her body.
Hela held Gerard’s hand and knew her time was near. She asked her husband to fetch the children.
Athena and Arnak were brought to see their mother. She looked sick and the baby didn’t move. Athena cried and Hela reached out and held her children.
‘Arnak, be a good boy for your father. Grow strong and rule well. I’ll love you always,’ she said and she kissed him on the cheek before she gathered her daughter in her arms.
‘I love you, Athena. May you grow to be the beautiful woman I know you to be. Promise me you’ll always take care of your brother no matter what.’ Athena promised and she lay next to her mother and they held each other until Hela’s arms slid onto the bed.
Athena could no longer feel her mother’s chest rise. She sat up and stared at her mother’s ashen face and screamed. The sound pierced their eardrums and everyone in the room held their heads to block out the noise. The windows rattled and rumbled in their frames, as if the ground had shaken the house. Then there was an explosion as the glass in the room shattered. Shards of glass flew across the room to pierce the skin of those who huddled on the floor in fear for their lives. Then all was quiet. Athena rose from the bed and led her brother from the room.
Over the days that followed, once Hela had been sent off on her journey to the Other World, Gerard withdrew from his children. He isolated himself from all in the household and he slipped back into his old habits with his liquid friend. The household staff took over care of the children, who only saw their father when he sought them out in his drunken state. He’d repeatedly tell them of the loss of their mother and how if the Wizards at the Keep hadn’t stripped him of his powers he was sure he could’ve saved her.
So that’s how life continued within the Antrobus’ household. The children rarely saw their father and when they did his stories became more embellished as he drank the strong liquor to dull his senses and ease the pain. He inflicted upon his children all his tales from life at the Keep. Never the good and happy times he’d spent there, only his twisted version of the tyranny that had been cast upon him.
As the months went by these stories bred inside his children’s minds until they, too, were tainted by the past of their father. Because they were young, they believed every word he uttered and they grieved all the more for their mother. Gerard had instructed the general of Reist’s forces to expand their ranks and train for war. A war that would never eventuate because Gerard only ranted about revenge.
When it came down to it, all he could manage to do was drink. He spent most of his time with his mistresses who gave him strength and rightfulness as each one boosted his ego. The liquor provided him with a courage he didn’t possess when he was sober and so the army of Reist grew and trained for war but went nowhere.
It’d been nearly two years since Hela’s death, and one day while Gerard walked past the drawing room he heard his children as they played. As he entered the room he heard Arnak plead with Athena.
‘Do it again, Athena. Oh please, do it again.’
‘Alright, but only once more,’ Athena said and she giggled, happy she was able to please her brother.
Gerard stood in silence by the door and watched as Athena lifted Arnak’s toys and made them dance. Arnak laughed and clapped his hands with pleasure. Gerard left to find his manservant Jefferson.
Jefferson was younger than Gerard but was quite proficient at his job. He was the Lord’s attendant and confidant. Jefferson had come into service when Gerard had first married Hela and he’d been the backbone for them both, as they resurrected the country from the void it had slipped into under Gerard’s rule.
Gerard instructed Jefferson to travel to the Mystic Swamps and see the Sorceress My. He wanted her to agree to take Athena on as her own and train her in the ways of sorcery. That was what Gerard needed, power, and he could get it through his daughter.
Jefferson offered My a generous allowance to teach Athena. If she accepted, she was to travel to the Antrobus home and meet Athena before she made her decision. My agreed to at least meet the girl and travelled with Jefferson back to Reist. When she saw Athena she knew she’d take the girl home. There was something about this girl. She could feel it in her bones. One day the girl would aspire to greatness and she agreed to take the child on and train her, but she wanted more coin than Gerard had offered.
My knew exactly who Gerard was; they’d met when Gerard had returned home from the Keep. He’d sought the Sorceress out after he’d heard stories about her in the local taverns. Gerard had looked for a way to gain his powers back and had met with My. She’d told him that he was an empty shell and there was nothing she could do to bring his essence back. He’d left d
ejected and turned to the liquor to sooth his pain until the day he’d met Hela.
