Empress of Wolves

by J. Aislynn d' Merricksson

  “Do you think that wise, milady?” he asked. Kalla assured him that everything should be fine. From Vander's expression, she gathered that he had gotten a grumpy response from Kasai, but the hawk did nothing more than glance over his shoulder from the kessala table. Kalla decided to start with Justina and Vander and reached a hand out to each of them. They slipped their hands into hers and she focused her intentions and slowly wove a bond between the two magi, carefully recreating the one she had shared with Vander. When she was satisfied, the Healer sat back and withdrew her hands from theirs.

  “I… do believe it worked,” Justina said. “I can feel another presence in my mind.”

  “As can I,” Vander said. Emboldened by this success, Kalla stretched her hand out to Manny and the young Healer took it with some trepidation. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. More that this was all so strange to him. He was still learning to deal with the bond he shared with Lukas. Kalla took a moment to make sure that Aleister or Kasai one had told Sir Lukas what they were attempting, then wove the bond between them. It took less time the second go round and sure enough, she soon felt a new presence in her mind.

  Kalla had learned a great deal during the forging of the new bonds and the Healer was certain that she only needed to work with one half of the pair to undo it, so she and Justina could part ways the next morning. The magi conversed amongst themselves a bit longer until a tug on the back of her robes turned Kalla around. Several of the children she had entertained before had clustered behind her, along with a handful that must have been Justina's charges, for she saw children from Rang'moori, Kymru, and Zinlin among them. Some gave Vander nervous looks, though the Dashmari certainly looked more approachable now.

  “Will you tell us stories again, Lady Mage?” one of the Argosian children asked shyly.

  “Certainly, young one,” Kalla said. She turned her chair around as more children, emboldened by the others' success, gathered around her. From the corner of her eye, Kalla saw Aleister stand from the kessala table. The Fox had withdrawn with his winnings, more eager to hear Kalla's tales than to keep playing. Kasai and then Lukas withdrew and wandered back over to the table, pulling up extra chairs beside their magi. Kalla settled into her storyteller mode, well aware that her audience had grown beyond just the children.

  “Once, long ago, there was a Healer who, along with a Seer, was called in to tend a man believed to be possessed. Through the Seer it was determined that the spirit was a young kitsune. The fox spirit had become trapped in the man's body quite by accident.

  “I didn't mean to harm anyone. I just came looking for something good to eat. You didn't have to shut me up like this!” the fox said plaintively, through the Seer. As she sat talking with the Healer, the Seer drew a small, glowing ball from within her robes and began to play with it, absent-mindedly dancing it across her knuckles. The orb was the kitsune's fox-ball, for as you know, all kitsune have them.

  The people present thought the ball pretty enough, but they believed that the Seer had brought it with her, hidden away to trick them, for you see, not all the people present believed that the man was really possessed. Many thought him to be faking it, merely for the sake of attention. The Seer began to toss the ball in the air and one young man, braver than the rest, dared to snatch it out of the air. He quickly tucked it into his own pocket.

  “Confound you!” the fox cried. “Give me back my ball!”

  The man ignored the fox's pleas to return the orb, until finally it said tearfully, “You do not know how to use the ball. To you it means nothing, but to me it is a terrible loss. By the One, if you do not give it back I will be your sworn enemy, but if you will but return it to me, I will be your protector and guardian.”

  The young man still believed the whole thing to be a sham, but his interest in the affair was waning.

  “So if I return it, you'll protect me, huh,” he said.

  “Yes, yes. I swear it. By the One, I swear it,” the fox replied.

  “Very well,” the man replied. He gave the ball back to the Seer, which made the fox very happy. The Healer then dismissed the kitsune, wherein it left quietly. No sooner than the Healer had done so, then the people seized the Seer and searched her, seeking the orb. They did not find it and had to conclude that she and the patient really had been possessed by a fox spirit.

  Some time later the young man was returning home after dark from a visit to town. When he reached a section of forest he began to grow nervous, for the area was known for bandits. Terrible visions of being attacked and robbed ran through his head. It was then that he remembered the kitsune that had vowed to protect him.

