Equimancer's Realm

  After a mostly sleepless night, Samos was woken by a knock on the door of his cabin.

  “We have arrived, Your Majesty. Would you please make your way to the carriage?” a servant bowed to him.

  Samos took a seat next to his mother, but didn’t have anything to say to her. Shortly, they arrived at her mansion in Stingray Harbour. She moved back to Pyonia after his father had died.

  “Go, freshen up. You will be picked up shortly. You will return here after you are finished,” Lilith said.

  “When?”

  “Whenever the First One commands you to. One last piece of advice; do whatever he tells you,” she replied, and ascended the stairs of the Entrance Hall.

  Two hours later, Samos sat in a carriage. He had no idea where they were going. He remembered that the last time he had met the First One, he had to endure the last hour of his journey blindfolded.

  He had dozed off at least a dozen times.

  They must have travelled for almost half a day, when the carriage finally stopped in front of the manor he had spent a very long summer at as a youth.

  The door of the building opened, and a skinny man with a bald scalp surrounded by long, blonde hair appeared.

  “Welcome, Your Majesty. Master Fenweed, at your service. Please follow me,” the man said as he grabbed his luggage. He was led through the opulent, but gloomy mansion to his room.

  “King Samos, we have served drinks in the Scarlet Salon on this floor, just down the corridor. Please, meet the other gentlemen there to wait for further instructions. Before you leave your room, would you be so kind to put this on?” Fenweed pointed to a folded piece of clothing before departing.

  Samos unfolded the garment and sighed.

  It was a long, white, hooded robe.

  ‘This must be some kind of a joke, surely,’ he thought, but put it on anyway. By now his outrage had given way to curiosity. He had decided to play along, and made his way to the Scarlet Salon.

  There, he found five men in similar robes, conversing and drinking.

  It all looked very innocent, though somewhat ridiculous due to the guests’ attire. To his surprise, he discovered that one of the men was his distant cousin, Lord Danlo, the future Duke Iceblood. Two of the other men looked familiar from different social events. The other two he had never seen before.

  Hardly had he taken a sip of the drink that a servant offered to him, Master Fenweed appeared.

  “My Lords, please follow me,” he smiled broadly. There was no time for introductions.

  They were led through several rooms and secret passages. Samos started to feel again as if he was part of some surreal performance.

  Finally, after they had descended a spiral staircase to what must have been the basement, Master Fenweed stopped at a door and knocked.

  “The Council of the Nameless is ready for you, my Lords,” he announced ceremoniously, and opened the door for them.

  They were led into a spacious hall. The middle of the room was illuminated by the torches on the wall.

  Further back in the shadows was a long table. At it sat six figures in similar robes that Samos and the other newcomers had to don. As opposed to them, the people sitting at the table had their hoods up. As far as Samos could tell, two of them were women. The hoods covered the whole of their faces, but two holes at eye-level were cut in the material.

  “Please line up, my Lords, just there, under the hook,” Master Fenweed smiled at them encouragingly, took a bow and left the hall.

  Samos looked up to the ceiling, and spotted the aforementioned hook hanging from a massive chain.

  He had the urge to pinch himself; the whole situation was both laughable, and bone-chilling.

  One of the figures stood up. Through the slits in his hood, his eyes were scrutinising each of them for minutes.

  “I welcome you on behalf of the Council of the Nameless.

  I am the First One; you have all met me in the past.

  We have summoned you to make you the rulers of the New Empire.

  We have followed your progress in the past years – in some cases for decades, – and we are mostly pleased.

  The six of you are very different in some ways. Four of you are the sons of impoverished Royals with no hope of achieving anything without our help. Two of you we picked out of the gutters.

  One thing you all have in common; everything you have achieved, you can thank us for. We have given you the best education possible, we have furthered your careers, we have made it possible for you to marry into the most influential Royal families.

  I have met you all in the past. I have spent my time educating and preparing you for your future roles.

  Yet, when I look around, I can see that most of you are not taking this seriously.”

  Again, the First One looked at each of the men standing in line.

  A young, tall man broke out in fits of laughter.

  “Count Hazard, I hope that the rest of the night will provide you with further amusement,” the First One turned to the dark haired youth. He stopped chuckling.

  “We need to proceed, but before we do, it seems that I have to remind you of our last encounter.

  Each and all of you I had asked two questions.

  The first one was; ‘do you want to become one of the rulers of the New Empire, be privileged, powerful and feared?’ All of you said yes.

  My second question was; ‘what would you do in order to become one of the most powerful, rich and influential leaders of the New Empire?’

  Without exception you all said; ‘anything’.

  All of you had signed a contract that states this.

  Now is the time to prove to us that you are worthy to take a step forward.

  Tonight, we will create the Greater Council.

  The six of you are the lucky ones, who are granted the privilege of becoming its members.

  There’s only one thing left to do,” the First One said, and slammed his fist on the table.

  Two servants appeared. One of them pushed in a large object that was covered by a piece of black cloth into the room. Once he had positioned it, he removed the cloth. It was a three-legged kamera; one of the new Kronurian inventions.

