Read The Crown of Dalemark Online
Authors: Diana Wynne Jones
The Crown of Dalemark (45 page)
But he had. He must have been swept over to the side wall. She could see him, nearly out of her view, where it was blocked by the ragged edge of the balcony, clawing himself along the wall, first shoulder-deep, then, very quickly, only waist-deep. The water was rushing away all the time, going back underground. Maewen could dimly hear the surge and growl of it running away. But she was staring at the man's soaking, lank hair. It
did
look like Mitt's.
Then he had clawed himself out of sight. Maewen had turned to dash away down into the court when she heard him speaking, right under the balcony. “Come on, get up, you fool. Walk.” It was Mitt's voice, no doubt now.
Wend's voice answered. “Let me go. I deserve to drown.”
And then Mitt's voice again: “If that was true, the Earth Shaker wouldn't have left you alive. Come on, stand up.”
Maewen heard splashing, and coughing. Wend said, “Don't you understand? I was working with Kankredin.”
Mitt answered, “Well, you had the sense to phone and tell me when you realized how much of him he'd collected here. He's an expert in blackmailing and tempting and all that. Stop kicking yourself. What I want to knowâWatch it! These steps are all broken.” There were flounderings, and the sound of wet stones rolling and splashing. Then Mitt's voice came from right underneath, where the palace door was. “What I want to know is how did he persuade you?”
“Noreth,” said Wend. Maewen could tell he was crying. “My daughter Noreth! All these years I thought you were the one who'd killed her.”
“Of all the idiots!” Mitt answered. “There were several hundred people you could have
asked
!”
Maewen found she could wait no longer. She had not dared believe it was really Mitt until now, but this proved it. She dashed back through the open window-doors and sped through the ballroom to the nearest stairs. Halfway down she found herself pausingâwith an impatient skip, because of the vanity of itâto look at her draggled self in the grand mirrors: wet, salty hair, tear-stained face, damp rag of a best dress. Well, he's seen me look just as bad, and he knows I'm only thirteen. But, as she sped down again, she found herself repeating, Only thirteen. He's two hundred years old. I'm only thirteen. Over and over.
Across the slippery grand hall she sped. Rubble rolled under her racing feet, and she splatted in pools of seafoam. And there was the open door at last, open onto heaved-up paving stones and steaming water. A gust of sea scent blew in through it. Maewen hurtled out of it and stopped. There was only Wend, leaning against a pillar, soaking wet. In the distance, across uprooted cobblestones strewn with seaweed, bloodred and olive green, Mitt was just climbing over the rubble that had been the gate.
“Mitt!”
she screamed.
He heard her. He stopped. She could see him think about it. He turned round and gave her a cheerful wave before he jumped off the pile of rubble and walked away down King Street.
Maewen was left gazing. Between her and the remains of the gate there was a scummy, odd-shaped pool, turgid with tainted waves, draining away into the ground as she looked at it. That was where the tomb had been, of course. That tomb must have been one of Mitt's biggest jokes. By the time he had had it built, he must have known he was of the Undying. No wonder he made it so absurd. Maewen almost smiled, in spite of her misery. He's two hundred years old. I'm thirteen.
She turned to Wend. Wend was staring straight ahead, dripping. “I owe you an apology,” he said.
“Yes,” Maewen agreed. “Did you take this job at the palace to wait until I turned up?”
“No,” said Wend. “I was never sure where you came from. I took the job for something to do. There's so much time, you know.”
He said it very drearily. Maewen could see time stretch on and on, before and behind him.
“Why did you tell Noreth she was the One's daughter?” she asked.
“I didn't. That was an idea her mother had,” Wend said. He laughed, a nasty hacking sound, like a bad cough. “The One told me she would ride the royal road. He lied.”
“Are you sure that wasn't Kankredin?” Maewen asked.
Wend turned and stared at her, as if this had never occurred to him. Beyond him she saw Major Alksen in the distance, followed by Dad, gingerly picking his way toward the empty slot that had been Amil's tomb.
“Come with me,” Maewen said to Wend. “I've got an idea about you.” When Wend did not move, she took his chilly hand and dragged. “You ought to get into dry clothes, at least.”
“No problem,” Wend said. His clothes began to steam as if he were out in hot sun. But he made no protest when Maewen dragged him, in a trail of steam, through the rubbly hall and to the stairs. Thank goodness, she thought. For what she had in mind, it would be better that Major Alksen and Dad were busy outside. But why am I doing this? she wondered as she towed Wend upstairs. He thought he was sending me to be killed. He knew he was sending me to Kankredin. Am I trying to be worthy? But she knew why, really. She knew how Wend felt.
She dragged him through the ballroom and round into the smaller room where the pictures hung. She pushed him in front of the glass cabinet where the old cwidder lay.
“Get that out,” she said. “Play it. It's yours, anyway.”
