Archbishop Hubert MacInnis was taken into custody and eventually tried before the same council of bishops that soon suspended him from office and eventually confirmed Ailin MacGregor as his successor. As Archbishop and Primate, Ailin gained an immediate seat on the new Regency Council, to the great satisfaction of his fellow regents. One of his first acts as archbishop was to quietly bring back Bishop Dermot O’Beirne as his auxiliary in Valoret—for it was Dermot who had kept the lines of communication open during those years of planning for the crown’s liberation from the great lords. Ailin dared not restore the Deryni Niallan, but those Deryni aware of Ailin’s courage in even bringing back Dermot slept a little easier in their beds in the years that followed.
The outcome of Hubert’s trial was rather less satisfying. Though most of his fellow bishops quickly became convinced of his treason, as the evidence mounted, they were loath to sully the titles and office he had borne by turning him over to secular authorities for certain execution—though several felt execution far too lenient. In the end, he was banished to close confinement in a distant religious house whose name and location were never made public, there to submit himself to a regimen of fasting and penance from which there was no earthly appeal, allowed no human contact save with a confessor and certain spiritual directors. He died in his bed within the year—peacefully, it was said, nearly half his former weight and bulk—never having repented any of his deeds.
Of the Custodes Fidei implicated by Cathan in the king’s murder, only two came to trial. After a hearing before the bishops, Brother Polidorus and Father Magan were handed over to a secular court, tried, convicted, and eventually hanged; Lior had escaped trial by dying of the wound dealt him by Rhun.
Master Stevanus would have been pardoned, but was found to have died while in retreat at the Order’s Mother House in Ramos, the result of overzealous indulgence in certain privations and disciplines customary within the Order—voluntary, of course, or so the abbot said. Four Custodes knights who had gone into retreat at about the same time also died under curious circumstances, but the abbot similarly declined to discuss the causes, invoking the confidentiality of the confessional to justify his silence. The abbey at Ramos was dissolved, its abbot given into the custody of the spiritually sound Ordo Verbi Dei for rehabilitation; the rest of the Ramos brethren were dispersed to the remaining houses of the Order.
The Custodes abbey at Rhemuth suffered a similar fate. Its former abbot, Father Secorim, expecting momentary confirmation as archbishop, was happy to settle for the auxiliary bishop’s post under the circumstances, gladly giving his obedience to Alfred of Woodbourne, who had always been the previous archbishop’s choice as successor. Cathan was dubious about letting Secorim remain at all, but nothing could be proven against him other than ill judgment in his choice of associates; and Secorim argued fairly eloquently that he could hardly be held responsible for being singled out by his previous superior for favor.
With the bishops’ promotion of Secorim came their farthest-reaching decisions about the Ondo Custodum Fidei. Though they did not demand its total dissolution, the Order’s ecclesiastical knights were disbanded and forbidden to re-form. To replace Paulin, the bishops designated the office of chancellor-general henceforth to hold the governing of the Order and confirmed Father Marcus Concannon in that office, charging him to refocus the Order to more accurately reflect their original purpose as guardians of the Faith.
To that end the Order would be permitted to retain its schools and other institutions of education. More particularly, Arx Fidei and the several other seminaries under its aegis were to continue; for on sober reflection, the current generation of the Church’s hierarchy remained unconvinced that Deryni should be permitted priestly or episcopal authority, notwithstanding the more moderate opinions of Ailin and Dermot. Though many other of the Statutes of Ramos were rescinded in the months and years to follow, those laws forbidding the priesthood to Deryni were to remain in force for another two centuries, even when other excessively restrictive statutes against the Deryni eventually began to be ignored.
In the secular realm, the new Regency Council of Gwynedd likewise set about the necessary housecleaning. Lord Ainslie and his son Robert were appointed to the council by summer’s end. Robert also married his “Liesel,” thereby ensuring a quiet Deryni presence at Court for the foreseeable future. Sir Fulk Fitz-Arthur was recalled from his brother’s court at Cassan, testified at the trials of the king’s murderers, and was appointed a royal equerry in time to attend on the young king at his coronation in September. None of the other heirs of the former great lords were retained in royal service, but neither did they suffer the attainder and confiscation of their estates that might have followed on the crimes of their fathers. Harsher reprisals might have been more prudent.
Young Owain Haldane was crowned on Michaelmas, the sixth anniversary of his father’s coronation and what would have been his father’s twenty-second birthday, on the first day of a weeklong celebration the likes of which had not been seen since the coronation of his Uncle Alroy, more than a decade before. Neither Torenth nor Tolan sent an envoy, but the ten-year-old Duke of Cassan came with his parents to pledge his fealty to the new king, embarking upon a friendship with his new liege lord that would become both famous and tragic in years to come.
