The Sigil Blade (51 page)
King Eivendr dropped his head and buried his face in his hands. Every word Aisen had spoken to him was true, and he did not doubt that this man, the terrible Blood Prince, had evidence to prove all of it, or failing this, that he possessed the necessary powers to persuade others of the truth of these claims.
Edryd could read in his king’s reaction and in his hesitation to respond, a great deal more than Eivendr could ever have revealed in words. He decided it was time to condense everything for King Eivendr by placing it all into one simple abstraction. “Your choice is a simple one. You can either be a monarch who knew when it was time to pass his authority to another, living the remainder of his days in honor and respect while being celebrated for preserving the safety of his country, or… you can be a dead villain.”
The king, forced to confront his crime, began to cry miserably, motivated in part by his shame, but equally by the mercy being offered to him, which he in no way deserved. “Please, promise me you will never tell anyone,” said Eivendr. “I couldn’t bear it to be known. Kill me if you think it is right, but let me be remembered as a good king.”
“Give me no cause to ever regret it, and I will carry your secret to the grave,” promised Edryd. He could not forgive Eivendr for the things he had done, but against every expectation he had carried into this confrontation, or any that he could have ever imagined, Edryd felt within himself a touch of sympathy for the old man. Eivendr had been, almost, very nearly, a semblance of a good King. There had been forty years of peace in Nar Edor under his reign, during which his secret attempt to bring about the death of Kyreth Edorin, a friend who had all but placed him on the throne, had been the only remarkable stain.
“How can you possibly forgive me?” said Eivendr, unable to comprehend being pardoned by the man known as the Blood Prince.
“I left Nar Edor to prevent bloodshed,” answered Edryd. “And I have come back for the same reason. Your abdication, and my absence, will prevent a war.”
“You are so like your grandfather,” said Eivendr. “He could have sought the throne himself, but he supported a weaker man instead, in the interest of preserving the peace across Nar Edor.”
“And you repaid that loyal service with betrayal,” said Edryd. “But you have now a chance at some redemption. Relinquish the throne in favor of your nephew.”
“Holdrem?” said Eivendr in surprise. Eivendr had two sons, neither of whom were legitimate claimants to the throne. They were misbegotten children born by different mistresses that Eivendr had favored at one time or another, and they were both of them profligate men of privilege who had never seen battle. As these children were widely considered a discredit to Eivendr’s name, it was assumed that they would be passed over as successors, but Eivendr would not have guessed that his only nephew would have been favored by Aisen. It might not have been the choice that Eivendr himself would have made, but Holdrem was unquestionably a strong ally of the king’s household, and had already sided with his effort to take House Edorin’s lands.
“Don’t imagine that because he spent a term of service in the Sigil Corps, that my nephew would ever be your puppet,” said Eivendr, assuming that this is what Aisen wished for. “He has a strong sense of honor and would never submit to you. Unlike me, he carries no sins which you could use to control him.”
“We did both serve together in the same company,” said Edryd, “so I know him well. What you say of him is true, and that, more than anything else, recommends him for this purpose.”
“You consider him to be a friend,” said Eivendr, more clearly grasping things, and yet misapprehending entirely Aisen’s actual intentions. “You believe that you can influence him.”
“It is because he would not be under influence, neither yours nor mine, that I would choose him,” said Edryd, correcting King Eivendr. “If I were to take control of this country, I would be an even worse ruler than you were. Nar Edor needs a strong king, but it must be one with neither blood nor the stains of betrayal on his hands.”
Again, Eivendr saw in Aisen’s character, an undefinable combination of human qualities that the king much admired, and had once regarded so jealously, that it had driven him to try to bring down Aisen’s grandfather. It wasn’t a chance for Eivendr to set things right. He would never be able to do that. But Aisen was setting things right for him, and all Eivendr needed to do was to listen and accept what was being asked.
“You are wrong,” said Eivendr. “You would make the greatest king this country has ever seen.” The king meant these words. The presence exuded by the Blood Prince felt like a tangible thing to King Eivendr, and he was, as he had never once been before in his life, in a state of awe. In that moment, Eivendr felt more strongly than ever that he deserved death at this man’s hands, and almost wished that Aisen would deliver that long delayed justice.
The vindictive emotions which Aisen had until that moment mainly suppressed throughout the course of the conversation, ceased to exist. It was replaced with a desolate sense of sorrow so strong that Eivendr could feel its influence in the air between them. Edryd stretched an arm across the table and rested it heavily upon his king’s shoulder.
This affected Eivendr in the way that such personal contact sometimes does. The pressure from the other man’s hand awoke a sense of connection in Eivendr, and as if at the lifting of an unseen barrier, Eivendr’s awareness expanded through the world around them. This sensation felt more an illusion, than anything real, and it was not without precedent, for he had as most people do at one time or another, felt such things before. But what he experienced next, he could find no past familiar ground for. He began to glimpse a vision of the future. He saw Nar Edor laid to waste in a conflict between the nobility on one side, and Aisen and the combined forces of the Sigil Corps and the Ascomanni on the other. This future began with Eivendr’s own death at Aisen’s hand. What followed were wars of conquest, begun first in this country, but soon spreading to other lands.