“Oh no,” Wend said. “I gave it to my son. And it's the Queen's property now.”
“Is it?” said Maewen. “I think Moril gave it to Mitt, not to Amil, and as Mitt's still alive, it's
his
. I know he won't mind you having it in the least. It's wasted, lying there.”
“Maybe,” Wend said. He looked down at the old beautiful instrument as if he were very tempted. “But someone will notice if I take it.”
“You are beginning to annoy me!” Maewen said. “From all I've heard, you're one of the greatest magicians there ever was. Surely you can make it
look
as if the cwidder's still there? Nobody's going to try to play it, after all.”
“True.” Wend stared down at his uniform, now dry and trim. In a hopeless, fussy way, he picked a piece of dry seaweed off it. For a moment, he stared at the red-brown spray of weed as if he had never seen such a thing before. Then he smiled. He took his keys out, unlocked the cabinet, and raised the glass lid, tossing the seaweed spray inside as he did so. Then he picked up the cwidder. To Maewen, it looked as if he drew the ghost of the cwidder out of itself. There was a cwidder lying in the cabinet, fat, mellow, and glossy. Wend had an identical cwidder in his hands and was hitching the strap over his shoulder.
“You'd better replace that strap,” she said. “It's awfully frayed.”
Wend smoothed the strap. “I know. I made the strap, too. It'll hold.” His face already looked different. It was newer and happier. It became serious-happy as he turned the pegs and brought the strings into tune. And it changed to a dreamy pleasure as he picked out a little tune. The cwidder hummed, almost purred, with happiness. “Forgive me,” Wend said. He looked up at the portrait of Moril, as if Moril was really there.
“He will,” Maewen said. “It was always a burden to him.”
Wend sighed. “Yes, and that's odd. Or perhaps not. It was my power I put in the cwidderâa good half of it.” He strummed another hasty tune. It made him stand in a different, easy way, and he looked stronger. “I should never have passed that power on,” he said, and looking as dreamy as Moril often did, he turned and walked out of the room.
“Oughtn't you to tell my father you're leaving?” Maewen said.
“A message is on his desk now,” Wend said, conjuring a small waterfall of notes as he walked off. His uniform had gone. He was wearing a shabby leather jacket, rather like Mitt's.
He was really going. Maewen hurriedly called out the selfish part of why she had done this. “Wend! How can I get in touch with Mitt?”
Wend paused. “Through Cennoreth, I suppose.” Then he turned and looked at her over his shoulder, like Navis in the portrait behind her. His face had gone beyond happy to become the face of a man of power. Oddly enough, that made him look kinder. “Mitt gave me a message for you. I'm sorryâI'd forgotten until now. I've no idea what he meant. He said, âTell her to make it four years, not two, to allow for inflation.' Does that mean anything to you?”
It certainly did. Maewen almost laughed as she watched Wend walk away. Four years! No way! She was going to get the train to Dropthwaite tomorrow, and somehow, she was going to find Cennoreth there.
A Guide to DalemarkAberath,
the northernmost earldom of North Dalemark;
also the town on the north coast, situated on the Rath estuary at the mouth of the river Ath.
Aden,
the small river running north to the sea at Adenmouth, thought by some to be all that remains of the great River of the spellcoats.
Adenmouth,
a small town and lordship in the extreme northwest of North Dalemark, and part of the earldom of Aberath.
Adon,
a name that seems to mean “High Lord” and has several applications:
1. One of the secret names of the One.
2. The name or title of the heroic King of Dalemark about whom there are many songs and legends. The Adon was an Earl of Hannart who married Manaliabrid of the Undying as his second wife and went into exile with her and the Singer Osfameron, during which time he was murdered by his jealous half brother Lagan and brought back to life by Osfameron. He then became King, but on his death his two children disappeared, leaving Dalemark without a King and riven by civil war.
3. The title of the eldest son and heir of the Earl of Hannart.
The Adon's gifts,
the legendary gifts Manaliabrid brought to the Adon as her dowry. These are:
1. A ring said only to fit the finger of one with royal blood.
2. A cup which was believed to acknowledge the true King and also to shine in the hands of anyone telling the truth.
3. A sword which, it was said, only the true King could draw from its scabbard.
“The Adon's Hall,”
one of the old-style songs composed by the singer-mage Osfameron, in which Osfameron seems to be thinking not only of the Adon in exile in a ruinous hall but of his own cwidder and of the Sayings of King Hern.
Al,
the most common short form of Alhammitt, the commonest name in South Dalemark. The name of a castaway picked up by the yacht
Wind's Road
.
Alda,
the wife of Siriol; a confirmed alcoholic.