Gerard agreed to the extra money My wanted. So when she returned home to the Mystic Swamps, Athena went with her. Gerard had convinced Athena that this was the only way they could seek revenge for her mother’s death. Athena hated the thought of being parted from Arnak, but she agreed to go when Gerard promised Arnak could come and visit her. Athena was taken from her home, at the tender age of twelve, to live with My and make her own path in life. She trained to become a Sorceress, while Gerard drank and once again drained the coin from the lands of Reist. The people would again go without.
Arnak and Athena relaxed in their father’s study. The journey home had been long as Athena’s belongings had slowed them down, but she’d been adamant she wouldn’t leave anything behind. Over the years she’d amassed a considerable collection and felt them too valuable to be left behind for scavengers to plunder. Most items Athena owned the average person would find meaningless, but to a Sorceress they were invaluable, even irreplaceable. From the small bottles of herbs, candles and stones she always kept on hand, to the large glass mirror Athena couldn’t live without, she’d packed them all for the journey back home.
The glass mirror she’d acquired from the Sorceress My, after her death. Athena’s vanity had become an obsession which she had picked up while she lived and trained with My.
Over the years Athena had observed a strange phenomenon. While other Sorceresses aged when they used their magic, the Sorceress My didn’t. My had been obsessed with her youthful appearance and had inflicted the same obsession upon Athena. To stay young at all costs was most important. My had ingrained this paranoia into Athena from an early age and now Athena made sure she used her magic sparingly, unless a person was willing to pay the price for her gift which was a small amount of his or her life force.
As Athena’s body rested, her thoughts didn’t. How was she going to build the army she had promised Zute?
Her thoughts returned to the map they’d found in Gerard’s study. The map had been made at a time when the army had been instructed to expand.
Upon the table in front of them Arnak had spread out the large map which contained the most important landmarks of Solencia. It included the Keep, the major towns and the ports that were crucial for the trade of goods. Also marked were the forests, woodland areas, rivers, and major thoroughfares of travel. Arnak pointed to the map.
‘These are the major ports,’ he said as Athena looked over the map. ‘But it would serve us better to moor up the coastline, closer to Canistar. The trek to the Keep will be shorter and we can travel behind the mountains and ascend to the Keep without being seen from the village.’ He pointed on the map to a small cove up the coast and Athena agreed with his idea. They’d approach with their ships in this desolate area and the chances of being seen from the shore were less. When they anchored their boats they’d row to the shore.
‘From the boats the horses will have to swim ashore. The heavy weapons the soldiers need will take a great deal of time to transport to the land, let alone the many soldiers that’ll travel with us,’ Arnak said.
‘Good weapons take time to make, brother. Unfortunately we need to have them already prepared. We’ll have to take the time to transport them, but we need to also bring men to repair and make new weapons. We’ll need wagons, so have them dismantled and when we reach land they can be fastened back together. We need only carry four days supplies with us because after we take the Keep they can be replaced.’
‘How many men will we need?’ Arnak had thought of a way to acquire them.
Athena placed her finger over her lips as she thought. ‘How many boats do we have?’
‘Only four, but I plan to have six more built, ready to sail within the year. We need to establish ourselves within Solencia well before the winter snow arrives.’ Arnak rose from his chair. ‘Jefferson!’
‘Yes, my Lord!’ Jefferson said as he entered the study. He’d become Arnak’s personal bodyguard after the old Lord had passed away. To guarantee that he was always close to the new Lord for protection he’d not taken his leave and had waited outside the room.
‘Have my men visit the town and villages, pass the news. Post scriptures and have them read in the squares. Tell the people their taxes will be collected early this year. The people of Reist have one week to pay taxes due.’
‘My Lord?’
‘That’s all, Jefferson! Unless you have something to add?’
‘No, my Lord.’
‘Then leave us!’ Athena commanded.
Jefferson left to see to his Lord’s wishes.
‘You know the taxes are early, the people won’t be able to pay so soon,’ Athena said.
‘I know, dear sister, and when they come to me to plead their case, I’ll offer them the choice—pay now or give one of their sons to the army of Reist.’ He smiled.
‘And what will we do when they pay, brother? How will we then gain men for the war?’
