Orders of a Wise King

Orders of a Wise King

                "We cannot let this stand!" yelled the Ambassador to Merisomet. He was currently in Dafer, at the King's table - he had fled Merisomet following its recent revolution. Relations between Merisomet and Dafer had become instantly strained due to the familial links between the King of Dafer and High-King of Merisomet. In fact, with the slaughter of the High Royal family the King of Dafer was legitimately next in line for the throne - something the Low-Kings of Merisomet were not pleased about.

                "But what can we do? And the Low-Kings do not lie when they say that the High-King was gradually revoking their rights," said the King of Dafer. He was only in his mid-thirties, but was already well known for his wisdom and caution in guiding his kingdom. Dafer had grown much richer during his reign.

                "We should take the fight to them, and install you as High-King. You can split the countries between your children - you do truly have two worthy heirs, my liege," said the Duke of the Coast. A proud man who dressed in a strange old style, and with more fire in his blood than the peaceful kingdom of Dafer needed.

                "Which would go about as well as that naval battle you had with those pirates, except they'd outnumber us massively instead," stated the Duchess of the Western Border. Where she reigned was right next to Merisomet, and she knew the might of their warriors better than any others present (she would never admit it, but she had raided across the border before).

                "The honourable Duchess is correct," said the King. "But more so than that: to attack now would unify Merisomet. Rebellions spring up daily, though they are swiftly crushed. An outside force - one seeking to supplant rule, no less - would merely convince those on the sidelines, and many who are rebelling, to fight as one."

                "What is your highness's view?" asked the Duke of the Eastern Reaches. He was a bit of a yes man, but was such mostly because he was loyal to the King so completely that, if ordered, he would take his own life without needing reason.

                "We do nothing. After Merisomet has become stable once more, we re-establish relations and I formally relinquish my claim to their throne. It is for the best that Merisomet is able to restore the Wardens of the Woods to action as soon as possible - the forest is a greater threat than any other to us all," said the King. The Duke of the Eastern Reaches and several others nodded in agreement, although the Ambassador shook his head.

                "I know their machinations better than you, your highness," he said. "They may accept you relinquishing the claim, but it is more likely that they will seek to kill you as well. And they will go after your children, or your children's children, and the rest of your family, ti ensure that the High-Kings can never return.'

                "What would be the point of such intrigue?" asked the Duchess of the Forest's Edge. She was a quiet, elderly woman - she would soon pass her title on to her granddaughter, and had only kept it so long as she had felt none of her children worthy.

                "Certainty. The Low-Kings are paranoid - the moves the High-King made were only to unify parts of Merisomet's government that should be the same across the entire country, not to harm the Low-Kings. But they worried that he would erode their authority completely with time, and worried so much about a new High-King that they slaughtered the entire High Royal family!" explained the Ambassador, growing more passionate as he went.

                "Calm yourself, Ambassador. I am sorry to say that another will have to take your place when relations are re-established," said the King.

                The Ambassador sighed and said, "I have no wish to return anyway. May we have a break?"

                "It is a good time for one. Think on your opinions, and prepare any new thoughts you may have. This issue is not simple, and we must continue to discuss it," the King said. The Ambassador, who had grown up with the King (and was in fact the King's cousin), wondered again if the King was following some kind of 'wisdom guidebook'. There was a time to prepare and a time for action, and the Ambassador was sure this was the latter.

                The King wandered the halls alone, smiling at his servants as he passed. It was, in truth, a formal exchange - they would bow or curtsy depending on their attire, and he would smile to show his approval of their efforts. It worked quite well, and allowed him to freely wander as his mind chewed over problems.

                The Ambassador was quite likely right - Merisomet would attempt to eliminate all potential heirs. But relinquishing his family's claim (as was his right) would easily put a stop to that nonsense. It would prevent any assassination attempts caused by refusal to relinquish - they would be an act of war he could not ignore. Hopefully the other distant claimants would do the same, and Merisomet could quickly return to their duty to hold back the horrors of the forest.

                The King shivered. He was luckily alone, so he did not have to cover his fear in some manner. A very long time ago, in his youth, he had visited Merisomet and been taken into the Forest of the Caged. It was supposed to be a tourist visit - the area they walked through was one of the few cleared before those opening the prisons had found something they could not defeat (and thus caused great devastation). Even if something happened, four full patrol groups of knights - roughly fifty of the mightiest warden knights - had been protecting them (he, several other dignitaries, and some members of the High and Low Royal families).

                They had stopped by a river when an anxious conversation began between the knights. He learned later what it had been about - there was not supposed to be a river where they stood. Nor was there supposed to be a hill behind them, surrounding a pool of water.

                Small changes in terrain did occur in the forest - the result of large creatures smashing their way around. The knights suspected such a creature was nearby, and were about to start leading the visitors out of the forest, when the hill stood up.