Alhammitt
1. The true name of the Earth Shaker.
2. The most common man's name in South Dalemark.
3. Mitt's actual name.
Alk,
a lawman from the North Dales who took office under the Countess of Aberath and shortly married her. His status then became that of Consort of Aberath, with the courtesy title (which was seldom used) of Lord. Alk devoted his time to inventing steam engines and eventually, almost single-handedly, brought about the industrial revolution of Dalemark.
Alksen, Major,
the head of security at the Tannoreth Palace.
Alk's Irons,
the name given by the people of Aberath to the steam machines invented by Alk. The most notable of these were a plow, a hoist, a press, a pump, and a locomotive.
Alla,
the elder daughter of Alk and the Countess of Aberath.
Allegiances,
the personal ties of primitive Haligland. A man or woman would be born into one clan, sent as foster child to a second, swear friendship to a third, and marry into a fourth. This formed a network of friendship and obligation which you were bound to tell to a stranger when you told your name. Allegiances defined you as a person. If you did not tell, or had no allegiances, you were either a criminal or a social outcast.
Almet,
the son of the Adon and Manaliabrid, who declined to be King after his father.
Amil,
one of the secret names of the One, which appears to mean either “Brother” or “River.” It later became the name of the line of kings that began with Amil the Great.
Ammet,
a straw image thrown into the sea every year at the Sea Festival in Holand in South Dalemark, which was said to bring luck to the city. Small images were also made and sold for luck. Even greater luck was supposed to come to any boat that found Ammet floating beyond the harbor and brought him aboard. The name is a corruption of Alhammitt, one of the names of the Earth Shaker. See also
Poor Old Ammet.
Andmark,
the earldom in the center of South Dalemark which was probably the wealthiest in Dalemark. Henda was Earl of Andmark until he was killed in the Great Uprising.
Anoreth
of the Undying became the wife of Closti the Clam. The name means “unbound.”
Ansdale,
a remote valley east of Gardale. The birthplace of Biffa, whose family kept the mill there.
Arin,
a senior lord of the (Heathen) invaders from Haligland and chief warrior-minister of Kars Adon.
Armor
was markedly different in the two halves of Dalemark.
Southern soldiers wore helmets and breastplates with exaggerated curves designed to deflect bullets, over tough leather, with knee-length boots and big gauntlets. Many carried guns as well as swords, and foot soldiers carried pikes.
Northern soldiers still used chain mail under sleeved jerkins of leather or tough cloth. The mail was long enough to protect the wearer to the wrists and knees, and the helmets were round, coming low enough in the back to protect the neck. Gloves were leather with mail or studs on the backs. Weapons were usually crossbows, swords, and daggers. Guns were few and could only be spared for picked hearthmen.
Arms inspectors
were employed by all the earls of South Dalemark to keep strict watch on gunsmiths, armorers, and weapons makers, who were not allowed to work without the inspectors' seal on all their equipment. The earls rightly feared that the craftsmen might otherwise sell weapons to the common people or make weapons for the earls that were deliberately flawed. Despite the inspectors, many armorers seem to have done both these things.
Arris,
a rough spirituous liquor brewed throughout South Dalemark from discarded grapes and sprouting corn. All that can be said in its favor is that it was much cheaper than wine.
Ath,
the river that runs north into the sea at Aberath. It is thought to be one of the remnants of the great River of prehistory.
Autumn Festival,
the usual name in the South of Dalemark for Harvest, the feast that celebrated the gathering of crops.
Autumn floods
in the prehistoric Riverlands were as regular as spring floods but never so large. They were due to the rains that fell in the autumn storms.
Autumn storms
were a regular feature in Dalemark. In historic times they reached as far north as Gardale and could be very severe. The worst lasted for days, with the gale swinging from northwest to southwest. With a shorter storm the winds tended to gust even stronger but not veer so much. If the gale was southerly, the storms came repeatedly for several days.
Bad luck
gave rise to many superstitions all over Dalemark. Those which require explanation are:
1. Giving. It was considered disastrously unlucky to give, or promise to give, something and then not give it. This is why Ganner was forced to give Lenina to Clennen and also why he seems to have been certain she would one day come back; he had not incurred bad luck by refusing to give her away.
2. Festivals, feasts, and ceremonies. Enormous bad luck was incurred if anything happened to interrupt these. Note that the Heathens interrupted the One's fire ceremony; that both Mitt and Al interrupted the Sea Festival; and that Fenna interrupted the Midsummer Feast by fainting.
3. A death brought great bad luck and could only be countered by a marriage on the same day. Lenina and Ganner take advantage of this belief.
4. Speaking a falsehood to the Undying brings more bad luck than any of the foregoing.
5. An unlucky person can bring bad luck to others. Gull was considered to be doing this, and Kialan believed he was such a person.
6. A person or group can carry their own cloud of bad luck around with them and nothing will go right for them until the cloud passes away.
Barangarolob,
the full name of the horse that pulled Clennen the Singer's cart. Clennen, who loved long names, named him after the Adon's horse Barangalob, with the inserted superlative particle
ro
meaning “youngest” or “much younger.”