“This cannot be my future,” cried Eivendr, tearing himself free from Aisen’s grasp.
“It isn’t your future,” was Edryd’s pained reply. “It is mine, in a world where you do not have one.”
“Surely it can be stopped,” said Eivendr. “This must never happen!”
Edryd’s response was calm and reassuring. “It need never happen,” he answered.
“I will do everything you have asked,” Eivendr said, in an expression more sincere than any he had ever made in his life.
“I know that you will,” said Edryd. His words were not expressive of mere faith in his king’s promise, they carried with them such a feeling of immense relief that Eivendr knew something had changed, and it had changed for the better. He desired then to see what he supposed Aisen could see, but he was too afraid to wish to truly do so.
As Edryd left his king, he felt content and at peace in a way that had eluded him for a long while. On his journey here, he had been tortured with vengeful thoughts and the desire to act on them had been strong. Now, his soul was instead overflowing with gratitude that it had not been necessary to kill this defenseless old man. It felt like stepping out of the darkness and into a warm spring light which began the process of healing some of the scars which had begun to mar his mind.
For Eivendr’s part, the experience had been no less profound. He felt an ease and freedom in his heart which he had not known in more than twenty years, and awakened within him was a bond of loyalty to this man who had spared him from judgment, which no power in this world would ever break.
*****
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This story serves as the first of three books in the Archon Sigil Trilogy. This story will be continued in
The Sigil Knight
, which will follow the stories of Edryd, Eithne, and Aed Seoras, taking place four years after the events in The Sigil Blade.
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About the Author
A writer of science fiction and fantasy novels, Jeff Wilson is the author of the Archon Sigil Trilogy. Jeff fell in love with both fantasy and science fiction at an early age, and inspired by worlds built in the imaginations of others, he began to create worlds of his own. The decision to write about the heroes and demons populating these worlds was slow in coming, but after spending years reworking and refining his ideas, the words demanded expression.
Encouraged and assisted by a small group of fans, which included his brother, and his younger sister and her husband, Jeff completed work on his first short story, The Blood Prince. He has now also completed work on his first full length novel, The Sigil Blade, and has begun work on the second book in the series, The Sigil Knight.
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Aed Seoras
AYD say-OR-uhs
Aelsian
AYL-see-yun
Aisen
EYE-zen
Áledhuir
al-ED-hewr
Alsegate
ayls-GAYT
An Innis
ahn IN-iss
Aodra
AY-oh-druh
Beodred
BAY-oh-dred
Beonen
bay-uh-nen
Cecht
sekt
Deneg
DEN-ehg
Domiria
doh-MIRR-ee-uh
Edorin
eh-DOR-in
Edryd
EHD-ruhd
Eidstadt
EYED-staht
Eithne
EYETH-nee
Eivendr
EYE-vin-dur
Elduryn
el-DURE-in
Esivh Rhol
eh-SIV rohl
Feyd Gerlin
fayd GEHR-lin
Giric Tolvanes
GEER-ik tohl-VAYNZ
Greven
GREH-vin
Hagan
HAY-gun
Herja
HERR-juh
Irial
IRR-ee-yul
Irminsul
EER-mihn-sool
Ivor
EYE-vor
Kedwyn Saivelle
KEHD-win SY-vel
Kyreth Edorin
KY-reth eh-DOR-in
Ledrin
LED-rin
Lineue
LIHN-yoo-ay
Logaeir
loh-GAIR
Ludin Kar
LOO-din kar
Morven Tevair
MOR-ven TEH-vair
Neysim Els
NAY-sim els
Oren
OR-in
Ossia
OH-see-uh
Pedrin Eksar
PEH-drin EHK-sar
Ruach
ROO-ahkh
Sarel Krin
SERR-il krin
Seridor
SERR-ih-dor
Seym
- saym
Sidrin Eildach
SID-rin EYEL-dahk
Ulensorl
OO-lin-sorl
Vannin
VAN-in
Vidreigard
VID-reh-gard
Eithne’s Spiced Chicken Dumplings
2 Cups of chicken (shreaded into small pieces)
1 Large White Onion (minced)
1 Large Leek (minced)
1 cup of bread crumbs
2 Large Eggs
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp clove
5 Cups of chicken broth or chicken stock
Add 1/4 cup of butter to a cast iron cooking pot. Add minced leeks and onion and sauté over medium heat until tender. Remove 1/2 of mixture to a bowl, and remove remaining mixture from heat.
When cool, add the cooked chicken to the bowl with the cooked leeks and onions. Add bread crumbs. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Add eggs and combine mixture, incorporating all of the ingredients in this step. Form into dumplings about one inch in diameter. Set aside on a plate.
Return remaining sautéed leeks and onions to heat. Add the chicken broth. Bring ingredients to a low simmer for approximately 5 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Gently ladle the formed dumplings into the pot. Add water or additional chicken broth if needed to ensure the dumplings are covered. Cook for 15 minutes.
Serve with a robust bread, and your preference of soft cheese. Simple sliced baguettes with bree work well.
Serves 2 to 4