‘When they’ve no money and no food, when the weather turns cold and their bellies go hungry they’ll sell their sons to the army. Sons will come for the gold I offer so their families won’t starve. Never fear, dear sister, by the end of winter you’ll have your army for the Lord Zute.
Chapter Fifteen
The sweat trickled between Elle’s breasts as she scrubbed the pots in an old tub out back of the Chancellor’s manor. Her back ached as she scraped the thick scum from the bottom. The cook always left them to simmer on the fire at night as the soldiers came in late from their last patrol and expected a hot meal. No one in the kitchen would think to fill the pots to soak and the remainder of the food would cook until it hardened.
The sun shone through the clouds and warmed her back as she bent at her task. It made her work easier to bear when she thought of the warm days that were left. Winter would be here soon enough and Elle would have to wade through the snow to check the animals in the barn each morning, before she drew water from the well and lugged it back to the house to heat for the officers’ morning wash. If the well had frozen, she’d then have to shovel snow.
Elle didn’t mind the work for it provided food and a little money to help her father. Atlas, her father, could no longer work his trade as a stonemason, but he managed to find enough odd jobs around the town to make a meagre income. Her mother had died some fifteen years ago and when her brother Jack had come of age, he’d left and travelled north to join the army in Alberdez. Jack had hoped to provide money for his family, but also to learn how to fight. His dreams were to one day return and herd the invaders from the lands. It was really just a boy’s dream. No matter how good he was with a sword, one man couldn’t fight every soldier that now lived in their land.
Elle lugged the heavy pots back to the kitchen and she placed them over the fire to dry. It was also Elle’s job to feed the prisoner in the cellar and clean his quarters. She was only allowed to clean when necessary, but she changed his chamber pot every morning. Outside she’d dispose of the contents and scrub it thoroughly. Eventually she found a lid that she’d place over the pot when she removed it from the room. It helped to conceal the smell as she carried it outside, but it also enabled her to stow objects inside, a small amount of food or candles to light, as the room was always dark. The prisoner had been held in the cellar for as long as Elle could remember. Each time Elle entered the prisoner’s cell, she’d have to place the amulet that hung by the cell’s door around her neck to allow entry into the vault.
Elle had managed to gain a position in the kitchen when she was ten years old, as her family had needed the money. Elle had befriended the man who lived in the cellar not long after she’d arrived. She’d watched along with the town for many years as the prisoner was paraded on the first Sunday every month. Elle had always felt sad when she saw him, so when she came to work at the manor, she tried to make his life a little better. After Elle had cleaned the vault she’d forget to take her bucket and rags with her, which allo
wed the prisoner to wash.
On the days the prisoner was paraded, Elle would have to walk into the town to watch, but she made sure she stood at the front of the crowd and gave him a warm smile. Unbeknownst to her, this helped him through the torment that lay ahead. When he’d passed, Elle would rush back to the manor. The soldiers knew her ways and paid no attention to her. She’d strip the blankets from the bed in the cell and replace them with clean ones that she’d managed to acquire over time and so she ensured this man had a few small comforts.
Elle tended to him when he was sick and she’d bring him a hot brick from the kitchen fire to make sure he was warm on cold winter nights. At first the soldiers wouldn’t allow her to do so, but when she explained that if the prisoner should die from the cold, the Lord of the realm wouldn’t be pleased with them, they relented and so gradually over time Elle managed to make the prisoner’s life a little better. Elle was a strong woman; strong of mind, spirit and body. She’d learned a lot of it from her family and the rest came naturally to her as she watched how life went on around her.
Growing up, Elle would play with her brother Jack and when they’d the chance they’d wield swords and fight pretend battles. Their father had also taught them how to track, make a bow and shoot an arrow so that it hit its target every time. They could both live off the land and knew how to make or find shelter. Elle became proficient with the bow, which made Jack feel a little foolish. He found it difficult to shoot any great distance but he was consoled by the fact that he always beat her when he fought with his favourite stick.
Elle missed her brother. It’d been almost eight years since Jack had left home to join the army in Alberdez and they’d only heard from him a few times since. They didn’t know where he’d be, until word arrived. A short note and money was all they knew of his existence. When he’d left, he’d promised his family he’d return and Elle longed for the day that they’d be reunited.