Barlay,
Lawschool slang. “No barlay” means “no quarter given.”
Beat the water,
as part of the Holand Sea Festival in South Dalemark. People pretended to beat the sea with garlands of fruit and flowers. The ancient aim seems to have been to subdue the sea for the following year.
Beer
was drunk throughout the North of Dalemark instead of water, wine, or coffee until near the end of Amil the Great's reign. One of Navis Haddsson's many profitable enterprises was to set up a large brewery in the Shield of Oreth, but the best beer came from Hannart and still does. The lager brewed in Kinghaven is to be avoided at all costs.
Bence,
captain in chief of the fleet of the Holy Islands and commander of the
Wheatsheaf
. Bence was not a Holy Islander. He was born in Wayness in the earldom of Waywold.
Besting,
Lawschool slang for best friend.
Biffa,
pupil at the Gardale Lawschool, a native of Ansdale and best friend of Hildrida Navissdaughter. The name is a shortened pet-name form of Enblith.
Big Shool,
one of the larger of the Holy Islands.
Black Mountains,
the highest range of mountains in prehistoric Dalemark. It is possible, though not certain, that they were thrown higher in the mountain-folding at the start of the reign of King Hern, to become the Black Mountains of historic Dalemark, in which case the name may refer to the large deposits of coal to be found there.
“Both hands cut off⦔
refers to the law of primitive Haligland, whereby any member of the High Lord's (King's) family who was suspected of treason could be legally deprived of both hands, not as a punishment but as a precaution against a threat to the throne.
Bradbrook,
a lordship on the coast of Waywold in South Dalemark.
Brid,
daughter of Clennen the Singer and sister of Moril and Dagner, who fled North with Moril. Soon after her arrival Brid went to Gardale and trained as a law-woman, and thence to a professional appointment in Loviath. After the Great Uprising she became Countess of Hannart and eventually the first head of the Royal Dalemark Academy of Music, which she helped her brother Moril to found.
Bull,
the most usual form in which the Earth Shaker appears. For this reason bulls' heads are carried in the Holand Sea Festival. It is said that the Bull is most frequently seen in the Holy Islands.
Canden,
the younger of two brothers from Waywold in South Dalemark, devoted to freedom fighting. He moved from Waywold to Holand, where conditions were much worse, deliberately to foment rebellion. In Holand he joined the secret society of the Free Holanders and shortly proposed the firing of one of the Earl's warehouses. The older Free Holanders refused and stayed at home, while Canden led the younger ones to the warehouse. There he found that they had been betrayed and that soldiers were waiting for them.
Canderack,
the earldom on the west coast of South Dalemark, where the best wine was grown. Until the reign of Amil the Great, Canderack owned a fleet that rivaled Holand's.
Canderack Head,
south of Canderack Bay, an important landmark for shipping on the South Dalemark coast.
Carne Bank,
a mudbank at the far east of the prehistoric Rivermouth, notorious for quicksands and shallows.
Cenblith,
a queen of prehistoric Dalemark who first took the One for her lover and then bound him to the will of mortals, apparently either by forcing him to make the great River or by carving an image of him.
Cennoreth,
one of the Undying, known in legends as a witch and often called the Weaver. It was said that whatever she wove became truth. She was sister to the legendary King Hern and mother of Manaliabrid, wife of the Adon.
Chindersay,
one of the outer ring of the Holy Islands, notable for the dark color of its rocks.
Cindow,
a village northeast of Markind in South Dalemark.
City of Gold,
King Hern's lost city of Kernsburgh, which gave rise to the saying “The City of Gold is always on the most distant hill,” meaning that your ideal is never
here
, under your hands, but always out over
there
.
Clans,
the tribe families of the Heathens of Haligland. The clans are very large and contain all classes, from aristocrat to lowborn. For instance, Kars Adon and Ked both belonged to Clan Rath, but Kars Adon was King while Ked was lowborn and had no real relation to the royal family.
Clennen Mendakersson,
one of the most famous and characterful of the old-style Singers, a musician, composer, and teller of tales. He married Lenina, niece of the Earl of the South Dales, and was the father of Dagner, Brid, and Moril. He was murdered near Markind in South Dalemark on suspicion of being a spy, and bequeathed to Moril a cwidder with strange powers, which he claimed had been handed down to him from their ancestor Osfameron.
Climbers,
Lawschool slang name for the cloistered court with steps.
Closti the Clam,
father of Tanaqui the weaver and a native of Shelling in the prehistoric Riverlands kingdom of Dalemark. He was called the Clam for his extreme uncommunicativeness, which may have been caused by the early death of his wife, Anoreth, or perhaps by the command of the One. He was killed in the invasion of the Heathen Haliglanders before he could tell his children many very important facts.