The Wintershall Tales

Sited just below the palace, the Great Hall of the People was a huge building able to contain more than a thousand people at once.  It was built of stone and had hugely thick walls supporting a gigantic domed ceiling.  The interior was sumptuously decorated in scarlet and gold and the finest sculptures peered down from countless niches around the walls.

Fortitude strode into the building past a number of deferential guards and found the chamber full of a huge and rather overwhelming mass of people.  He paused inside the door as the scents of a hundred perfumes and the wax fumes of a thousand candles hit him. 

The chamber held four groups of seats facing a raised dais.  To the right of the dais was a block of more than a hundred seats for representatives of the temples.  Opposite them, on the left of the dais, were a similar number of seats for the guilds and professions.  In the middle, between the temples and the guilds, were more than three hundred seats for the nobility of Archesia.  Behind them lay a mass of additional seats for the Kingdom’s office holders.

There were fifteen seats on the dais itself.  Thirteen of them were arrayed in a semi-circle around two throne-like high-backed chairs.  One of the two thrones was empty and Fortitude’s heart leapt when he saw that the other held Adela.

Seated behind her in the other seats were Carolus and the members of the royal council.

He noticed them idly as his gaze returned to Adela.  She was dressed in a simple gown of white.  Her hair was wound up on her head and she was gazing out over the mass of people with a look of quiet confidence.  Fortitude found his heart pounding as he studied her.  She looked so beautiful and self-assured in front of all those people.

One of the members of the royal council was standing and speaking.  He was apparently responding to a question as his speech kept referring to the ‘noble questioner’.  Whatever the question had been, it sounded dull.  The answer was something to do with seigniorial duties concerning slaves lawfully taken in war in the context of Fortitude’s recent decree. 

Fortitude paused in the door to listen and to get some sense of how things were going. It was all strange to him and he was not sure what to do next. 

Adela took care of the matter for him when she saw him standing at the door.  A joyful smile played across her face and she stood, while lifting a hand in greeting.

Almost as one, a thousand faces swivelled to follow Adela’s gaze.  There was a rush of mutters and Fortitude heard many of those present draw breath.  The speaker on the dais sensed he had lost his audience and spluttered to a halt.

Carolus leapt to his feet and bowed theatrically.  As a mass, the thousand people gathered in the chamber also stood.  In a huge uneven ripple, they too bowed. 

A squad of Lunar guards were standing guard at the door and Carolus gestured at their sergeant.  The sergeant hastily formed his men up into an honour guard around Fortitude and escorted him forward and down the aisle to the dais.  The guards stopped at the base of the steps and parted so Fortitude could go on by himself.  Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Fortitude walked up the steps towards the throne and Adela.

Adela was clearly more used to public occasions than Fortitude.  She ignored the crowd and stepped forward to greet him with a hug and a smile. 

Fortitude found himself grinning down proudly at her and he forgot the crowd for a moment as he held her.  Adela then took the lead.  She stepped away and offered Fortitude her arm.  He took it gingerly and she led him back to the greater of the two thrones. 

“My Lord,” she said somewhat louder than was necessary for conversing with Fortitude alone.  “I mean highness,” she said as if recalling herself.  “In your absence, the grand assembly has agreed that you will be crowned King of Archesia.”  She winked at him and in a much lower voice added, “There is some concern but Carolus appears to have them cowed.”

Fortitude nodded stiffly.  He then swivelled in his seat and looked at Carolus.  “My Lord Carolus,” he said suddenly very aware that every eye was on him.  He was pleased to hear that his voice was steady and his tone sounded confident, almost bored.  “My apologies for being late.  The remainder of my forces have just arrived in Archesia after ravaging three hundred miles of Han territory and burning and destroying countless cities and towns.  All thirty thousand of them are marching towards the city as we speak.  Pray continue.”

Carolus rose.  “Highness, you are declared Heir Apparent and Prince of Archesia by acclaim of this assembly under ancient law and custom.  By the will of this assembly, you are to be crowned King one week hence.”

Somewhere near the back of the hall, in the seating held by the officials, applause began.  It was taken up with varying degrees of enthusiasm by the rest of the hall.  One by one, the people gathered there rose as the applause continued until all but a few were standing. 

Out of the corner of one eye, Fortitude saw Carolus pull a small notebook out of his pocket and write something down while pointedly peering at several of those who were not standing.  A few seconds later everyone was standing and the applause became noticeably louder.

Carolus stepped over to Fortitude.  “You will need to speak to them,” he said.  “You might want to reassure the nobles and temples in particular.”

