Heartwood

by Freya Robertson

  He had met many knights in his time; had marched beside them and joined them in battle. And Procella was a knight through and through. He recognised in her the marks of one born to fight: a matter-of-fact attitude to life and death; a tendency to follow rather than Question, even though she was a leader herself; and a desire to settle matters by strength, rather than diplomacy, although as Dux she would have needed to understand the importance of mediation as opposed to war.

  And suddenly he knew the way to make her feel better. “So Oculus was not the great religious leader everyone thought he was,” he said. “So what? What difference is that going to make to your life?”

  She blinked, puzzled at his change of direction.

  “Your job is to protect Heartwood – and that is what you have done admirably since the time you could hold a sword. Where is the lie in that? Heartwood is just the cage around the Arbor, and nobody is disputing the Arbor is still of vital importance to Anguis.” He turned to look at her properly. “Are you really telling me it makes a difference to you what is written in one book or another? Or what different philosophers argue happened? I think not. I think the most important thing to you is to feel you have made a difference – that your life has served a purpose, and I would still say that is still the case. As Dux you have prevented war – so far, at any rate – on several occasions. That is no mean feat, and I understand that better than anyone.”

  A smile curved her lips, and her eyes were now light as polished oak. “You are a strange one, Chonrad, Lord of Barle,” she said, her voice husky. “You extract my feelings as if you are wheedling a whelk out of its shell. Nobody has ever had the power to affect me in all my years the way you have since your arrival only two days ago.”

  He shrugged. She had closed the distance between them so their arms touched and, although they both wore mail, he was sure he could feel the heat of her body. He was very attracted to her, he realised. He admired her strength and her battle skill, and yet clearly her hard exterior encased a tender heart. His eyes rested on her lips, which had parted slightly. He very much wanted to kiss her, and he suspected she would not reject him.

  But this was not the time; when she was feeling more her old self she would not forgive him for taking advantage of her when she was vulnerable. “It is a natural skill,” was all he said.

  She laughed. “Come on. I am sure you are as tired as I am. We have a few hours before we have to meet to discuss what we are to do. Shall we go to the Barracks?”

  Chonrad agreed and together they made their way down the stairs, picking up a dozing Fulco at the bottom. They walked through the Porta and along the main road to the Custodes Barracks. By the time they got there, however, the place was full, and there were no beds to be found. So they went outside and, finding a couple of clean blankets, put one on the ground under an oak which was covered with a cloth as a makeshift roof, rolled up another for a pillow and lay down. They were all used to sleeping rough, and though his bones protested more than they used to when he was younger and out on the march, Chonrad knew he would be asleep within minutes.

  It was just before he dozed off that Procella turned towards him and cuddled up against his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Surprised, but pleased, he laid his arm gently around her.

  Then they fell asleep.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I

  When Chonrad awoke, Procella was gone. The sun was low in the sky, and the shadows were lengthening. How long had he been asleep? Several hours, he thought. Fulco yawned and stretched when Chonrad poked him with his foot, looking around him with confusion as if he wasn’t where he had expected to be. Dream, he signed to Chonrad, and Chonrad thought maybe he had imagined himself at home in Vichton, with his wife and children.

  They walked over to the Quad. An area had been set aside next to the lavatorium for washing, with large tubs of water and soap. Some of the younger Militis from the Academy were helping the knights and visitors with their ablutions. He asked one of them, “Where have you got the water from? I see the river is no longer flowing.”

  “We also have a well, in case of emergencies,” said the young Militis.

  “Thank the Arbor for that!” said Chonrad fervently.

  After he had washed and changed his clothes, he and Fulco took some food and drink and joined a group sitting under an oak to eat. The twins, Beata, Silva and Dolosus were discussing the Virimage.

  “Even if he can truly do the things Malgara said he could,” said Beata, “he might not be aware of its importance.”

  “He must be conscious there is something odd about being able to pull acorns out of your nose,” said Gavius.