  “Fox! Fox! I need your protection now,” he said softly. A series of sharp yips came out of the darkness in answer and suddenly there was a fox there on the path before him.

  “You kept your word after all, fox. I'm touched. I wish for you to protect me as I travel home. Bandits are said to be in these woods and I am afraid to travel any further alone.”

  The fox seemed to understand. It went on before the man, keeping a sharp lookout and avoiding the usual path. The man followed behind the fox. Finally, it stopped and arched its back, before moving on again, with ginger steps and extra caution. The man took the cue and began to tiptoe along behind the fox, closely following its path.

  Soon the man heard human voices and through the dense trees he now traveled through, he caught sight of the shapes of a large group of men. As he passed near he overheard what they were discussing. They were bandits planning their next robbery! The fox had led him on this odd path, a way that no normal man would ever use, just because the bandits would expect no one to pass so close to them. The fox disappeared once the young man was safely home.

  Thereafter, the man called upon the fox often, sometimes for protection, other times merely to talk. The fox remained faithful to his vow and always came when called. More and more touched by the fox's faithfulness, the man was glad that he had had the good sense to return the fox-ball to the kitsune.”

  Kalla finished her tale with a sly glance at Aleister. The Fox gave her a mischievous grin in return. Without missing a beat, the Healer launched into another story, one of a wolf eager to gobble up a red-cloaked girl, then moved on to a story of Inkanata, where a young boy encountered a band of thieves and a trapped djinn. She wrapped up her session with a tale from Kymru.

  “Long ago, time beyond knowing, when the world was young and the Great Ones still walked freely among men, it came to pass one day that Pryderi, lord of Dyfyd and his closest of companions were reminiscing. A great battle had been fought. Fought and won, yet the cost had been great. Many of their friends and companions had been lost. Yet of those that remained, each had a home to return to, a family waiting to greet them. Each that is, except Manawydan, son of Llyr.

  “Alas, among all those gathered here, I alone have no place to return to,” Manawydan lamented as the pair sat talking on a hill overlooking the army encampment.

  “Lord, be not so heavy-hearted. Your cousin is king of Raven's Rock. Surely he would welcome you in his home?”

  “Nay, my friend. My cousin and I do not get along well. I would not be as welcome there as you might think.”

  “Well, then, my friend, will you listen to some advice?” Pryderi asked.

  “I will do so. What advice to you have?” Manawydan replied.

  “The seven cantrevs of Dyfyd were left to me, when my father passed. My mother, Queen Rhiannan lives there still. I will give her to you, along with authority over the seven cantrevs. These are the finest cantrevs in the land! The title to the land will remain mine, but I am content that it be you and Rhiannan who enjoy it and if you so desire territory of your own, well then, that you shall have as well.”

  “I do not desire that, my friend,” Manawydan said. “but the One reward your friendship.”

  “The truest friendship I have to offer shall be yours, if you wish it.”

  “I do wish it, friend. May the One reward you. I will go
with you to Rhiannan and the cantrevs of Dyfyd.”

  “Well said, my friend. That is the right thing to do,” replied Pryderi. “I do not imagine that you have ever yet seen a woman so beautiful as Rhiannan, nor one with such a sweet, musical voice. It is a voice to charm the very birds, I tell you.”

  The pair set out next day with the army marching home. As they passed town by town their ranks dwindled, til at last it was only Manawydan and Pryderi. Finally they reached the realm of Dyfyd and were greeted by Rhiannan and Cygfa, Pryderi's young wife. Both were overjoyed that Pryderi had returned home safe and sound. Rhiannan and Cygfa prepared a feast for the returning heroes and at the feast Manawydan sat close by to Rhiannan and the two lost themselves in talk. Gradually Manawydan's thoughts and desires grew tender for her. It came to him that Pryderi had not lied- Rhiannan really was quite beautiful.

  “Pryderi, my friend, I will accept your offer,” Manawydan said, turning to Pryderi.

  “What offer?” Rhiannan asked.

  “Lady, I have given you as wife to Manawydan ap Llyr,” Pryderi said.

  “Gladly will I accept,” she said.