Fortitude took a deep breath.  He had only ever attempted public speaking once before and he studied the mass of people before him.  All the Kingdom’s nobles, senior priests, high guildsmen and officials were there.  If he got it wrong, then every influential person there was would know it and judge him accordingly.

He took a deep breath and raised a hand for silence.  When it fell he was surprised to find he was not nervous at all.

“I thank you for the honour you have shown me,” he began.  “Though my family name is known to you I was a stranger here until three weeks ago.  In my time here I have seen nobility of spirit, passion for Archesia and self-effacing commitment to duty.  I admire and respect everything I have seen and I am honoured beyond words by the trust that you are placing on me.”

“You have seen something of me over the last three weeks.  I have made pronouncements that have not sat well with many of you and I will undoubtedly make more in the years to come.  Many of you will not understand or approve of what I’m doing, but I hope you will come to see that it will be for the goal of making a stronger Archesia that provides a better way of living for everyone.  Today I want you to understand something of me and where I will take Archesia.”

There was absolute silence as Fortitude gazed around the hall.  He felt an odd sense of confidence as he continued.  “Archesia must be strong in future.  We must never be vulnerable to the Han again and we must abandon our splendid neutrality and bind ourselves to Bayonnar.  To this end, we will build armies that will preserve our Kingdom and which will enable Archesia and Bayonnar to grow strong together.”

“Some privileges and rights will end and others will replace them.  No one here will pay more in taxes or in duties than they have in the past, but there will be changes to the social order.  Those who we call peasants, serfs or slaves will receive further rights and lands of their own.  They will be required to fight for us in future and cannot be expected to do with any willingness unless they have freedom and property of their own to defend.”

“The Theocracy of Gavin and Archesia will both be ruled by me.  There will be one King and one law for all.  The religious freedoms that the Gavinites encourage will extend to Archesia and all gods and all forms of worship will be tolerated so long as the rights of others are respected.  I venerate Merrin and serve her as high priest, but I will not require you to follow any faith other than that dictated by your own conscience.  You may choose any god – including Merrin, Grippli and Kyril.”

“I will be true to Archesia and together we will make it stronger, prosperous and better for all Archesians – noble, commoner and cleric alike.”

“I swear these things to you as Beastlord, Fortitude uls Morcar, Prince of Archesia and Gavin, Baron of Winterslow, High Priest of Merrin, Lord Wintershall, Lord Protector of Grippli, and Kyrilfriend.”

There was significant muttering around the hall throughout Fortitude’s recitation.  The guildsmen all looked relatively happy with the speech.  The clergy looked offended by Fortitude’s references to Merrin, Grippli and Kyril while the nobles looked less than enthusiastic about the proposed future relationship with Bayonnar and the new liberties and freedoms for the common people.

Nevertheless, under Carolus’ watchful eye, applause began again. 

Fortitude felt an overwhelming sense of relief that he had done all right.  Though he had not felt nervous during his speech, he found he was shaking as he faced the clapping audience.  The applause kept going and going and Fortitude found himself wanting it to finish so he could sit down again and regain his composure.

A deafening crack of noise in the middle of the hall halted the applause almost instantly.

A plane of red light appeared shimmering and twisting unnaturally in the air above the dais and Merrin suddenly appeared hanging in the air inside it.  She was slightly translucent and strange creatures could be discerned twisting and morphing horribly in space behind her.  The dog-man was faintly visible in the distant background chasing the creatures around and waving his enormous black tail with insane enthusiasm.

Merrin’s black dress seemed obscenely large now.  Its mass writhed and twisted and threw flailing streamers of darkness out in all directions.  Moans and cries of horror sounded all around the great hall.

“Beastlord!” exclaimed Merrin happily.  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

Fortitude tried not to roll his eyes.  “Well I’m in the middle of the Archesian grand assembly where I’m being declared heir apparent to the throne.  Adela’s also here.”

Merrin started and looked around.  “Oh,” she said contritely.  “Oops.”  She sighed and waved at the assembled masses.  “Hello little people,” she said and turned back to Fortitude.  “I just wanted to tell you about the red moon,” she said in a whisper that still somehow resonated through every head in that chamber. 

Behind Fortitude, Carolus unconsciously stood. 

Merrin’s eyebrow suddenly lowered and she glanced between Adela and Fortitude with a dawning awareness.  A smile slowly spread over her face.  “Saaaaay, are you two going to get married?”