  She smiled. “I suppose. But the very fact he has used this… gift for entertainment, to make money, suggests he does not take it seriously.”

  Dolosus shrugged, skilfully placing a piece of chicken on top of a chunk of bread with his one hand. “What else can he do with it? He could hardly start telling people he can make the grass grow. He would be locked away before he could crack a nut.”

  Chonrad took a swig of ale and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “What about you?” he asked Silva. “Do you think he is truly able to do these things?”

  Silva looked around the group. “I absolutely think he can alter nature.”

  “How are you so sure?” said Gavius curiously.

  For the first time since he had arrived at Heartwood, Chonrad saw her smile. She placed her hands around a small yellow flower that grew in the shade of the tree. “I have never shown anyone this before,” she murmured.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated. For a few moments nothing happened. Then very slowly the small flower opened its petals like a yellow eye blinking in the sunlight. The stem grew by about a finger’s length, and the leaves lengthened and shone green and glossy.

  “By the Arbor!” exclaimed Gravis, “how did you do that?”

  Silva shrugged. “I am not really sure. You have to concentrate and imagine it growing. I sense it is something to do with the transfer of energy from my hands to the flower, but I could not tell you more than that.”

  “So you think the Virimage can also do this?” Chonrad asked her.

  “Yes, although I suspect, from what Malgara said, that he is far more powerful than I. Perhaps he truly does have the power to heal the Arbor, to seal the crack that has grown.” She looked forlorn. “I have tried to work on it, but my small skill has done little to repair the damage.”

  As she spoke, a bell rang out from the Castellum. “Sextus Campana,” said Beata. “Time for the meeting.”

  They all got up and carried their plates back to the tables, then gradually made their way into the Temple and through to the Capitulum. Four tables had been set up around the room. On one, a large map of Anguis had been spread, and Fionnghuala and Grimbeald were poring over it, discussing the locations of the five Nodes. Another map covered the second table, and Malgara and Kenweard were talking about how to find the Virimage. Nitesco and Procella sat behind a third table covered with piles of parchment and old books talking about the location of Darkwater. On the fourth table was a detailed map of Heartwood’s defenses, and Valens stood by this.

  The Imperator looked up as the room started filling. “Please come in,” he called, welcoming in both the Militis and the visitors who crowded the doorway. “We have set up four working parties. Please join whichever you feel you can contribute to.”

  Beata went over to Malgara and Kenweard. The twins and Silva joined the discussion on the five Nodes. Several of the Militis went over to help Valens. Chonrad looked at Dolosus, who shrugged and said, “I am up for a dip in the ocean. How about you?”

  Procella looked up as the two knights came over. Her eyes met Chonrad’s briefly before returning to the map of Anguis in front of her. “Nitesco has been reading through some old myths and fables to find out if there is any mention of possible locations of this Darkwater place,” she said.

  “Any luck?” Chonrad perched opposite her
. On the table a fishing map showed Anguis and the mainland and, between them and to the east, the large expanse of the Bluewater Ocean.

  Nitesco put down his papers and stood to lean over the map. “There are a group of islands over here,” he said, indicating a scatter of markings right in the middle of the ocean, “that are mentioned several times. They are called the Gantlos Islands, and apparently the people living there have many myths about fish that turn into warriors who come to shore to find women to bear their young.”

  “They mate with them?” asked Dolosus.

  Nitesco shrugged. “So the myth says. Listen.” He ferreted under the pile of books and on finding the one he wanted, slid it out and turned to the appropriate page. “It is in a strange dialect,” he said. “It is a variant of Wulfian. It says… ‘The young women are warned not to go onto the beach at night, for it is then that the warriors come out of the sea. The…’” He paused. “I am not sure what word this is, there is no direct translation. It is like a fusion of the Wulfian word for ‘fish’ and ‘warrior’… anyway, they ‘come looking for women in which to plant their seed, and then they disappear into the…’ This is one long word – I think it means ‘city under the water’… ‘and leave the maids to bear and bring up the young. When the offspring are of age, the ‘fish warriors’ then come ashore and take the young back to the ‘city under the water’, to raise them in their army, ready for the…’” Nitesco looked up at the others around the table. “This last word is difficult to interpret. The beginning is like the Wulfian word for ‘conclusive’ but the ending is more like the word for ‘crusade’. My best guess is it means ‘final battle’.”

