Victor Deus (Heritage of the Blood Book 1) (27 page)

Adrian Theromvore was everything you would expect from an infantry general and more. Standing much closer to seven feet than six the Lord General commanded respect simply by being. It has been said frequently, and without much dispute that the man was as broad as an ox. His size belies a speed that is near that of High Commander Cantel. He wields two war-hammers that would be more than enough for most men to use with both hands and still be unseemly. Soldiers often try to find a Dracair scout for their General in order to place bets on how far the thing will fly when hit. At fifty, men steer more clear of him than they did when he was in his twenties, whether it is his reputation, or the look of a campaigner, not many would make him angry on purpose.

Adrian's mother had come from the Stroml'dier in the north and when the blood of the Stroml'dier joined with that of the Theromvore line it made one of the greatest infantrymen the knights have yet to see. He went to take his place beside his wife, High Lieutenant Commander Winterstar-Theromvore, trying to avoid the same public display of affection that his wife had given their daughter. When he was nearly to his position, his wife turned and simply smiled at him, he backed up as if a Magnus Dracanai was charging him, before walking over and giving his daughter, and then his wife a hug. High Commander Cantel bade him bend down, and whispered something in his ear that made him smile and chuckle before taking his place to the right of his wife.

Rigel North can only be described as average, of average height, average strength, and average presence. He achieved his position through cunning tactics and the respect of his fellow cavalrymen. The kind of man who could get lost in a crowd, his black hair is cut just short enough to keep him from being bald, and his hazel eyes reflect a man somewhere between nonchalant and brilliant. One thing that can be said for him though, he can ride a Cradium lizard like he was born to it. When the thirty six year old cavalryman stepped beside Adrian Theromvore, it was easy to forget he was there.

The last man of the procession was Abe Swiftflow. Everyone knew that Abe had been a pirate before the King enlisted him into the navy, and it was only mildly surprising to see how quickly he rose through the ranks. A hair above six feet his light brown hair was put back in a ponytail and his sea blue eyes reflected the element he is most comfortable in. He is a swarthy fellow showing his time at sea who walked with a gait of confidence that came only from manning a ship and facing death from forces most mortals can't control. The swagger that came with it was all Abe. That was one of the only faults that people found with him surprisingly, but his cockiness stemmed from the knowledge that he was the best at what he did, and he did it with a great deal of skill. Rumors abound say that he is one of those rare individuals that can control the element to which they are akin, some call them warlocks, but in his case, they refer to him as a sea Mage. He swaggered up to his position to the right of Rigel North and grinned broadly.

When Admiral Swiftflow took his position the King looked about ready to speak, but before he could,Adrian grabbed the handles protruding from his back and pulled out his hammers. Those near him pulled back to give him berth and he took a step back to give his massive weapons the space they would need. He began juggling the weapons from one hand to another, and after he got the rhythm down Victor was thoroughly impressed. As soon as he seemed comfortable with the rhythm the High Commander Stewart Cantel pulled one shortsword out, and in the blink of an eye and tossed it into the fray, and without a hitch it joined the hammers in their revolutions. A moment later Cantel pulled his other shortsword and threw it into the mix. Now Adrian was juggling his two massive warhammers and two shortswords grabbing the hilt of each as they spun with expert precision. Abe made a low whistling noise and The Lord General nodded to the man a moment before the Admiral's curved cutlass joined the display in a gasp of approval and applause from the audience and even that of the royal family and the Mages. Without slowing or changing rhythm Adrian threw first one sword then the other back to Stewart Cantel, then he threw Abe his cutlass in what seemed to be the same motion that his hammers disappeared into their positons behind his back.

“Showoff” muttered Dodrick in a tone loud enough to be heard by all those around but still seemingly a whisper. The dwarf and the large General exchanged a glance and broke into laughter setting a festive mood for the event.

