Gods Above and Below

by Loren K. Jones

  Stavin was giving Lady Ava an intensely curious look, so she answered the question he was too polite to ask. “Dad slept around a lot. Especially after Mom died. There are about twenty of my half-brothers and half-sisters serving in assorted positions in the palace.”

  Stavin bowed, but made no comment. It was an open secret that King Kalin had sired a few children by women in the palace after Queen Carissa’s death as well. A squad of Reynadian Royal Guards emerged from the palace as they were talking and came to a stop just behind Lady Ava.

  “Lady Princess Ava, we have been given the honor of escorting Prince Stavin to the guest suite,” the lieutenant in charge said as his men stood at attention behind him.

  Lady Ava bowed her head minimally, then replied, “I will accompany you.”

  The lieutenant bowed, then turned to lead the way. The entire expedition, traders included, followed him, and the Reynadian guard brought up the rear.

  It was a long walk, crossing two bridges to reach the guest suite. Stavin was openly impressed by the size of the suite. He whispered, “This is the size of the entire royal suite back home,” as he walked forward.

  “It used to be an exact match to the royal suite here, Prince Stavin,” Lady Ava said from where she stood by the door. “The Royal Suite has been remolded several times since the imperial era, but this one was left alone. This wing of the palace was built just after the fall of the empire to host visiting kings in style. It is an almost exact duplicate of the original palace.”

  Karvik was looking around in wonder. “That’s a huge expense just for occasional use.”

  “Five hundred years ago it was in use quite a bit,” she explained as she looked at Karvik. “Kings used to travel with a large portion of their courts, and there was a lot of visiting done to ratify treaties. As that use died down, court functionaries took over a lot of the offices and suites, and inhabit most of this wing now. But my ancestors made it clear that this suite, the guards’ quarters across the hall, and the four adjacent suites are still reserved for visiting royalty.”

  Stavin bowed as he said, “Thank you.” He fixed his gaze on Feralan and said, “It will probably take a few days before we can visit the Traders Guild. Until then I’d like you to take your people and start enquiring about wagons and teams. Here,” he said as he held out a purse, “there are eight gold crowns in here. Establish yourselves at an inn until I can get away.”

  Stavin looked at the Reynadian lieutenant and asked, “Could you provide my traders a guide to a good inn?”

  The lieutenant looked like he was about to burst from some inner turmoil, but he bowed instead and replied, “Of course, Prince Stavin. Private Zel’Freelan, see to it.” A young woman stepped forward and came to attention, then turned away with a wave to Feralan and led the traders out of the suite.

  “Prince Stavin,” Lady Ava said as she stepped forward and bowed, “I will instruct the palace chamberlain to send you at least two butlers. Until later, I bid you good day.”

  Stavin bowed in return, then watched as she led the Reynadian Royal Guards out of the suite. Once the door was closed and bolted, Karvik took charge. “Search every room. Complacency kills, so we will not let ourselves become complacent.”

  “Yes, sir,” all the guardsmen snapped, then began their search. Three spans later there was a knock at the door.

  At Karvik’s nod, Varik drew the bolts and opened the door. Two men bowed and said, “We have been given the honor of seeing to the Blessed One’s needs.”

  Varik glanced over his shoulder and received a nod, so he let the men into the suite. Karvik met them two paces from the door. “I understand that you are bound royal servants, but Prince Stavin is our responsibility.”

  “Lady Princess Avannala made that clear, Major Kel’Carin,” the older of the two replied. “I am Orlan Fel’Cambar, King Alred’s second butler, and this,” he bowed slightly toward the younger man, “is Caster Fel’Westen, Prince Jerlan’s second butler.”

  Karvik nodded, then glanced at Stavin. Both butlers followed his gaze and went to their knees as soon as they saw Stavin’s golden armor.

  Stavin gave Karvik a long-suffering look and got a grin in reply. Shaking his head, he addressed the butlers. “Rise, please,” he said in a soft voice, and both men cautiously climbed to their feet. “I prefer to be addressed as Prince Stavin. Somewhere down in the stables are about twenty-three outfits on my pack horse.”

  “We brought them up, Warmaster,” one of the Warriors said as he pointed to the King’s Suite bedroom door.

