Angels Blood (43 page)

yours in all sincerity,

King Eunadees

Alard sat back.  He had been thinking King Olav had no interest in attacking the Kingdom anymore and that he didn’t really need to build much more in the way of a navy beyond the current numbers plus whatever was needed to deal with Isogorr. 

But if these two were to work together, then his plans would have to change dramatically. The fleet at his disposal would not be enough. He would have to spend some time working on a new strategy as well as approaching his father with this latest news.

He would have to make a submission to increase the fleet immediately. One saving grace was they had intercepted this payment to Olav.  That just may stay his hand for a while.  Alard was sure it wouldn’t stop him though.  It could only be a delay, but any delay was welcome now he understood what was going on. The gold also would be put to good use.  The high counsel would have no excuse in granting him what he asked for.  The gold was enough to triple his fleet and he wouldn’t need that much.  No they would be as happy as pigs in shit once they were informed of this latest windfall.

THE LULL BEFORE THE STORM

The Black hulled ship crashed through the waves on its lonely voyage across the vast ocean, it’s sail full and billowing as it had been for over three months. It’s course over that entire time had been unwavering, always sailing to the south west, driving on and on to that seemingly endless horizon. The hull was growing barnacles, that was not so surprising on such a long voyage and they had only traveled about halfway. By the time the ship reached its destination it would need a full refit. Ropes were starting to show real signs of wear and there were always repairs necessary everyday. The sails were being changed more regularly with a lot days spent by some of the crew sitting and sewing on a regular basis.

Wollfen stood at the bow of the ship.  He had made it a ritual each day to spend time here looking out over the ocean.  It gave him time to reflect on many things. His wavy brown hair had become sun bleached and tangled by the wind, his skin bronzed by so many days on deck. He had become leaner too as the rations of food slowly became smaller. A lot of the time he spent shirtless and barefoot, the soles of his feet toughened by so long without any boots. The robe he had originally been offered to wear was no longer used and he wore pants supplied by one of the sailors.

To any casual observer he was simply one of the crew and they treated him as such too, it was an unusual state of affairs. He had managed to break the ice with them over a week or so of joining in with the daily chores of the ship and eventually the men had opened up to him. He was able to converse with them now, the captain would even ask him to do things as needed and Wollfen was content to fulfill any role given.  They all accepted him now, he had managed to gain their trust. Mind you, the captain would never treat Wollfen like he did the other sailors, that would have been asking for trouble, the captain knew he was a sorc and you don’t cross sorcs.

The funny thing was as Wollfen worked and conversed with them they not only became more open to him but subtly they were adopting his ways. They weren’t aware of it as yet but time would probably bring them some surprises later. Wollfen had treated them as equals and it was this fact and one other that had helped to break down the barriers. He had shown them kindnesses when it wasn’t necessary and used a firm hand when needed.

There had been an incident a few weeks ago when it became obvious that the sailors had started to think he was weak and soft because of that kindness. The biggest and surliest of the crew who had a reputation for brawls had challenged him after a deliberate slight on Wollfen’s part, something to do with his mother and her loose ways. The man had taken offense to the remark and immediately challenged Wollfen to a fight. The deck had cleared and all watched on as the two had squared off. The sailor launching his first attack hitting Wollfen fair in the jaw, his head snapped back but Wollfen just stood there. Then the sailor threw a heavy punch into Wollfen's stomach that knocked him back a little but he appeared no worse for wear. Then the man had thrown another punch and much to his chagrin Wollfen had caught it and thrown his arm back.

Once more the man launched at Wollfen and this time he let loose with a blow to the sailor’s stomach that had doubled him up on the ground.  By now the cheering onlookers had fallen silent. Still Wollfen stood there doing nothing.  The sailor had picked himself up and charged with the idea of taking Wollfen low and knocking him off his feet. Wollfen had no intention of letting him and he had splayed his feet wide, bent over a little towards his opponent and lifted a hand.  This time the man bounced off Wollfen and as he staggered back, Wollfen slapped him hard across the face knocking him out cold. If anyone doubted that Wollfen was a hard man with real strength they doubted it no longer. After that they all showed Wollfen new respect and coupled with his ways he had finally won them over.

Madeira looked at Wollfen standing at the bow of the ship,  he spent so much time there. Madeira too had been growing closer to him, they shared many stories and much of their feelings now, she had come to appreciate that his ways were just as valid as hers.  She was slowly but surely giving grudging respect to his values. Wollfen had managed to gain more from the sailors in work over a period of time with his moderate approach than the Captain was ever able to do with the tirades he would unleash.  She had also noticed that those same tirades were getting less and less. Was the Captain coming around? What was it about Wollfen that he was able to influence people so?

It made her  realize what an asset he was and the bonus of keeping him from his own people.  Such a leader would do wonders on the battlefield and she had no doubts he would lead a very effective campaign against them. Luckily he wasn’t commanding an army coming to Isogorr, she could see they would have been hard pressed to resist. But he was just one man and alone against the might of Isogorr what could he do? Not much she didn’t think.

If she knew how Wollfen worked then she may have not been so confident. He was a man of ideologies and they alone over time were a more powerful weapon than any sword or any army. They were taking this very dangerous individual into the heart of their country. It was the one place he wanted to be and they were giving it to him.

Wollfen looked back from the bow and spied Madeira gazing at him.  He wondered if she was ever able to get past his shields and feel any of his true intentions? No, he would know and even if she did find out would she do much at all? With each passing day he thought that a less and less likely possibility.  She was coming around slowly but surely and she didn’t even know it.

