The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (14 page)

Though they were mostly referred to as Brothers of the Blood, some had taken to calling them the Brothers of Sordrian. Not about to quibble over their title, Philip answered with what he knew. "There isn't much that I have found so far. I've been to the temple watching and listening, but I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to speak about the fires in the open.

"I've watched these brothers at work and to the eye they seem to simply be an order working to help others for whatever reason."

"Whatever reason?" Orlaan interrupted at the choice of words.

"Playing a poor penitent, I can't say that they have worked to teach me any of why they do the things they do. Typically a religion teaches a doctrine and their god tells them what to do. Usually there is a reason for it."

The king frowned slightly and moved to sit as they talked. "The old gods are mostly voiced and called upon only when someone hopes to get something out of them in exchange. This Sordrian has been called the god of weather. Don't the farmers need him to help their crops or something? Maybe even sailors would worship him to pray for safe travels with good weather."

Philip nodded. "True, but then there is the call to help the unfortunate. While it can be called noble, it doesn't fit into their god's description."

"You're half elven. Does that mean you follow some other gods, Philip? You don't sound overly convinced of their beliefs."

"Different groups of elves call upon different gods to an extent. The only one that seems to hold true is the unseen god of gods. I can't say that I am overly religious, but then again some of that comes from my father. A wizard has a hard time believing that these other gods were real when he can manipulate the world with his magic and he is a virtual immortal.

"But we've gotten distracted from the point, I think, sire," Philip changed the subject back to the initial question of information. "I have learned a few things, even if they may not seem directly connected to the fires."

"Oh, and what are these things?"

"Their leader Caldrefan seems to have left the city recently. If he had something to do with the fires and the push to have these brothers calling for your removal, perhaps with him gone there is no one continuing that charge. Without a leader, his disciples might simply be waiting for the next wave of orders."

Giving a grunt that signaled his distaste for another wave of trouble, Orlaan replied, "So we wait to see if someone tries something once more. If we watch for their leader and his return coincides with more attacks..."

"Then we have a stronger relationship between the brothers and the troubles happening in Yalan."

The king nodded.

"Has Lord Denefar's men discovered anything?" Philip wondered aloud. He knew little of the spy networks of the king's other advisor. It was a distasteful branch to think about for the businessman. Though he knew some parts of business could lead to using less reputable types, Philip had done his best to remain above such things. He was known for his straightforward way of dealing with people, but Orlaan knew that his nephew was also very clever and capable of undermining other men's deceptions in other ways. That was why he was the Master of Coin when other men could have been chosen, ones even of Malaiyan royal blood instead of one married into the family.

"He updates me occasionally, but his men don't seem to be finding much more than you have. Investigators have looked through the wreckage of the burned buildings. At least one of those found in the fire appeared to have been struck a killing blow. It hasn't been determined whether the injury could have been caused by falling timbers thanks to the remains being burned so badly.

"Denefar told me that he sent a pair of men to try and follow Caldrefan's party, however. Since they have been watching the temple also, their leader's leaving spurred the lord to have him followed. He took a ship heading east. As best they could tell, the brothers are headed towards Daria in Tseult, but have stops along the way."

"Daria? That city has a bit of a reputation," Philip nodded before settling his chin onto his right fist contemplatively as his elbow rested on his left arm crossing his stomach. "My ship captains have told me that it seems less like a Tseulty city than a separate entity altogether. Tariffs and dealings with the local government are handled quite differently from western Tseult and the capitol, Tristan.

"If Caldrefan has ties to Daria, perhaps that has something to do with it. I have never thought to ask my men if there was a temple to Sordrian there. If it is older than the temple in Yalan, the brothers might have found a way to undermine King Tylus so far from his capitol city."

Letting out a sigh, Orlaan aired his worry saying, "If this brotherhood has its roots outside of Malaiy, questioning Tseult's king about it is unlikely to be easy."

"Maybe Princess Deeanne could help?" Philip offered speaking of the woman married to the second son of the king. The princess was the daughter of the Tseulty king and might be able to broach a difficult subject for the two kings.

"I will have Lord Denefar check on the matter delicately first. There is no reason to start agitating King Tylus with questions that he might believe question his rule."

There was little more that Philip could tell his king and much rested on the men Lord Denefar had trying to follow the leader of the temple in Yalan. Though an advisor to Orlaan; Philip had less to do with political matters of that sort so he could only offer so much advice and only if it was requested.

"So how is my niece doing with so many of her children leaving the nest?" Orlaan finally chose to break from the matters of the brotherhood and changed the subject.

Feeling a bit of a weight lifted from him, Philip smiled and said, "As far as I can tell, Serafene is handling it well enough. When Alexander married and took his position in Patris, it hit her that her children were growing up on her. Now Alicia is looking for a proper suitor and plans to go wherever you decree after she turns twenty-five as well.

"Our baby is on her way to Southwall, but at least with Annalicia we have been dealing with her as a wizard. That separation is inevitable, but Anna still lives with us keeping her around for a little while longer."

Orlaan chuckled and explained why as he offered, "I'm not sure how Murietta would take such a thing. There is plenty of room for our children to have families and still not be falling over each other."

"The castle is also safer for keeping an eye on your heirs," Philip quipped, but noticed the slight frown from his uncle.

"It is just how our family has been doing this for centuries. At least that is how I can excuse it. In truth, I enjoy keeping my sons around. Not every king can say that he actually likes his children."