  Stavin bowed his head and said, “Thank you.” Turning back to the butlers, he nodded again. “I am taking a long hot bath. You decide on an appropriate outfit for whatever his majesty has planned for tonight.”

  “Prince Stavin,” Butler Fel’Cambar said with a bow, “we were informed that a formal welcome will be held in Court tomorrow morning. Tonight, his majesty wishes an informal get-to-know-you meal in the royal suite with just the family present.”

  Stavin was nodding his understanding as the butler spoke. “Then pick out something quietly elegant, and if possible comfortable. Butler Fel’Westen, please show Major Kel’Carin the guards quarters and arrange something for them to eat.” Both butlers bowed and went into the King’s Suite with Stavin’s packs while Stavin continued giving orders.

  “Kar, keep watch, but keep it inconspicuous. There is plenty of room in here, so post inside the suite rather than in the hall.”

  Karvik was nodding his agreement. “We’ll do that. Varik, you and Sergeant Zel’Fordan take the watch. I’ll take my team to clean up and we’ll accompany Prince Stavin to the Royal Suite.”

  Chapter 16

  LADY PRINCESS AVANNALA WALKED INTO THE Royal Suite and found her family sitting in the common room. “Hello, everybody,” she said as she dropped her travel-bag by the door.

  “Ava!” King Alred exclaimed as he stood to embrace her. “It’s about time you came home for a visit.”

  “Hi, Al,” she replied against his shoulder as they hugged. “Our visitor is getting cleaned up. I think you’re going to like him.”

  “Aunt Ava,” Prince Jerlan asked, “is he really..?”

  “Yes, Jerry, he’s really the Blessed of Arandar. I don’t know how to describe it, but you’ll know when you see him. His armor glows all the time.” She paused to grin at her nephew. “If he wasn’t as nice and polite as you were at that age he’d be frightening. As he is, he’s a very nice young man with an extraordinary burden.”

  “Burden?” King Alred asked.

  “Al, you know more about the troubles here than I do. Why do you think Arandar the Bright would Bless someone and send him here?” As her brother nodded, Ava continued. “He’s going to end up facing whoever is murdering the innocents.”

  “How can we ask that of him?” King Alred asked as he began pacing the room. “He’s a Prince of Evandia and the Evandian Minister of Trade, as well as next in line to the Coravian crown until little Ellie turns twenty. And even then he’ll be Ellie’s heir until she has a child of her own.”

  “You can’t ask it of him, Al,” Ava said as she took a seat, “but you can’t deny him, either. Arandar chose him, made him His avatar. And don’t forget that it’s not the first time he’s been Chosen. He was born to Clan Kel’Aniston, and was Chosen by a dragon: Chosen much more directly than any of our ancestors. I’ll let him tell you the tale, but this is not the first time young Stavin Ne’Aniston Zel’Andral has faced the Gods Below.”

  The discussion turned to family matters until there was a discreet knock at the door. The king’s butler answered it, and Stavin walked into the Royal Suite.

  King Alred stood and said, “Prince Stavin, welcome to Rey on the Glimmer.”

  Stavin bowed deeply. “King Alred, I thank you for your greeting.”

  “All right, that’s enough of that,” Lady Ava said as she stood. “Stavin, that’s Al,” she turned toward the sofa and pointed to each person in turn, “that’s Je
rry and Kira, their children Mari, Killian, Bari, Calli, and Daran.”

  “Don’t forget me, Ava,” a voice said and everyone turned toward the speaker.

  Lady Ava smiled. “Of course not. I was just waiting for you to show up. Tana, this is Stavin.”

  Stavin bowed, matching faces and names to the official list of the royal family he’d been given. He bowed deeply and said, “I am pleased to meet you all.”

  The king gave his sister a look of affectionate exasperation and grinned as he shook his head. “So much for formality. Stavin, please join us.” The king motioned to a chair that was facing the rest.

  Stavin replied, “Thank you, Alred,” as he took the indicated chair.

  Jerlan said, “I see what you mean, Aunt Ava. There isn’t a glow, but I do see what you mean.”