He had spoken at great length of Vincent and his long association with him, the trials he had faced over the years and the ideals that Vincent had conveyed through him. A lot of them had contradicted the teachings of the sorc clique and while at first Madeira had dismissed them outright, she had slowly come to accept some values and Wollfen had been patient. It was a long slow process and such as it was he had already pushed it faster than he liked, six months on a boat was a rather quick time to talk of changing a persons fundamental ideologies.

It was necessary though, he had learned that Madeira was second only to the sorc queen and that meant she was in a very powerful position. A lot of change could be made to happen through her.

There was a commotion down below and Wollfen went to see what all the fuss was about, he could hear Captain Serhatnan shouting at someone. As Wollfen entered the quarters of the crew, he saw a man in a hammock who was obviously very sick.  The Captain was shouting at him and trying to get him up.

“
Captain.”

He turned and looked at Wollfen who was giving him a quizzical look.

“
This man is very sick.  If he can’t manage to get up, then I have no option but to toss him overboard. I cannot waste food and resources on him when he is obviously too far gone.”

The Captain turned back to the man and prodded him hard in the side. There was little response from the unconscious and wheezing sailor.

“
You two men, grab him and take him on deck.”

“
Wait.”

Wollfen walked over and placed his hand on the man’s clammy forehead.  He was running a high fever and not in a good way at all.

“
He is very sick, but with time and care he may recover.”

The captain looked at Wollfen.  

“
You expect us to care for him like a child? Any man who cannot take care of himself is cut loose, that has always been the way.”

Wollfen turned to the Captain,

“
And what if he recovers fully? Would he not be valuable once again?” He looked around at the rest of them standing there, “Some of you would count him friend, would you so easily take him and toss him overboard like so much rubbish?”

They stood around looking at each other, no one had ever addressed them like this before. Serhatnan interjected,

“
I will not allow any manpower be used to help him, he is as of now struck from use on this ship.”

Wollfen replied sternly,

“
Well Captain, you have no authority over me, I shall nurse him till he recovers.”

The Captain looked him up and down.

“
Why would you bother? Why do it?”

“
Simply because it’s the right thing to do.”

“
Bah! Your ways will see the downfall of your precious Kingdom! The rest of you back to work!”

The Captain turned on his heel and stalked out.

Madeira entered the hold a little while later and approached Wollfen as he tended the sick man.

“
Why are you helping this man?”

He looked up and into Madeira’s eyes.

“
Because he is sick and also because I don’t want to see him die.”

Madeira was somewhat confused.

“
I don’t understand, I can think of any number of reasons why you would not interfere and let him die. He is your enemy; if he lives he will continue to serve Isogorr and its best interests. By not helping him you would be doing your country a service.”

Wollfen sighed.

“
I have told you of compassion and mercy, have you learned nothing of what I have tried to teach you?”

“
I understand your ideologies quite well but you must pick and choose when to use them.”

He looked a little sad.

“
You call them ideologies but for me and many like me they are a way of life.  You do not pick and choose who to use them on. You either are merciful and compassionate to all or you are not being true to your beliefs. This man is sick and  if I do not help him I will have stood back and compromised my own beliefs to serve what? Let him die and then there is one less man in a temporary conflict between our nations? There is less potential good coming of that than for me to help this man and see him live on. We all serve a greater power whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we realize it or not. We live because we all have purpose and that purpose does not include standing by and watching others die just because we would prefer it that way or it's convenient.”

Madeira stood there before him trying to fight his logic.  It was getting more and more difficult to do so knowing they both served the same gods. Knowing that while she served life and attaining a high plane of understanding, Wollfen too by his own actions was serving life too and she couldn’t argue with it. She lowered her eyes feeling frustrated.

“
I cannot help you, I feel like it would be a betrayal.”

Then she turned and walked back out of the hold. Wollfen watched as she went, he understood how hard it must be for her, she was going through so many conflicting emotions he was sure.

Out at the bow Madeira stood where Wollfen would spend his time staring out to sea.  She stood there just as he would. So many thoughts poured through her head, so many conflicting ideas. Her ingrained beliefs were clashing with truths that she knew to be true, but she couldn’t let go of what she felt. Madeira wept quietly, tears trickled down her face as she felt that solid ground of life crumbling below her feet. She even stood with her legs a little further apart but it made no difference, it wasn’t a physical thing that was making her sway it was her own churning mind.

The sun was setting off the starboard bow of the ship and the waves made funny shadows in the waters, Madeira stared as her mind felt like it was stretching and pulling in so many directions. Wollfen was having such a huge impact in her life and it was only now she was realizing just how much of what she knew she now doubted.

Where was all this heading? Madeira even had doubts about the Queen’s true motivations, why was she really bringing Wollfen back to Isogorr? Was there an ulterior motive? How could they possibly control him or even convince him to serve their ends and their goals? Would he really willingly return to Kassandrea and hand the city over to Isogorr?

They were twelve weeks from Isogorr and eventually she would be in contact with the Queen.  Could she shield the Queen from seeing into her heart and the doubt she now felt? Madeira could only hope. If the Queen had even an inkling of her desires for Wollfen, it would mean death.  No sorc ever felt or allowed herself to feel for a man. It was forbidden for obvious reasons.

Later that evening Wollfen returned to their quarters. 

“
The man is sleeping, the next two days will prove trying. I was able to get some gruel into him mixed with water but not much else.”

Madeira sat there silently, not sure what to reply with, she just didn’t  have any concern for the sailor. He looked at her and realizing the situation, sat down.

“
I am curious Wollfen, I am coming to understand how you feel regarding your attitudes towards others, but is it a reflection of what you feel in your heart?”

He searched his feelings before replying.

“
I know the man but I cannot say that I have any personal affection for him.  He is just one of the sailors to me that is true.  But my feelings on right and wrong compel me to do something to help him, not just stand by as he dies.”