Fortitude found himself blushing.  “Yes,” he replied, feeling incredibly self-conscious.  “A week from now, if she agrees.  We’ll combine it with the coronation.”

He forced himself to look at Adela.  She was smiling radiantly back at him.  “Yes,” she said.

Merrin looked a little awkward and, despite hanging in air, managed to shuffle her feet.  “Err well,” she began.  “Umm…”  Despite her preternaturally pallid disposition she reddened.  “Could I be a bridesmaid?” she asked hopefully.  “Can I?  Huh?  Please?  Can I?”

Fortitude looked at Adela who was now regarded Merrin fearfully.  He leaned over to her and spoke quietly in her ear.  “It might be best if you said yes,” he said.  “Sorry, but she’s a bit touchy when she gets left out of things.”

Adela nodded dumbly and Fortitude turned back to Merrin.  “Sure thing, Merrin,” he said.

Merrin clapped her hands together in delight.  “Wonderful,” she exclaimed.  “I’d like that ever so much.”  A thought hit her.  “Oh, but I’ve got nothing to wear.”  Her brow furrowed thoughtfully.  “I’m sure I can throw something together.”  She paused and stared at Adela uncertainly.  “What colour will you be wearing?”  She smiled hopefully.  “Black?”  She pointed down at her own twisting outfit.  “You could borrow my wedding dress.”  The dress flailed hopefully and formed a long sinuous train and veil.  Two tentacles formed a little black love heart over Merrin’s head that pulsed and throbbed in a very unnatural way.

Adela chose that moment to faint away.  Fortitude made sure that she was comfortable then turned back to Merrin.  He was aware of the disbelieving and awed stares of the crowd. 

“Why don’t we talk about this later, Merrin,” he said pointedly.  “You remember our little chat about what you can and can’t do around others?”

“Sorry Beastlord,” Merrin said looking stricken.  Her eyes rolled up as she recalled the conversation in question.  “I mustn’t summon anything bigger than a city.  I mustn’t show people things that will destroy their sanity and I must always count to ten before contacting anything that might destroy the world.”

“Close enough, Merrin,” he said.  “Now what was it that you wanted to tell me about the red moon?”

“I just wanted to say that the red moon is no longer falling.  It will remain at its current distance from the world forever.”

Carolus exhaled loudly behind Fortitude. 

“Excellent work, Merrin,” Fortitude declared.  “And were there any problems?”

Merrin started guiltily.  “No, why?”

“Merrin, what happened?” Fortitude demanded.  “Tell me!”

Merrin twisted awkwardly and stared up at the ceiling.  “Weeellll,” she began.  “Summers might be a little longer or shorter in future.  I’m not quite sure.”  She coughed awkwardly.  “Oh and the length of days might have changed along with the number of days in each year.”

“What?” Fortitude exclaimed.  “Why, I mean how…?”

“I had to push on something to get the moon to stop falling,” Merrin replied earnestly.  “The world was the nearest thing.”

Fortitude was suddenly conscious of the rest of the room and thousands of eyes focussed on him.  He bit back his first response and settled for something more moderate.

“I see,” he said.  “Well why don’t we talk about that later.  You should return back to your dwelling place and I’ll contact you later.”

“Yes Beastlord,” said Merrin looking vastly relieved that she had been spared a scolding.  She faded away and was gone.

***

The grand assembly ended abruptly and with great commotion at that point.  Fortitude ignored the departing notables and instead knelt beside Adela who was sitting up again.

“My lady, may I help you to your chambers.”

Adela stared into his eyes and nodded gratefully.  “Thank you, my lord,” she said.  She reddened a little.  “I am pleased to see you again, Fortitude.”

Fortitude escorted Adela back to the castle and to her new rooms.  Perhaps she leaned on him a little more than was really necessary, and perhaps he was a little too solicitous in helping support her on that journey. 

After instructing servants to prepare for dinner with the King that night, Fortitude returned to Adela’s side where he spent a delightful day catching up on her news.

He told her of all his adventures since they had last seen each other, while she informed him of the goings on back in Wintershall.  Among her other news, she informed him that the first snows of winter had come to Wintershall.

This news caused Fortitude to start and fall silent.

“What’s wrong?” Adela inquired.

“It’s been a year,” he replied wonderingly.

“A year?”

Fortitude stared around at the sumptuous chamber and his gaze became distant.  “The first snows had only just come last year when I returned to Wintershall as a sergeant in the Baron’s reserve.  It’s been a year since I met Sang, Merrin, Celia, and the others.  What a year it’s been…”

And that started a whole new line of conversation.