  Stavin tilted his head to the side as he looked at Ava. She explained, “I told them they would be able to see for themselves that you are the Blessed of Arandar. I also mentioned that your armor glows all the time.”

  Stavin smiled as he nodded. “You should have seen the collection in Zel’Kassel. Between my armor and Arandar’s influence, the whole collection lit up like festival lights.”

  “Aunt Sahra didn’t mention that,” Kira said from the side, drawing his attention. She was a very attractive redhead with brilliant green eyes, and her resemblance to both Lady Sahrana and Mariniva was remarkable.

  Stavin shook his head. “She didn’t get to see it. We visited the museum on our way out of the area.” He turned to the king and bowed his head. “There are a few things about that visit that we need to discuss at a later date.”

  “That sounds ominous,” the king rumbled. “Anything serious?”

  Stavin bowed his head deeply. “I was attacked by the followers of Lebawan. If they had succeeded, you would probably be at war with both Evandia and Coravia right now.”

  The king took a deep, hissing breath through his teeth. “I was told it was a minor disturbance.”

  “Twenty-four attackers died, and four of them were Priests of Lebawan. Two of my men were injured, and the Royal Oak Inn was burned half to the ground. To Mayor Zel’Tessel, it probably was a minor disturbance: It didn’t inconvenience her at all. Not until I left and refused to return, that is.” He grinned, then told the royal family about the mayor and her council’s meeting in Aniston. “When we left, they seemed very upset that I wasn’t asking their permission.”

  King Alred was grinding his teeth in anger, so it was Queen Alantana who said, “Sovana Zel’Tessel will be answering some very uncomfortable questions as soon as she arrives. We’ll send for her in the morning.”

  Stavin bowed his head. “Thank you. Now, something pleasant. Kira, I have a packet of letters for you and your family from Aniston. Arandar, I mean your cousin, not--” he pointed toward the sky “--asked if I’d mind bringing them along.” He handed the folder he was carrying to the butler. “I would also like to share with you my feelings and conclusions about the Gods Above and Below.”

  Princess Callissen sat forward with an eager expression on her face as she said, “Yes, please do.”

  Stavin spent three spans explaining his theories. At the end, he sat back and smiled. “So you see, it is my belief that we are all influenced by all ten of the Gods.”

  “There’s a scholar at the University who has similar theories,” Prince Jerlan said.

  Stavin bowed his head. “Yes, I was told. Dahnav Zel’Tammal is a friend of Arandar Zel’Aniston. I have a letter of introduction. He’s apparently reluctant to discuss his ideas with anyone except his colleagues and students.”

  “That’s because he keeps being accused of heresy by the assorted high priests and priestesses,” Prince Killian said as he sat forward. “I have the honor of being a student of Master Scholar of Comparative Religions Zel’Tammal. He was on the verge of traveling down to Aniston when word of your--I don’t know the right term for it. Blessing will have to do, I suppose. But by the time word reached us, you were supposed to have already been on the road here.”

  Stavin bowed his head slightly. Prince Killian appeared to be in his early twenties, not much younger than Stavin. “That was Lady Sahrana’s idea. She sent the message by regular courier to avoid an influx of visitors in Aniston. That way I was able to keep to my itinerary. We would have arrived seven days ago if we hadn’t encountered an ambushed caravan.” He told the story as simply as he could.

  Lady Ava was nodding as he finished the tale. “Bel’Corad’s death is good for the entire kingdom, Al. Randy Zel’Gestan is keeping his eyes open to see if he can find out who was profiting from Bel’Corad’s actions.”

  “Good. Very Good,” Queen Alantana said as she sat back. “If you have the time, we would like you to tell that story to a scribe. It will be invaluable in the trial of anyone we catch.”

  “I have it in my saddle bags, Tana,” Stavin replied with a grin. “I wrote everything down during our first night after the ambush. I have Major Kel’Carin’s report as well.”

  Princess Maridyn laughed at her grandmother’s expression. “It can be handy to be your own scribe, Nanna.”