  Samos possessed a few of the pictures that the wondrous machine had produced of him and his family. He couldn’t but marvel at the device; it only took a click and a flashing light, and after a few minutes images had appeared on a photograph. He had no idea what purpose the machine would play during the bizarre events of the evening.

  The other servant carried a box. He approached Samos and the other men. He turned to the First One, who nodded at him.

  The servant moved the latch of the box, and opened it.

  It revealed six thick-bladed daggers. They all had engravings on their handles.

  “Initiates, take one each,” the First One ordered them.

  Samos’ discomfort had mounted by the second, but as all the others took the blades, he felt that he had to follow suit. He read the inscription on the weapon in his hand. ‘The Dark Empress Shall Reign’.

  “Leave. Tell the Adept to bring her in,” the First One said to the servants.

  Whatever this was supposed to be, Samos knew that he didn’t want any part of it.

  He took a step forward to put his dagger on the table, when one of the hooded women spoke.

  “Don’t you dare, you coward,” she hissed at him.

  “Calm yourself, Fourth One. He will do what is required of him in due time,” the First One assured her.

  Samos was convinced that the woman called Fourth One, was his mother.

  He was about to put an end to this charade, but suddenly he felt his legs giving in, and a sense of despair took hold of him. He found himself kneeling on the floor, doing his best not to start crying.

  “Would you like to regain your strength, King Seafoam?” he heard the First One’s mocking question. He nodded in desperation.

  While he was doing his best
to collect himself, a back door opened.

  A tall, elegant young man entered, ushering a girl into the hall.

  They looked like a couple about to be wed.

  The girl was dressed in white, grasping the hand of the handsome man, smiling at him with an otherworldly expression in her eyes.

  Samos gasped.

  The girl was his daughter Undine’s best friend.

  What’s more; she was the fiancée of Emperor Donis, the beloved Princess Eldorine Sunflare of Heliodoria.

  The Princess had gone missing a few weeks ago, the Princess whose absence had dominated every single newspaper in the Realm.

  Every single member of the Council of the Nameless rose from their seats, and took a few steps back.

  “Come, my dear, have a seat,” the blonde man said to Eldorine, and helped her up on the table.

  Once she sat on the table, he gently grabbed her ankles, placed them on the table and turned her sideways.

  “Why don’t you lie down?“ he suggested.

  She did as he said.

  Then, the man moved the chairs from around the table, and went to stand by the kamera.

  “I don’t think I have to introduce Her Majesty,” the First One nodded towards Princess Eldorine.

  “I know her from the Academy,” one of the younger men with a Covaxian Throatmark whispered. The Azurian, who stood next to him nodded.

  “You do indeed, Master Tauntall. As you all know, she is a Heliodorian and as such, one of our worst enemies.

  She stands for everything we have fought in the past and everything that we will fight even more ferociously in the future.

  We as in Pyonians. We as in the relatives of the Areshadians. Their Goddess is our Goddess; the Dark Lady of the Underworld.

  Ten years from now, our goal will be achieved.

  For this purpose, we will ask our Goddess for her blessing and her guidance. We will ask her in the traditional way; the Areshadian way.

  We will offer her a sacrifice.

  A sacrifice that will surely please her; the blood and life of our worst enemy, of Her worst enemy,” he announced.

  ‘No, we can’t…’ Samos thought, his blood running cold in his veins.

  He desperately tried to figure out how to put an end to this, but Tauntall was faster.

  “I can’t do this, I won’t. She hasn’t hurt anybody,” he shouted, his whole body shaking.

  The First One looked at him for a few seconds.

  “Stand exactly under the hook, Tauntall,” he said silently.

  The man obeyed, the others took a step back.

  Tauntall sank to the floor. He looked as if he was trying to say something, but apparently, he wasn’t able to.

  “All of you have to learn this; disobedience will not be tolerated, but it is an option.

  Should you choose to disobey, you will be hoisted up by your legs, your nails will be ripped out one by one, your tongue will be cut out, you will be blinded, after which you will be stabbed in the stomach, and we will all wait until you bleed out.

  This will happen to each and all, who disobey, but only after having watched your loved ones die the same way.

  Now, Master Tauntall, I’m asking you; will you do what is required of you?”

  The man seemed to regain his ability to breathe again.

  “Just to make it easier for you to decide; let me tell you that the girl will die tonight, even if I have to do it myself.

  So, you see, you would sacrifice yourself for nothing. Now, will you obey?” the First One asked encouragingly.

  Tauntall stood up and nodded.

  The six of them stepped to the table.

  Eldorine lay on top of it, looking around, never speaking a word.

  “One stab each. I let you decide whether you want to make it quick or let her die slowly.

  As you can see, she doesn’t know where she is, and she won’t feel any pain. We are not savages after all,” the First One spoke. He looked at the Adept who nodded at him.

  “Begin!” the First One ordered.

  Samos was petrified. He wanted to scream, save her somehow, but he couldn’t speak or move. Her eyes met his, and she smiled at him. Tears started to flow down his face.