Richard Murdoch declined to attend, pleading indisposition, but most of the other heirs of the former great lords came and at least paid lip service to the new king and his regents. The coronation was also witnessed by many of the remaining heirs of Saint Camber, though none came openly, for the laws of Ramos were still in force. Not for nearly two centuries would so many Deryni again set foot in Rhemuth Cathedral.
Almost three months after Owain’s coronation, on a snowy Saint Stephen’s Day morn—seventh anniversary of the day a Haldane prince had led his new bride before the high altar to have their wedding vows made public—Gwynedd’s widowed queen came privately to Rhemuth Cathedral, gowned and cloaked in black, heavily pregnant with the child her dead husband would never see. Atop her widow’s veil she wore the silver coronet her husband had placed on her head on that long-ago day, and her hands bore a circlet of holly and ivy like her wedding wreath. Only her brother, her young son, and Archbishop Ailin accompanied her as she made her way into the crypt where half a year before they had laid her husband to rest in a featureless tomb.
“Mummy, look, there’s a king in Papa’s place!” Owain cried, as they reached the bottom of the steps.
She smiled as her son raced over to the tomb, which now bore a recumbent, life-sized figure carved out of warm alabaster, the raiment painted in bold heraldic colors—crimson and gold and sable. Owain had grown a hand-span in the last six months, but he still had to crane to see, stretching determinedly on tiptoes and trying to pull himself up until Cathan came to his rescue. He laughed with delight to see his Papa knight standing guard just at the figure’s shoulder, and he retrieved it from its lonely vigil and clutched it to his breast as he gazed with satisfaction at the alabaster face, feasting his eyes on the crown, the sweep of crimson robe with the Haldane lion painted on the breast, and the carved sword lying quiet and potent under the folded hands.
“It looks like Papa,” Owain whispered, his grey eyes shining. “Papa has a proper king now, just like Grandpapa Cinhil and Uncle Javan and Uncle Alroy. Take me to see them, too, Uncle Cathan. I want to see if they’re as fine as my papa’s.”
Nodding his agreement, Cathan took him over to look at his grandfather’s effigy, urging him to bow his head and say a prayer as his mother moved closer to her husband’s tomb and Archbishop Ailin hung back to give her privacy. There was a prie-dieu on the other side, and she went to it and eased her ponderous body onto its cushioned kneeler, bowing her head over the bridal wreath for a moment before reaching out a hand to rest on his.
It was a good likeness. His face had never been so still or stern in life, but the black hair beneath the carved crown framed a visage undoubtedly Haldane. A
glint of red and gold peeped from the hair at his right ear, and the sculptor had carved the Haldane brooch at his throat as well. She let her fingers feel the sleek coolness of it, shifting then to lightly brush an alabaster cheek.
My Rhysem, she spoke to him in her heart. It’s a fitting tribute. I wish they’d let you be the king you wanted to be. I wish—
But it did no good to wish. All the wishing in the world could not bring him back. Rhys Michael Alister Haldane was dead, but his hopes and dreams must live on in the boy leaning down to pat the carved hand of another King of Gwynedd, the martyred Javan. Perhaps they would live as well in the other son she carried beneath her heart.
She smiled and laid a hand protectively on her abdomen, then set the wreath of holly and ivy on the folded hands of the effigy.
Sleep in peace, my darling, she whispered in her mind, as she touched her fingertips to her lips and then to his, in gentler farewell than circumstances had allowed the last time she left him here. You gave me your love and your Haldane princes to mold into kings. With God’s grace, the Haldane crown that you died to free will remain free upon Haldane brows for as long as there is a Gwynedd. God keep you, my love.
She smiled as her son came running back to hug her, and had a smile, too, for Cathan and the archbishop as they gave ready hands to lead her out of that place of death and into a more hopeful future.
APPENDIX I
INDEX OF CHARACTERS*
AGATHA—a maid at Rhemuth Castle.
AGNES Murdoch, Lady—wife of Rhun of Horthness, Earl of Sheele, and daughter of Murdoch of Carthane.
AILIN MacGregor, Bishop—Hubert’s Auxiliary Bishop at Valoret.
AINSLIE, Lord—a royal commissioner.
AINSLIE, Sir Robert—son of Lord Ainslie.