When the laughter had died down a bit the chatter started up. The announcer started up the steps to stop the noise when Lagelion held up his hand forestalling the man who bristled indignantly. Lagelion then walked over to General Theromvore and whispered in his ear and then walked back to his position. Victor wasn't sure what was about to happen, but he knew it would probably be entertaining.

“Attention!” Barked the General, his tone conveying the fact that he expected to be obeyed. The effect was as it should be in a city where everyone trains with the knights at one time or another. Everyone went silent, ridged, and Victor noted that quite a few lines had appeared amongst the crowd where there had only been a milling mass moments before. Adrian Theromvore nodded with a smile of approval, and looked back to Lagelion to acknowledge him as speaker.

“Lords and Ladies, there will be plenty of time to converse in the hours to come. I would request your attention for the minutes to come to be directed towards the King, and the Council of the Protectorate.” His voice also seemed well suited to giving orders, but he was able to do it in a way that made them more of a request, as opposed to the General's tone that had been a requirement. Lagelion Daystar then turned to his King and bowed respectfully acknowledging him as the new speaker. “My Lord.”

“Thank you Lagelion.” Theodrik had never lost his composure throughout everything that happened as expected of the King, but now his stoic features broke out into a grin. “Citizens of Terrazil, Another year has come and gone yet we see, we hear, and we act.” This brought a rousing applause from the citizens of Safeharbor that knew he was referring to the advice handed down from Dalton Theromvore to future Kings, and citizens of the city. As the King looked around the room Victor noticed that his grin turn into more of a mischievous grin than a cheerful one somewhere in the process. “There is one matter however that needs to be resolved before I can continue with my speech.” This started the murmurs up again, no matter what scowls the General gave in people's directions.

Theodrik Theromvore the second turned his head downward towards the people at the bottom of the stairs, and Victor gulped at having the King's attention so close at hand. “Cousin, you have been away from us for far too long. You have always had a place among us, and it has been empty too long. More than that though I need your advice now more than ever. Come, join your family, join your comrades, and more importantly, join your friends.” Victor just figured out who the King was looking at when he felt Nim's hand come to rest on his shoulder. Theodrik Theromvore held out his hand towards Nim and motioned him forward. “Some of you may know him as Nim Mithriannil, but most do not know that his given name at birth was Nimus Theromvore son of my aunt Natalia Theromvore who later married a wealthy merchant named Pierre Mithriannil.” Nim's hand involuntarily clenched as the King let this knowledge become public, in fact it was information that Nim had never given to Victor either. He didn't like not knowing things, as Nim reminded him often, it's the information that you didn't get that can get you killed.

One instant he had been standing amongst the crowd at the bottom of the steps the next he found himself being pushed up the steps by the pressure on his shoulder. Every head in the room turned to the two figures climbing the stairs, and Victor was sure, most of the eyes were not on his companion. Keeping his head straight, and his wits sharp Victor matched Nim's pace up the stairs so that he wasn't being pushed along by Nim in a disgraceful manner. Victor was glad when Nim removed his hand from his shoulder when they were about halfway up the stairs, because it said that Nim trusted him to do what was needed to be done without coaching.

“My Lord” Nim said, and Victor bowed in the same manner at the same time as his mentor. “I am honored to have earned your attention.” Victor felt himself being summed up by all the eyes in the room, but it was the ones in front of him that weighed the most upon his psyche. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see both the knights and the Mages looking at him, and he could feel the noose tightening around his neck. It was the appraising looks he was getting from the royal family that was making his hair stand on end though. The prince's and the princess seemed to be somewhere between considering him a threat and elation at finding out they had a young child in their family they didn't know about. The Queen had a look of recognition in her eye that Victor couldn't quite place. It was the look he was getting from the Royal Advisors Analya Theromvore and Lagelion Daystar that really confused him though. He couldn't quite place the look in her eye, he thought it was somewhere near hope, which didn't make sense in the least. Lagelion however had a look of worry carefully concealed with his stoic Elven features, but visible to someone who knew what to look for, as Nim had trained Victor to do.