  “Final battle?” A shiver ran down Chonrad’s spine. “That is interesting.”

  Nitesco put the book down and pulled the map towards him again. He took a piece of chalk and began to draw on the parchment. “We have several volumes of tales handed down orally by people from the coast, fisherpeople, who have seen things out on the ocean. There have been sightings of strange creatures who have been described as things like ‘half-fish, half-warriors’, ‘water knights’ and ‘sea soldiers’, in these places.” He marked half a dozen crosses on the map. The crosses formed a large, rough circle to the west of the Gantlos Islands. “Interestingly, there are also records of stories related by divers looking for mussels and oysters off the rocks surrounding the islands, of strange things they have seen beneath the ocean.”

  “What sorts of things?” Chonrad watched Nitesco hunt through the papers for another book.

  He pulled a neatly bound volume towards him and opened it at a marked page. “Here, this one has tales from Laxonian coastal villages. One diver talks of ‘glittering objects on the bottom of the ocean’, another mentions ‘stone buildings like great towers in the deep’.”

  “Does it say where they saw them?” Dolosus asked.

  Nitesco nodded and pointed with his chalk right in the middle of the circle of crosses.

  “Well, at least we know where to look.” Chonrad wondered how long it would take them to get there by boat. “Any ideas on what we do when we get there? How we survive under the water?”

  “I’m working on that.” Nitesco sat back in his seat, pulling the next pile of books towards him.

  Procella sighed. “Perhaps we should talk about what sort of force to take down there, and what exactly we mean to accomplish,” she suggested.

  “Good idea,” said Chonrad, impatient to do something. Fulco pulled up a couple of seats and Dolosus did the same the other side, and they proceeded to begin a discussion on what tactics they should assume for the attack.

  II

  The four groups talked until the sun had set and the Primus Night Campana rang. Some people moved from one discussion group to another to give their input, others got caught up in what they were researching and stuck with their topic. But after the bell, Valens held up his hand, called for quiet and asked everyone to take a seat.

  “My friends,” he began. “I think maybe it is time for us to see where we have got to.” He looked across at Nitesco, who looked tired but buoyant with the evening’s work. “I think you will understand when I say I have elected our Libraris to co-ordinate the four tasks. Perhaps he would care to speak now and summarise our findings for us.”

  Nitesco nodded and took the floor. “I think we have made great headway tonight. Firstly, I would like to talk about the Veriditas and our search for this Virimage. We have his location over the past few weeks, so it seems he is still in Laxony. Beata has asked to head the search party for the Virimage and hopefully bring him back to Heartwood so he can talk to us about the Veriditas, and maybe help us heal the Arbor.”

  Nitesco sighed. “We do not know how long it will take. I have speculated we might have until the High Moon before Darkwater attacks again – if I am right, and they do not attack before then, that is still only fourty-four days, and if I am wrong it could be even sooner than that. I do not believe we have time to wait until the Virimage is found before the party going to secure the five Nodes sets off.

  “With this in mind, Silva is going to spend some time teaching how to control the energy flow. This will provide those travelling to the Nodes with at least a little knowledge of how to secure the energy centres.”

  “Is that going to be enough?” Procella frowned. “Is there any point in going all the way to the Nodes without truly knowing how to open them?”

  “If we can do nothing else, making sure the sites are clear of debris and structurally sound will be better than nothing,” said Nitesco. “Then maybe if the Virimage is found and reveals the answer to how to open the Nodes, we can then send further people to do just that.