  “For Pyonia,” Danlo said, and stabbed her in the middle of her chest.

  Eldorine’s body shook, but she didn’t make a sound.

  A flash of the kamera blinded Samos for a second.

  The next thing he saw was Razzael, the Vosian dip his dagger into her flesh, next to the first wound.

  Blood bubbled from her mouth.

  “She might be dead already,” the man with the Gundian Throatmark mumbled and stabbed her in the stomach.

  The Azurian followed suit.

  Tauntall still shook and sobbed.

  He let his knife drop into her shoulder.

  Another flash followed.

  Samos knew that all eyes were on him.

  ‘She’s already dead,’ he told himself in desperation, and then stabbed her in the other shoulder.

  “Put up your hoods and hold up your knives,” the First One ordered.

  Another photograph was taken.

  “It is done. The next time we meet, we will celebrate the New Empire.

  Until then, you will at all times follow the orders of the Adept.

  Any disobedience will be punished.

  Any mention of what has happened here to anybody will be punished.

  If you take your own life, everybody you love and care for will be punished. Take off your hoods, and look into the kamera.”

  Samos was in a daze. He felt dead inside when the next flash came.

  The Adept took the kamera and placed it next to the table.

  Then, he took the last picture; a close-up from the dead Princess’ face.

  Afterwards, he laid out the five photographs on the table.

  Samos couldn’t look at them.

  The Adept picked out one and took out a pen. He wrote a few words on the bottom of the picture.

  “Sign it, please,” he said to them.

  Samos stared at the image.

  He felt sick.

  It showed the six of them standing over the body of the dead girl in their blood-soaked robes, with their dripping knives.

  Their faces clearly visible.

  The text read:

  We shall be the judges and executioners of the enemies of the Dark Empress and Pyonia

  Written in the blood of our enemy, Princess Eldorine Sunflare of Heliodoria

  The Dark Empress Shall Reign

  Danlo Iceblood, Samos Jadevein, Razzael Sharpbeak, Herman Hazard, Nayos Meander, Boran Tauntall

  11th of the Month of the Monkey of the Year 769

  Once they all signed, the First One addressed them again.

  “You shall leave now. You will meet the Adept up in the Scarlet Salon. He will assign your tasks. You shall stay here for as long as the Adept deems it necessary.

  Adept, from now on, you are the leader of the Greater Council, and the only one who will be in contact with the Council of the Nameless.

  You will be the one holding on to the pictures taken today. In case of any disobedience from the members of your Council or any threats towards you, you shall present the Evidence to the authorities.

  Make sure that in case of your death the Evidence gets to the current Government of the United Empires.

  Gentlemen, congratulations; you are now members of the Greater Council. Do not attempt to get in contact with us.

  If you have any questions or encounter any problems, you are to let the Adept know.

  We have arranged for the Adept to be elected as the Mayor of Stingray Harbour and the Governor of Pyonia next month. You may leave now.”

  Samos had spent two weeks in the manor. The only person he had met during that time, was the Adept and Mater Fenweed.

  Every morning he woke with a tear-streaked face, always sobbing the same word
s; “she was already dead”.

  Master Bowman had him practise the same things that the First One had, many-many years ago.

  Finally, one day Tolzan said he could leave.

  “Jadevein, I’m afraid this is as good as it gets. Make sure to keep away from the members of the Academy as well as you can, and keep practising. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to see your daughter Undine again,” Bowman said silently.

  “Why? What happened to her?” Samos’ stomach constricted with fear.

  “She became a member of the Academy.”

  “No, no. She is studying at the Academy, she’s not a member,” Samos stammered.

  “Yes, she is. It will be official as soon as she has her Pledge of Identity Ceremony.”

  “I’ll make her leave the Academy!” Samos shouted.

  “It doesn’t work like that. She’s a member, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Your abilities are rather insufficient; they will be enough for you to be in the presence of the Academics for a limited time, but your daughter is a different matter. You cannot talk to her or see her ever again.”

  “No, you can’t do that!”

  “It’s nothing personal. It’s too dangerous for all the members of the Greater Council. Besides, it’s not up for debate. Let me make it clear; the next time you talk to Undine, will be the last time,” Bowman said without any malice in his voice.

  ***

  The flames gradually reappeared. The gramophone was silent.

  Samos couldn’t move.

  ‘Murderer,’ said the Voice.

  “She was already dead,” Samos whispered.

  ‘Murderer.’

  Year 780

  Month of the Ram, Mid-spring

  Stingray Harbour, Pyonia

  The old year had ended. As had the Days of Change; those five or six spring days between the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one.

  Gloria had usually enjoyed all the festivities and balls of the New Year, but now it was torture. The Days of Change extended her time being away from Tolzan. The Royal Council meeting had come at last and she could be in his arms again. For once, Gloria knew, she wouldn’t have to wait another month to see him again.

  Even though months ago Gloria had dreaded her journey to Pyonia, by now she had been borderline ecstatic about her visit.