                Some kind of illusion had allowed it to blend in with the forest, seeming to merely be a hill with a couple of trees. What it actually was, the King shuddered to remember. It had seemed truly enormous to him, standing seven times his then height - about seven metres in total. Six clawed arms stretched out from its body, and tall spines poked haphazardly out of its back. But it was the mouth that gave him nightmares. The creature was faintly humanoid - bipedal, arms numerous but roughly in the 'right' spot. But it had no head, no eyes, no nose. Instead it had a mouth that formed a T, from the top of its body and right down its chest. The inside of it was teeth of varying sizes and forms, all razor sharp. Nothing but teeth.

                The King remembered its roar, and also seeing it leap high into the air. After that, he only remembered flashes - the horror had destroyed his memory of the event. He remembered seeing several of the knights, and a lot of the other visitors, getting grabbed as they tried to flee, thrown into the beast's maw screaming. He remembered bloody teeth. Then he remembered being a fair bit distant, having been grabbed by one of the knights and dragged away.

                As terrifying as the creature was, the knights knew what to do. Several of them - those with the swiftest mounts - grabbed the surviving dignitaries and fled. The rest formed up and fought the beast. The King had been told, afterwards, that none survived. They didn't even injure the beast. But they provided the time needed for everyone else to escape. The beast rampaged through Merisomet for a couple of weeks before it was finally slain, though the King had long since fled all the way back to Dafer.

                But the experience had stuck with him. He remembered some of the faces that had been there that day - but he knew not which had lived, and which had died. His youthful recollection was imperfect; he met one of the knights he could have sworn remained behind a few years back. He had not even gone with them into the forest, he had been one of the knights stationed at the base the survivors fled to.

                "Remembering old fears, my love?" came a voice from behind him.

                The King put on his best smile, and turned to face his Queen. He still found her to be as beautiful as she was the day they met, and the trees of the internal courtyard he had wandered into formed a stunning backdrop to her presence. "A little," he said, "But mostly fears I still possess. The horrors of that forest are not to be underestimated."

                "I worry that it clouds your judgement, despite my agreement with your ideals," said the Queen. She was not involved with the politics of Dafer (part of a long-standing arrangement where the spouse of the inheriting monarch would not interfere - it had proven very handy at keeping the royal marriages stable) but had her husband had long used her as a sounding board for his ideas.

                "As do I, but I believe that this is truly the best course," said the King. He moved to a window that looked out on the capital city below.

                "You spend too much time being wise," said the Queen. She was a straightforward woman, who favoured action and bold words. It was likely something to do with the earlier parts of her life, when she had served in the army.

                "Quite probably, my dear, but-" began the King.

                "Get down!" yelled the Queen, leaping into the King and knocking him over. A crossbow bolt sped through the window the King had been looking at, shattering it outwards. As the King rolled onto his back, he saw his Queen already in motion - the shortsword she kept hidden away in hand as she charged towards the source of the bolt.

                The King caught sight of a figure - he looked like any other of the servants - dashing between the trees, the Queen quickly gaining on him. She still moved like lightning, even after bearing six children. He doesn't stand a chance, thought the King to himself, before his thoughts turned darker. Merisomet.

                A distant yelp told him that his wife had captured the assassin. He pulled himself to his feet and started to head in the direction it came from, arriving in time to find his wife sheathing her blade the few guards allowed in this part of the castle took the assassin into custody.

                "This changes things, doesn't it," the Queen asked. She held a piece of paper she had taken from the assassin - a brief glance at the seal told the King all he needed to know.

                "It does. Guards, take this man to the upper dungeon, and spread no word of his presence or this attempt on my life. Merisomet has taken a step to far, but we must still deal with them wisely," said the King.

                The King returned to the room in which the future of Dafer had long been discussed, and sat at the King's table. All others were present - they had been waiting for him to return, and had discussed various other issues amongst themselves.

                "Something new has come to light," said the King after he sat down. "An attempt has been made on my life."

                Those present were shocked - or, in a couple of cases, suitably shocked as they had expected an attempt to be made sooner or later.

                "I am fine, thanks to my wonderful Queen's strength. We also have the assassin in custody," continued the King.

                "It's to be war then?" asked the Duke of the Coast.

                "Yes, but not today. Nor tomorrow. We do not have the manpower to fight Merisomet and win; and we will not have it for a very long time. We must prepare for war, and we must also ready those in Merisomet who will fight with us to restore the High-Kings.

                "This will not be a short effort. No, it will take many years - possibly more than I have left in me. But the time we need must be spent - we cannot sacrifice the lives of our people needlessly, nor will I stand defeat, the appointment of a puppet king and the slaughter of my family.

                "With this assassin caught, we have our reason for war. The fool is young, and will live for many years yet. We shall hide him away, until the time is right. But when it is; when we are ready; when those wronged by the Low-Kings stand beside us - then we shall fight!"

                The King finished his impromptu speech to a rousing cheer from the entire room. Attacking the King's line was not something the nation of Dafer would ever let pass without deadly response.