"Some fear that they will have a child who wants his power before he is ready to give it up," Philip noted with a nod. Power struggles within royal families were quite common. It was the basis of the change in families for Malaiy's line even.

"I am lucky that the boys have never seemed overly concerned with taking power. Wylaan will come after me and Jeremiah appears supportive of his brother."

The men continued to talk of such things leaving the Brothers of the Blood off the table for the remainder of the hour. Philip left his uncle having talked of their families and catching up without speaking of the worries that had brought them together again. There would be more meetings in the future, but for now they were just two members of a family talking of unimportant things to others, though they meant enough to the fathers of their children.

Chapter 8- City of Snow and Ice

The sound of harbor bells and crashing waves carried to the girl as she stepped from the heated rooms of the ship onto the deck of the Sea Dragon. Her clothing looked thin to the casual eye, but Annalicia was reasonably comfortable despite the cold. Dressed in layers of blue and silver, the lady of Malaiy looked less like a wizard than the royal niece to the king.

Her eyes looked to the west and Anna found a city built at the base of a tall cliff. The harbor encircled them so perfectly that she wasn't surprised when later she heard that some of it was manmade. Magic had made it better than it had been a couple hundred years ago. It had been necessary after the Cataclysm.

Such a title for an event might seem too strong, but magic from another world had torn its way into Alus and created earthquakes and tidal waves that had affected North continent drastically. The waves and changing topography had been so great that Annalicia could find maps of Malaiy, over a thousand miles away from the epicenter, and see how their shore line had been changed as well.

Dozens of ships were tied to the docks extending out into the harbor. More were anchored further out, but they were still within the circling stone sea break for protection. Warehouses and other businesses surrounding the sea trade made up the lower city and Annalicia thought that it was rather large despite the limitations of the encircling walls of stone.

She noted a path running from the lower city up the cliff. Further to the north the walls of Hala, the true capitol of Southwall could be seen in the distance sitting on that rock face. Her angle was such that its white walls with flags waving could barely be seen, but the black stone of the castle keep was virtually invisible.

The city above was their destination from what the girl had been told. Looking at the buildings of the lower city, few were built above three stories; Annalicia wondered if the ancient capitol was more impressive. While quaint, the harbor city felt like the dockyards of Yalan; but in a more drab way.

Roofs covered in white snow were mirrored by other lines of white on the ground and in the stone of the cliffs. As Anna looked to the water leading to the land nearest them, broken ice lifted and fell with the waves telling her of the true cold of the north. Only the temperature required to freeze the salt of the sea water kept the harbor from icing over completely, she guessed. Feeling for the power of magic, the wizard didn't sense any spells directed on the water; but with enough wizards the young woman supposed they could keep the harbor usable despite the cold.

A strong breeze stung her cheeks making the wizard call up a spell with a twirl of her fingers and a few words in an ancient tongue. Air swirled around her bound into a shell and soon her breath would help to heat the air within the invisible barrier. Using air, one of her most comfortable lines of magic, the woman could repel water, snow and cold air; but she wasn't using fire to heat it more. Just keeping the stinging winds at bay made her feel instantly warmer again.

They had been sailing north for weeks and the past few days had begun driving the passengers and sailors below deck frequently thanks to the cold. Her eyes now knew snow in greater amounts than she had ever seen before. From the ship Anna had watched as hundreds of miles of the shoreline seemed coated in ice and covered in snow.

"Why did I let you talk me into coming to a frozen wasteland?" Xerese complained as she followed her cousin into the cold air.

Unlike Annalicia, Xerese was bundled up in a thick coat that reached to her calves. Heavy material from her multilayered dress of rich brown peeked out from the bottom of the coat. A little over an inch from the ground, brown boots with fur linings peeked from beneath the hem as she walked. Both the coat and boots had been purchased a few days ago from one of Southwall's cities for her, since Xerese had been complaining about the cold since the Sea Dragon had started up the east coast.

Reaching out with her hand, Annalicia pulled her cousin into the protection of the air shield and replied, "I don't recall begging you at all. I simply told you that Uncle Orlaan and the wizard's guild had chosen me to go to this Winter's Edge wizards' tournament.

"I believe it was you who asked me if you could come along to keep me company. You were tired of your mother trying to arrange a marriage for you back home, so you thought that this would be a great excuse to get away from Malaiy."

"Don't try throwing my words back in my face," Xerese replied trying not to smile or laugh. She wanted Annalicia to know that she was cold and miserable. Laughing would imply that the protection of the air shield was enough against this northern winter.

The dark haired girl looked to the lower city sheltered beneath the cliff side and frowned. "I expected more. Hala doesn't look like much more than a seaside town. The outer districts of Yalan are at least as large and much less dreary. There are just black stone cliffs and buildings which are almost as drab in color. It isn't much to look at for a city that called all the world's wizards to compete."

Anna directed her cousin's eyes upwards towards the small portion of white wall exposed above them with her right hand as she held her cousin close with her left. Though she didn't disagree about the buildings on the lower level, the wizard understood that this was hardly the full extent of the capitol of Southwall. Her cousin's mention of the power, or maybe it was just the audacity of this northern king, made her realize that Southwall must be greater than Xerese was thinking. Surely the largest country on North continent had more to show than this simple harbor town.

"After the Cataclysm, Hala's cliffs were raised higher above the North Sea. They also worked to build a wall across the entire south peninsula and still had the time to expand this harbor. This town is Lower Hala, while the bulk of the city is up there."