As Morgan rose to receive the royal embrace, other nobles likewise came forward—Nigel, Ewan, Lord Jared, Kevin McLain, Derry, and others—each repeating the words Morgan had spoken, rendering fealty to their new king. Morgan once more took up the Sword of State as they did so, holding it naked and upright beside his king, as all the great lords and barons of the land came to pledge their allegiance. And when all was done, then they began to form for the procession from the cathedral.
Charissa’s retainers had melted into the crowd on her death, and now the throngs proclaimed Kelson with one voice. The ecclesiastics led the procession, passing through the transept and up the aisle. But as Kelson and his attendants came to the edge of the transept, the sun chose that moment to emerge again from behind the clouds.
Once again, jewel-toned sunlight streamed through the high stained glass, casting a pool of color at Kelson’s feet. Kelson stopped before it, and the waiting congregation grew hushed in fearful expectation as they stared at their new young lord—for there had been death before in the colored sunlight.
Kelson glanced up at the window and smiled, glanced around at the hushed sea of faces. Then he stepped calmly into the light.
A long sigh of wonder swept through the still nave then, for there was no death in the sunlight now. The pool of rich sunlight merely sparkled on Kelson’s gems, blazing on his crown like a thousand sunrises.
Smiling, he turned aside to glance at Morgan and Duncan, motioned them also to step into the light. They obeyed without hesitation.
The light glittered on Morgan’s golden hair, lit his rich velvet cloak, turned the snowy whiteness of Duncan’s surplice to a rainbow of rich color. And then the three continued down the aisle.
As the procession followed, the crowds began jubilant cheering, with heartfelt cries of, “God save King Kelson! Long live the king!”
And Kelson, King of Gwynedd, went out of that place to show himself to a grateful people.
INDEX OF CHARACTERS
AGNES, Lady—lady-in-waiting to Queen Jehana.
ALARIC—see Morgan.
ARILAN, Bishop Denis—auxiliary bishop of Rhemuth.
BRAN Coris, Lord—Earl of Marley.
BRION Donal Cinhil Urien Haldane, King—late King of Gwynedd and father of Prince Kelson; reigned- .
BRONWYN de Morgan, Lady—sister of Morgan, betrothed of Lord Kevin McLain.
CAMBER of Culdi, Saint—full Deryni patron of Deryni magic, called Defensor Hominum, or Defender of Humankind; responsible for the Haldane Restoration of .
CHARISSA, Lady—Duchess of Tolan and soi-disant claimant to the throne of Gwynedd.
COLIN of Fianna—eighteen-year-old son of the Count of Fianna, a renowned vintner; killed in ambush with Lord Ralson near Valoret.
CORRIGAN, Archbishop Patrick—Archbishop of Rhemuth.
DEFOREST, Michael—guard used as a medium by Lord Ian and then killed to implicate Morgan.
DERRY, Lord Sean—aide to Morgan, and his vassal; appointed to the Gwynedd Crown Council after the death of Lord Ralson.
DONAL Haldane, King—father of King Brion, reigned .
DUNCAN Howard McLain, Father—priest-cousin of Morgan, Confessor to Prince Kelson; secretly Deryni.
EDGAR, Lord—Baron of Mathelwaite, vassal of Morgan; one of three Morgan vassals persuaded by Ian that Morgan should be assassinated; killed himself rather than reveal Ian’s part in the plot against King Kelson.
ELSWORTH, John of—second guard used by Ian as a medium.
ELVIRA, Lady—lady-in-waiting to Queen Jehana.
ESTHER, Lady—another lady-in-waiting to Queen Jehana.
EWAN, Lord—Duke of Claibourne and hereditary marshal of the Gwynedd Crown Council.
GILES—principal body squire to Prince Kelson.
HAROLD Fitzmartin, Lord—one of three Morgan vassals persuaded by Ian that their lord should be assassinated.
HORT of Orsal—ruler of Orsalia to the east, and an ally of Morgan.
IAN Howell, Lord—Earl of Eastmarch who allies with the sorceress Charissa; given a magical coup de grâce by her after his defeat by Morgan.
JARED McLain, Lord—Duke of Cassan and father of Duncan and Kevin.
JATHAM—a royal page under the tutelage of Duke Nigel.
JEHANA, Queen—mother of Kelson, widow of King Brion; a Deryni in denial.
JEROME, Brother—elderly sacristan at the Cathedral of Saint George in Rhemuth.
KELSON Cinhil Rhys Anthony Haldane, King—son and heir of King Brion and Queen Jehana, with Deryni-like powers, just fourteen when he accedes to the throne of Gwynedd.
KENNETH Morgan, Sir—late father of Alaric Morgan.
KEVIN McLain, Lord—Earl of Kierney, half-brother of Duncan, betrothed of Morgan’s sister Bronwyn.