  “While we are on the subject of the Nodes, it has been decided it makes more sense to have four different people travel to the Nodes than to have one party travelling to all four in succession, as this will save time. We have had four groups of volunteers to undertake this task: Gravis will travel to the Henge in Laxony, Gavius to the Green Giant in Komis, Fionnghuala and Bearrach to the Portal in Hanaire and Grimbeald to the Tumulus in Wulfengar. In the meantime, I will continue my research into the fifth Node.”

  Valens nodded. “I have decided to stay in Heartwood and oversee the defensive improvements. My injury means I cannot travel far and as my knowledge about the defences here is second only to Procella’s. I think I will serve us best if I prepare for a second attack.”

  Nitesco indicated the Dux. “Finally, Procella, Chonrad and Dolosus have volunteered to lead the descent into Darkwater. We are still exploring ways to do this, but we think we have established it is possible to take the form of a water elemental, and we are in the process of planning a raid on this underwater city.”

  Procella stood. “Our main aim for this raid is to get the Pectoris back. We are hoping the actions of those securing the Nodes and improving the Arbor will seal off the Darkwater Lords’ chances of attacking us again. If for any reason that does not turn out to be the case, we will reassess the situation again when – if – we return, and then plan a further full frontal attack with as many troops as we can muster. But for now it will be a quick foray to try to recover the Arbor’s heart.”

  “How dangerous is it likely to be, or is that a ridiculous Question?” asked Beata.

  Chonrad shrugged. “Obviously, any raid into enemy territory is a huge risk. Our aim would be to take a very small party, the three of us and a few others, and disguise ourselves as Darkwater Lords. We will be in and out as quickly as possible. However, there is always the risk of discovery and we have no idea of their numbers. We do know they are greatly skilled in battle. So our plan is to only engage them in an emergency.”

  “What about the actual process of the descent?” Beata asked. “How much do you know about what that involves?”

  “I am still reading about how it works,” said Nitesco. “It is a complicated concept and I am not a natural philosopher! From what I understand, each elemental carries within it the strength
and properties of its element – therefore earth elementals have physical presence and a connection to Nature, while water elementals are fluid in form and are closely associated to the oceans. However, one element can ‘bind’ itself to another using special energy bonds – I am still researching this, but it seems to involve ‘giving oneself over’ to the other elemental, surrendering yourself to it, almost hiding within it, if you like.”

  “It sounds very dangerous.” Beata’s eyes flicked to Procella.

  Procella pulled a face. “I admit to not liking the idea of ‘giving myself over’ to a water elemental, whatever that involves. But the Pectoris must be returned. That is not a matter open for debate. If we do not retrieve it, the Arbor will fail. We must try, at least.”

  Valens nodded. The room had grown quiet. He looked around at the knights who were going to risk their lives to save their beloved tree, and sighed. “So when do you all start?”

  “We shall spend tomorrow preparing for the journey,” said Beata, “and then be off at first light the day after.”

  Gavius nodded. “Gravis and I are going to accompany Beata as far as Hicton and then we will go our separate ways.”

  “Fionnghuala and Bearrach will travel north with me to the Neck Pass, and then we will go our own ways, too,” said Grimbeald. “We, also, will start the day after tomorrow.”

  “I am going to pick an assortment of warriors from the Exercitus to come and help us,” said Procella. “I suggest we meet up again at first light to decide who is going with whom, and then we will know numbers for organising supplies and horses for the rest of the day.”

  “That is it, then,” said Valens. “Thank you for your time and cooperation, everyone. Please go and eat or rest, and then rejoin us – I suggest in the Quad – at Secundus Campana tomorrow to allocate troops.”

  Wanting to eat before they slept again, Chonrad and Fulco headed for the Quad tables and helped themselves to a plate of meat and vegetables, and joined Dolosus under the cover of an oak.