  So it was that the homecoming feast became a wedding feast and before it had ended, the couple had slept together.

  They finished the rest of the wedding feast and then set off on a tour of the cantrevs of Dyfyd so that Manawydan might get a good sense of the land. They hunted, fished and enjoyed themselves. Manawydan had never seen such a bountiful land and was touched once more by the depth of Pryderi's friendship. And a friendship grew fast between all four, so that none wished to be without the others at all.

  The travelers returned, wherein they set up another feast at Alberth, the chief seat of Dyfyd. When the meal was concluded, the companions went to the outskirts of Alberth to Gorseth Alberth, a great grassy hill near to the capital. As they were sitting on the mound, talking of idle things, there came a sound such as thunder rumbling. With an especially loud burst of thunder mist descended over the land hiding the companions from one another.

  The mist finally lifted, but what the companions found was not the last things they had seen before the dismal fog. Where once their flocks and herds roamed, now there was nothing. Gone were the huts of the people and even the people themselves. The only things spared was the royal court behind them. Only the four companions remained, in what was now a desolate, forbidding landscape.

  “By the One, what has happened to everyone and everything? Let us go and look,” said Manawydan. They returned to the hall and found nothing. They searched the kitchens, the cellars, the towers, the chambers and the sleeping quarters, but still no sign of people did they find. They then went looking across the countryside, but it, too, was desolate. When their searching turned up naught, the four returned to the court at Alberth. They spent their days feasting, hunting and exploring further and further away, though they still found no people.

  They enjoyed themselves and let the years slip by. First one, then a second. At length they grew tired of the monotony and decided to do something other than merely remain in Dyfyd.

  “Let us go into Rang'moori and seek a trade by which we can support ourselves,” Manawydan said.

  And so they set out for Shrockshire within neighboring Rang'moori and there they set up a saddle-making business. They soon excelled at their chosen profession and before long no one would buy a saddle or pommel if they could not be gotten from Manawydan's shop.

  When the other saddle-makers realized that the only business they were receiving were orders that Manawydan could not fill they grew jealous and formed a conspiracy to kill their rival and his companions. By lucky chance, the group received warning and decided to leave town before that unhappy fate could come to pass. The four made for another town, far from the previous one.

  “And what craft shall we take up here?” Pryderi asked.

  “We shall make shields,” Manawydan replied.

  “But we know nothing of shield-making,” Pryderi protested.

  “Nevertheless, we shall try it,” his companion replied.

  So it was that they set up a business as shield-makers and before long, as before, no one would buy a shield if it could not be gotten from Manawydan's shop. And as before, their competitors grew jealous and conspired death to their rivals. The companions learned of these plans and fled to yet another town.

  “And what craft shall we take up here?” Manawydan asked.

  “Whichever of the two we have done before,” Pryderi replied.

  “Nay, we shall try a new one. We shall be shoemakers.”

  “I do not know anything of making shoes,” Pryderi said.

  “Well, I do and I shall teach you,” Manawydan replied. “Shoemakers are not bold enough to kill us nor forbid our working.”

  So it was that the companions took up the craft of shoemaking and before long there was no one in the town who would not buy shoes unless they could be gotten at Manawydan's shop. Despite their initial thoughts, the shoemakers did indeed band together and plot the death of their rivals. Once more the companions learned of these plans and once more they decided to flee. However, this time they decided to return to Dyfyd. Though their journey was long, they at last reached home and there kindled a fire and began to support themselves with hunting and such farming as they were able. They spent a month or so assembling a hunting pack from those dogs that had been left behind at the court. A year passed thus.

  One morning Manawydan and Pryderi rose and prepared to go hunting. They made ready the dogs and set out from the court. Some of the dogs ran ahead and entered a small copse which was nearby. Moments passed before the dogs quickly retreated, shaking with fear. As Pryderi and Manawydan approached the trees a shining white boar with red ears burst forth from it. At the hunter's urging, the dogs gave chase. The boar would stand at bay against the dogs until the men approached. Then it would retreat and so the chase continued until the boar led them to a great stone fortress which the men had not seen before, though they had passed this way many times. The boar and dogs disappeared into the fortress. The men remained on a mound before the fortress, striving to hear the barking of their dogs, but only silence greeted them.