  “Oh, hush,” Tana said with a smile for her granddaughter. Stavin was looking at her curiously, so she explained, “I was educated as a Scribe here in the university. That’s where we met.” She paused to smile at Alred. “Al and I were both students under Master Scholar of Social Dynamics Zel’Vartin. I was in the Scribe program and spent my time writing down the lectures and then transcribing them. He,” she hooked a thumb at the king, “started playing up to me to get access to my notes so he didn’t have to write them down himself.”

  Stavin glanced at the king and had to grin at his expression. The king nodded. “Indeed, but after the third time we spent the evening studying together I had other motives.”

  Stavin joined the younger royalty in their laughter. “I’m glad to see I’m not the only one,” he said as he chuckled.

  “That’s our family tradition,” Alred commented as he folded his hands across his stomach. “We are all expected to be scholars of one kind or another.”

  “Which is where I’m going to take advantage of you, Stavin,” Callie said as she sat forward. “I’m studying languages this year, and your translation of the ancient glyphs is one of my study-texts.”

  Stavin bowed in his seat. Princess Callissen appeared to be in her early to mid-teens, and her bright eyes and enthusiastic manner made him grin. “I will be happy to provide any help I can.”

  Alred grinned at his granddaughter, then turned back to Stavin. “We’ll have a formal greeting in front of the entire court tomorrow morning. There are already hundreds of petitioners begging for a moment of your time. Unfortunately, some of them are absolutely convinced of their own importance, and feel that you should be made available to them for intense examination.” The king took a deep breath and shook his head. “The High Priest of Lebawan has been very vocal.”

  Stavin went completely still, then all but snarled, “I will not submit to Lebawan’s priest, Alred.”

  Alred sat back and held up both hands to ward off Stavin’s evident anger. “Calm down, Stavin. I said he was very vocal in his demands. I didn’t say he had any support. He is, unfortunately, my youngest brother. Mom and Dad spoiled him rotten.” Alred paused to shake his head. “You aren’t under his authority in any case. The high priests and priestesses of the Gods Above and Below are another group who are demanding access to you, though they are being more polite about it. Arandar the Bright’s high priest is being an ever-so-polite pest. He’s Tana’s cousin.”

  “Thanal Zel’Mestan,” Tana continued when her husband glanced her way. “He’s quite a bit older than I am, and he still tries to treat me like a little girl when he’s pushing for something he really wants. What he really wants in this case is you in his temple so he can question you at length about Arandar’s blessing.”

  Stavin shook his head slowly. “I’ll talk to him, here, but I’ve already had
one bad experience with the priests and priestesses in Aniston. I’m not going to put up with being dismissed again.”

  “Dismissed?” Tana asked as she sat forward. “Please elaborate.”

  Stavin gave her a brief account of his ‘interview’ with the priests in Aniston. “In the end, I walked out and Cousin Sahrana threw them out of her estate.”

  Both Alred and Tana were shaking their heads and the younger generations were copying their action. “Thanal isn’t that convinced of his own superiority, but he is sure he has a right to your time and information. We’re warning you now because his favorite threat is to bring me into a matter if he doesn’t get his way.”

  “Do what I want or I’ll involve my cousin, the queen?” Stavin asked.

  “Essentially,” she agreed.

  Stavin shook his head slowly. “I am willing to meet with Arandar’s high priest, but only for a handful of spans. I still have other duties to Evandia, my House, and then there is whoever is killing the innocents. I think--No, I feel that Arandar blessed me as a counter to someone who has been blessed by one of the evilest ones. We came to the consensus that it is the Goddess of Terror.” He looked at Ava and received a deep nod of agreement. “The terror of the innocents, along with the fear these deaths are engendering, have to be feeding her.”

  Alred nodded as he looked at his family. “We came to the same conclusion. But I am uncomfortable with the idea of placing you in that much danger. Kalin and Teravan would likely take offense at the very idea.”

  Stavin nodded, but a slight grin was curving his lips. “Almost certainly. But both of them know I’m a warrior first and a prince second.” Now he chuckled a little. “Marina and Ellissan are much less understanding.”

  Alred chuckled. “Neither of them were allowed to serve in the Army because they were the last of the line. They don’t understand what drives you.”

  Stavin shrugged. “Perhaps. Kalin thinks it’s because I’m so small. Both of them tend to ‘mother’ me when they’re not really thinking about it.”