ALBERTUS, Lord—Grand Master of the Equites Custodum Fidei; formerly Peter Sinclair, Earl of Tarleton; brother of Paulin of Ramos and father of Bonner Sinclair, the present earl; Earl Marshal of Gwynedd.
ALFRED of Woodbourne, Bishop—Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth; onetime confessor to King Cinhil.
ALISTER Cullen, Bishop—Deryni former Vicar-General of the Order of Saint Michael; Bishop of Grecotha and Chancellor of Gwynedd under King Cinhil; briefly, Archbishop of Valoret and Primate of All Gwynedd; alternate identity of Camber MacRorie.*
ALROY Bearand Brion Haldane, King—King of Gwynedd 917–921; elder twin of King Javan.*
ANGELICA, Mother—a midwife at Lochalyn.
ANSEL Irial MacRorie, Lord—grandson of Camber and a prime mover in the resistance against the former regents.
ARIELLA of Festil, Princess—slain (905) elder sister of the late King Imre and mother of his son, Mark or Marek.*
ARION of Torenth, King—Deryni King of Torenth and elder brother of Prince Miklos and Princess Charis.
ASCELIN, Father—a Custodes priest.
BONNER Sinclair, Lord—Earl of Tarleton; son of Lord Albertus and nephew of the Abbot-Bishop Paulin.
BORG—an archer in service of Manfred.
CAMBER Kyriell MacRorie, Saint—Deryni former Earl of Culdi; father of Joram and Evaine, grandfather of Rhysel and Tieg; canonized as Saint Camber in 906; sainthood rescinded by Council of Ramos in 917.
CAMLIN (Camber Allin) MacLean—young kinsman of Camber who survived crucifixion at Trurill now part of Joram’s underground.
CASHEL Murdoch, Sir—younger son of Murdoch of Carthane.
CATHAN Drummond, Sir—brother of Michaela and half-brother to Ansel; junior aide to Rhys Michael.
CHARIS, Princess—wife of Marek of Festil and mother of his son and heir.*
CHARLAN Kai Morgan, Sir—former squire and principal aide to King Javan, slain at his side in 922.*
CINHIL Donal Ifor Haldane, King—late King of Gwynedd (904–917); father of Alroy, Javan, and Rhys Michael.*
CLOYCE de Clarendon, Sir—a Custodes knight.
COLUMCILLE, Father—a priest at Lochalyn.*
CONCANNON, Father Marcus—Custodes chancellor-general in charge of seminary training for Gwynedd.*
CORBAN Howell, Lord—husband of Stacia of Eastmarch.
CORIS, Sir Sean—see Sean Coris, Sir.
COSIM—Miklos’ personal physician/Healer.
CULLEN, Bishop Alister—see Alister Cullen.
CUSTODES FIDEI—Ordo Custodum Fidei, the Guardians of the Faith; religious Order founded by Paulin of Ramos to replace the Michaelines and reform ecclesiastical education in Gwynedd for the exclusion of Deryni. Mandate later extended to ferret out and eliminate Deryni by whatever means.
DAITHI, Father—a Custodes priest at Rhemuth; official King’s Chaplain after Father Faelan.
DECLAN Carmody—a slain Deryni.*
DE COURCY—see Etienne and Guiscard de Courcy.
DEINIOL, Brother—assistant to Brother Polidorus.
DERFEL, Father—chaplain at Lochalyn Castle.
DERYNI (Der-ín-ee)—racial group gifted with paranormal/supernatural powers and abilities feared by many humans.
DIMITRI, Master—Deryni agent in Paulin’s service.
DONAL, Master—a scribe at Rhemuth Castle.
DONATUS, Father—an alias of Dom Queron Kinevan.
DROGO de Palance, Sir—Rhun’s castellan at Sheele.*
DRUMMOND—see Cathan, Elinor, James, and Michaela Drummond.
EDWARD MacInnis, Bishop—young Bishop of Grecotha; son of Earl Manfred and nephew to Archbishop Hubert.
EITHNE—a maid at Rhemuth Castle.
ELGIN—an Eastmarch captain.
ELINOR MacRorie Drummond—widow of Cathan MacRorie and mother of Ansel and Davin by him; mother of Michaela and Cathan by second marriage to James Drummond.*
ELSPETH—a maid at Rhemuth Castle.
EMBERT, Brother—a Custodes monk-physician.
EQUTTES CUSTODUM FIDEI—Knights of the Guardians of the Faith; military arm of the Custodes Fidei, intended to replace the Michaelines.
ESTELLAN MacInnis, Lady—Manfred’s wife and Countess of Culdi.