LAWRENCE, Lord—one of three Morgan vassals subverted by Ian and charged to attempt their lord’s assassination.
LORIS, Archbishop Edmund—Archbishop of Valoret and Primate of All Gwynedd.
MALCOLM, King—grandfather of King Brion, reigned .
MARLUK, the—Deryni father of Charissa; killed by Brion with Morgan’s aid.
MORGAN, Duke Alaric Anthony—Deryni Duke of Corwyn, King’s Champion to Kelson; cousin to Duncan McLain and brother of Bronwyn.
MUSTAFA—a Moorish emir, one of Charissa’s bodyguards.
NIGEL Cluim Gwydion Rhys Haldane, Prince—younger brother of King Brion and Duke of Carthmoor, age thirty-four, uncle of King Kelson and his heir presumptive.
RALSON, Lord—Baron of Evering and former member of the Gwynedd Crown Council; killed in ambush near Valoret with Colin of Fianna.
RHODRI, Lord—royal chamberlain to the kings of Gwynedd, and friend of Morgan.
RHYS Thuryn, Lord—a learned Deryni from the time of Saint Camber of Culdi; practitioner of the Thuryn technique for concentration.
ROGIER, Lord—Earl of Fallon; treacherously slain by Ian in the crypts beneath Rhemuth Cathedral.
SUPREME of Howicce, the—emissary of the United Kingdoms of Howicce and Llannedd at Kelson’s coronation, escorted by Connaiti mercenaries.
WENCIT of Torenth, King—sorcerer-king of Torenth, threatening war with Gwynedd.
YOUSEF—Moorish emir and bodyguard of Charissa.
INDEX OF PLACE-NAMES
CANDOR Rhea—a field outside Rhemuth where King Brion was slain during a hunting excursion.
CARDOSA—disputed border city in the mountains between Torenth and Eastmarch.
CARTHMOOR—duchy of Prince Nigel Haldane, bordering Corwyn and the Royal Honour of Haldane.
CASSAN—duchy of Duke Jared McLain, bordering the Earldom of Kierney and the Mearan Protectorate.
CLAIBOURNE—duchy of Ewan Duke of Claibourne, in the far north of Gwynedd.
CONCARADINE, Free Port of—located on the Eirian River delta, turnaround point for the great southern fleets; famous for its gold and jewel artisans.
CONNAIT, the—barbarian kingdom to the west, renowned for its mercenaries.
CORWYN—duchy of Alaric Morgan, inherited through his Deryni mother, Alyce de Corwyn de Morgan.
CULDI—city associated with Saint Camber.
EASTMARCH—earldom of Lord Ian Howell.
ELEVEN Kingdoms—traditional name for the entire area including and surrounding Gwynedd, though all eleven kingdoms can no longer be delineated.
FALLON—earldom of Lord Rogier.
FIANNA—wine-producing country across the Southern Sea from Corwyn, held by the father of Colin of Fianna.
FORCINN Buffer States—confederation of lesser principalities stretching southward from Orsalia, under nominal overlordship of the Hort of Orsal.
GWYNEDD—principal kingdom of the Eleven Kingdoms, long ruled by the Haldanes.
HALDANE—royal duchy comprising the central heartland of Gwynedd, traditionally held by the Crown of Gwynedd.
HOWICCE—kingdom linked with the Kingdom of Llannedd, southwest of Gwynedd.
KHELDISH Riding—province in the far north
of Gwynedd, east of Claibourne, under direct Crown rule; famous for its weavers.
KIERNEY—earldom of Lord Kevin McLain, bordering Cassan, the Mearan Protectorate, and Gwynedd Crown lands.
LLANNEDD—kingdom linked with the Kingdom of Howicce, southwest of Gwynedd.
MARLEY—earldom of Lord Bran Coris.
MEARA—Crown protectorate to the north and west; the kings of Gwynedd are also princes of Meara.
PURPLE March, the—vast meadowlands north of Rhemuth, under direct Crown rule; Lord of the Purple March is one of the titles of the kings of Gwynedd.
RHEMUTH—prosperous and beautiful capital of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
SAINT George, Cathedral of—seat of the Archbishop of Rhemuth, Patrick Corrigan.
SAINT Hilary’s Basilica—royal basilica adjacent to Rhemuth Castle; present assignment of Father Duncan McLain.
SAINT Mark, Abbey of—abbey near Valoret where the bodies of Lord Ralson and Colin of Fianna were held after their deaths.
TOLAN—duchy of Charissa, east of Marley and far in the north of Torenth.
TORENTH—principal kingdom east of Gwynedd, ruled by King Wencit of Torenth.
VALORET—seat of the Primate of All Gwynedd, Archbishop Edmund Loris; situated between the Haldane Honour and the earldom of Eastmarch.
Katherine Kurtz, Deryni Rising (Chronicles of the Deryni)
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