“Come, Join us, we have much to discuss later.”

“Yes, I hope my advice can aid you in the times to come.” Victor knew there was a by-play going on between the two, hinting towards more things that Victor didn't seem to know about. If he wouldn't have been scared to show any emotion in front of any of these people he would have frowned, he almost did in spite of it all. They took their place with the other adviser, and Victor tried to move behind Nim so that he wasn't in plain sight, it wasn't good habit for someone who has made his life as a thief to be visible. Nim's hand coming back down on his shoulder, placing him slightly in front of himself, destroying any hope for Victor's peace of mind.

“Good, now that our assemblage is complete on to the matters at hand. Let it be known that on the Fifteenth day of the Month of Preparation that Theodrik Theromvore the third who is now of an age to command will be given Captainship over the fourth company of the Three Twenty Third.” Acting as if this was the first he had heard of this, Theodrik the third embraced his father and saluted his commanders. The Three Twenty Third was the Third Battalion in the Second Brigade of the Third Division. One of the things the Third Division was known for was reliability, that was probably because that is where most of the soldiers who were getting older got sent. It's said by some that the Third Division is for washed up has-been soldiers, but according to Nim, four out of five soldiers who have been able to walk off a battlefield in the last thousand years have been from the third division. Old soldiers have been in war, they know how to kill, and more importantly they know how to survive while killing. By putting him in charge of one of the companies of the Three Twenty Third the King and the commanders were giving him troops that would follow intelligent orders and would also tell him if he's being an idiot, and not as politely as your supposed to tell an officer such a thing. The most important thing though, is they would keep the prince alive, and would each die before the prince. Victor was nodding to himself when he noticed High Commander Cantel watching him with a knowing smile.

“That is not all of the good news I have about my son though!” The King intoned loudly as to silence the chatter that had once again started up. “I have been in discussions with his Royal Majesty Gertrude Helmenvier of Tien'Dier about a very important matter. Since King Helmenvier's last visit to our wonderful city all my son seems to be able to talk about is his Majesty's second daughter Tara.” At this quiet chuckling broke out amongst the crowd and the prince had enough sense to look embarrassed. “Gertrude also told me that his daughter was similarly infatuated, so we came to an agreement. So, without further ado I would like to introduce my son's betrothed Princess Tara Nichole Helmenvier.”

Excited murmuring broke out amongst the crowd. They had been expecting the announcement, but not the woman herself. The King went over to the princess as she came out the double doors behind them, and brought her to his son's side, joining their hands and raising them high. The crowd cheered and then went back to talking amongst themselves about what this meant for the Protectorate.

Victor knew what to expect based on Nim's short description of the seventeen year old girl, but he was still stuck by the contrast of the princess from most other people in Safeharbor. Instead of the clearly defined sharp features of most of the people on Terroval, she possessed a smoothness that made her almost exotic. Instead of the striking beauty and captivating eyes of the women of Safeharbor, her eyes were calm and intelligence shown through like a beacon. The fact that her eyes couldn't grab on to you and hold you made them more pleasant to look at in Victor's opinion. He knew the draconic heritage that the people of Safeharbor shared was the reason for these differences. He also knew that anyone in this room from the continent of Terroval could snap her in half with little effort, she would have some of the best soldiers in the palace as her guard. It wasn't easy to get an assassin within the walls of the royal palace, but it wasn't unheard of. Should she live past any assassination attempts there is still the problems that could occur during child birth for any mother without Draconic blood. The clerics should be able to control anything that should happen during the time she would carry child, but there was little that could be done during birth. In short Victor thought this would be interesting.

The King held up his hand so the talking would stop again, and motioned for the princess to speak.

“Greetings Citizens of the Protectorate and peoples of Terroval. It pleases me to be here under such circumstances. It is not often one of royal blood is able to be betrothed to someone they care for. I am lucky to have come to this land, and meet his majesty and the other members of the council. I know that I am not of this land so there are differences between us, but I will work studiously to earn your respect.”