ETIENNE de Courcy, Baron—a southern lord, secretly Deryni, sent by Joram to infiltrate the Haldane Court in preparation for Javan’s accession.*
EUGEN von Rostov—a herald in service of Prince Miklos of Torenth.
EVAINE MacRorie Thuryn, Lady—Deryni adept daughter of Camber, sister of Joram; widow of the Healer Rhys Thuryn; mother of Rhysel and Tleg.*
EWAN, Duke—Second Duke of Claibourne, treacherously deposed as one of original five regents of young King Alroy and slain; brother of Sighere and Hrorik, father of Graham.*
FABIUS, Brother—a Custodes monk at Saint Cassian’s.
FAELAN, Father—murdered former confessor to King Javan.*
FANE Fitz-Arthur, Lord—eldest son of Earl Tammaron and husband of Richeldis, Heiress of Kierney.*
FITZ-ARTHUR—see Fane, Fulk, Nieve, Quiric, and Tammaron Fitz-Arthur.
FULK Fitz-Arthur, Sir—Rhys Michael’s senior aide, son of Earl Tammaron.
FURSTAN—dynastic name of the ruling House of Torenth.
GABRILITES—priests and Healers of the Order of Saint Gabriel, an all-Deryni esoteric brotherhood founded in 745 and based at Saint Neot’s Abbey until 917, when the Order was suppressed and many of its brethren slain; especially noted for the training of Healers.*
GALLARD de Breffni, Sir—a Custodes knight.
GIESELE MacLean, Lady—Co-Heiress of Kierney, sister of Richeldis; smothered to death at age 12.*
GRAHAM MacEwan, Duke—Third Duke of Claibourne; son of Ewan and nephew of Earls Hrorik and Sighere.
GUISCARD de Courcy, Sir—Deryni son of Baron Etienne, sent by Joram to infiltrate the Haldane Court in preparation for accession of Javan; aide to Javan and slain with him in 922.*
HALDANE—surname of the royal House of Gwynedd.
HALEX, Father—Abbot of Arx Fidei Abbey, a Custodes House.
HENRY of Rutherford, Sir—a knight in Rhun’s service.
HOMBARD of Tarkent—Torenthi envoy in service of Prince Miklos.
HROR
IK of Eastmarch, Lord—Earl of Eastmarch; middle son of Duke Sighere, uncle of Duke Graham, husband of Sudrey, father of Stacia.*
HUBERT MacInnis, Archbishop—Primate of Gwynedd and Archbishop of Valoret, one of Alroy’s former regents; younger brother of Earl Manfred and uncle of Bishop Edward.
IMRE, King—fifth and last Festillic King of Gwynedd (900–904); father of Marek of Festil by his sister Ariella.*
IMRE of Festil, Prince—infant son of Marek and Princess Charis of Torenth.*
IOSIF—a guard at Rhemuth Castle.
IVER MacInnis—son of Manfred; Earl of Kierney by right of his wife, Lady Richeldis MacLean.
JAMES, Master—a Court physician.
JAMES Drummond, Lord—deceased father of Michaela and Cathan Drummond.*
JAVAN Jashan Urien Haldane, King—clubfooted younger twin of King Alroy, whom he succeeded; reigned 921–922. Treasonously slain in battle and succeeded by his younger brother, Prince Rhys Michael.*
JERVIS—household steward at Lochalyn Castle.
JESSE MacGregor, Sir—Deryni adept, eldest son and heir of Gregory of Ebor; part of Joram’s underground.
JORAM MacRorie, Father—Deryni adept and youngest son of Camber; brother of Evaine; priest and Knight of the Order of Saint Michael; now coordinating resistance to the former regents and plotting to restore independence of the Haldane crown.
JOSHUA Delacroix, Lord—Custodes captain-general at Ramos.
KENNET of Rhorau, Sir—nephew of Termod of Rhorau and brother of Sudrey; killed with Duke Ewan’s party in 918.*
KENNET Howell—infant son of Stacia of Eastmarch and Corban Howell.
KIMBALL, Father—Custodes Abbot of Saint Cassian’s.
KINEVAN, Dom Queron—see Queron Kinevan, Dom.
KYLA, Lady—a poet.*
LIESEL—alias used by Rhysel Thuryn.
LIOR, Father—Inquisitor-General of the Custodes Fidei.
LIRIN Udaut, Lady—daughter of Constable Udaut; wife of Richard Murdoch, Earl of Carthane.
LORENZO, Brother—a bookbinder.*
MACGREGOR—surname adopted by Jesse, son of Gregory of Ebor.