  “Lord, I will go and see what has happened to our dogs,” Pryderi said.

  “The One knows, that is not a good idea,” Manawydan replied. “This building has appeared from nowhere and you should not enter it. Doubtless, the ones responsible for the enchantment of this land have caused the fortress to appear.”

  “The One knows, I will not give up my dogs. We need them for hunting,” Pryderi replied. Ignoring Manawydan's advice he rode forth into the fortress. Once inside he found neither man nor beast, but only a fountain with marble all round it and a golden bowl fastened to four chains set over a marble slab. Captivated by the beauty of the gold and the craftsmanship of the bowl, Pryderi walked over to touch it. No sooner than his hand touched the bowl then he found himself stuck fast, unable to move or speak.

  Meanwhile, Manawydan waited patiently for Pryderi's return. Day turned to evening and still his companion had not left the fortress. Finally he decided to return to the court. As he entered, Rhiannan looked to him and asked, “Where is your companion and where are the dogs?”, wherein he told her the whole story.

  “The One knows,” she replied, “You have been a bad companion and lost a good one.” With that she set out for the fortress. When she arrived she found the gates open and nothing concealed. Entering, she found Pryderi were he stood, stuck fast to bowl and stone.

  “Alas, my son, what are you doing here?” she cried. Then she too reached out to touch the bowl and likewise became a statue even as Pryderi was, unable to move or speak. When night full fell, thunder rolled across the land and a dense mist descended over the fortress. It vanished and they within with it.

  When Cygfa, Pryderi's wife, found that she and Manawydan were alone in the court she became afraid, though she had known him for many years. Noticing this, Manawydan said, “The One knows, y
ou are mistaken if you weep for fear of me. I swear that you will find no truer friend than I and no harm will come to you from my hands. Between the One and myself, even were I still in the prime of my youth, still I would be loyal to Pryderi. For your sake too, would I be true, so do not be afraid.”

  “The One knows, that is what I was hoping to hear,” Cygfa replied and she took comfort in his words and grew more cheerful.

  “Well, we cannot stay here. We have lost the dogs for hunting. Let us return to Rang'moori. It will be easier on us there,” Manawydan said. Cygfa agreed and so the two found themselves once more in Rang'moori. Manawydan again took up the craft of a shoemaker. After a year had passed, it came once again that people would buy no shoes if they could not be bought from Manawydan's shop and again he and his companion found their lives in danger. Frustrated, the pair returned to Dyfyd, this time bringing with them a load of wheat.

  They once more settled in the court of Alberth and, though it was hard at first, they soon began to support themselves with such fishing and hunting and planting as they could. With the wheat Manawydan sowed first one croft, then a second, then a third. The wheat flourished under his loving care and soon it came harvest time. Seeing that the wheat was ripe he said to himself, 'I will reap this tomorrow.'

  The following morning he returned to the first croft with the grey dawn, only to find the wheat gone. All that was left were the broken, stripped stalks. He marveled at this and went to check the other crofts. Finding them still safe and moreover, just as ripe, he resolved to reap the second one the next day, but when he returned to the croft the following morning he found it to be just as the first had, stripped and broken.

  Checking the third croft once more, he found it still intact. 'Shame on me,' he thought, 'If I do not stand guard this night. Whoever destroyed the other crofts will certainly return to complete their work this night. I will watch and find out who it is.'

  Manawydan gathered his weapons and set himself to watch the croft. Towards midnight he heard a great uproar and, looking out, saw an immense host of mice, numberless as the stars of the heavens. Before he could do anything, the horde swept down upon the croft and began to carry off the ears of wheat, leaving only broken stalks behind. Angered and dismayed, Manawydan rushed in among the mice, but he could no more focus on a single one than if they had been gnats. One mouse, he noted, was slower and heavier than the rest. He chased it down and caught it. Thrusting the squirming creature into his glove, he tied the opening shut and returned home, where he hung the glove up on a peg.