A Stolen Crown, page 27
Carlis nodded. The Aghlar way of dealing with family seemed to have developed from the seafaring culture, where the most valued work, being that of a sailor on one of the many ships, was also the most dangerous, and always with the chance of dying in a battle or a shipwreck. There was a kind of pragmatism to it all and it was starting to make sense to him but he figured it would still take a while before he got a handle on all of it. At least, now he better understood why Elaine was so prickly about socializing at Aghlar. He chuckled to himself when he thought of how the duchess would react to being propositioned by the open and permissive Aghlar men. At least now, he would not feel totally obliged to draw his sword at what might otherwise seem to be inappropriate comments from people they met.
“Thank you Sten,” Carlis told the first mate who nodded and bid him goodbye, seeming all too glad to return to his duties.
Carlis watched as Ehlena emerged from the main cabin of the Al-andor where she had been visiting her aunt. She stepped lightly across the deck, saying hello to members of the crew as she passed and then disappeared into the shipyard, likely on her way back to the palace to visit her father. As much as Matthius had been the girl’s father in a practical sense, she seemed happy to be developing a relationship with the Aghlar king. Carlis was glad that she was happy and chuckled to himself about his own parental feelings toward her and he wondered, if he ever did finally convince Elaine to marry him, whether she would want to have children.
*****
In a temple that was nearly identical to its neglected counterpart in Maramyr, Ehlena walked naked down the aisle between the rows of faithful worshipers. She was unafraid and unashamed as this was the custom in the temple of the Lady Goddess. In her hands, she held a beautiful flower, the flower of the Lady.
Unlike it’s Maramyrian cousin that had fallen into disuse, the temple of the Lady at Aghlar was regularly visited by the faithful who honored the goddess who they believed would bless them with a prosperous life and good fortune. They prayed for good returns for the fishing fleet and safe travels for the many ships that ran cargo in the trade between Aghlar and its other coastal neighbors. Those who stayed at home while others went to sea prayed for the safety of their loved ones and that they be returned in good health. Young couples prayed for strong children and asked the Lady to protect them. The Lady Goddess was life and she granted luck and peace.
Now, as Ehlena walked through the temple in ceremony to the Lady, the faithful pinned their hopes on the young woman who had returned to Aghlar and was revealed the true daughter of their king. They hoped that the Lady, in her wisdom, would approve of this newest priestess and in honor of her commitment, grace all of Aghlar with her blessings.
Ehlena too hoped that the Lady would accept her as one of the devoted. Her own mother had once been the high priestess and would be still had a wasting sickness not stolen her life. That the representative of the goddess of life had died so young, was something that was seen as a bad omen by the superstitious Aghlar and though it had been more than a year since Ehlena’s mother had died, some whispered that Ehlena might not make a good candidate for priestess. Still, the Counsel of Priestesses had voted to let Ehlena join their ranks. They had found no fault with her so here she was, standing in the garden temple before the fountain at its center.
In accordance with the tradition of the acceptance ceremony, Ehlena raised her hands and held the flower out over the pool. She would pluck one petal from the flower, symbolic of her own offering, and let it float into the pool, among the others. Gently, Ehlena picked a petal from the flower and held it up to the fountain. All in the temple were silent as Ehlena let the petal fall from her fingertips. They watched as the small white piece floated like a feather toward the water. Everyone in the temple was astonished when Ehlena vanished, leaving only the petal behind.
Ehlena did not know at first what had happened. She still stood before the pool and the fountain and she still held the flower in her hand, but the petal she had dropped was gone and so was the rest of the temple. Instead, Ehlena stood in a beautiful garden that expanded beyond the scope of her vision.
“Hello,” a warm and friendly voice said behind her. Ehlena turned and saw no one. She knew that during the ceremony, no one was supposed to speak, but she also realized that she was no longer in the temple.
“Who is there?” she asked. The voice laughed.
“Who?” she heard. Ehlena’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Yes. Who are you?” she asked.
“Who are you?” the voice replied, and Ehlena thought she heard a giggle.
“Please, where am I? What is this place?” Ehlena asked, beginning to worry. She felt a strange sense of urgency overcome her and she struggled to keep her calm. It was odd that she should feel this way in such a place of peace, but she did and she was beginning to feel upset.
“You are home,” the voice said, after a moment.
“Home?” Ehlena said, more to herself than anyone.
“Yes, home,” the voice answered anyway.
“Then who are you?” she asked again.
“I am I, I am you, and you are me,” the voice said and Ehlena thought she could see a figure shimmering somewhere in the periphery of her vision. Ehlena was about to ask it another question when the voice spoke again. “I accept your offering,” the voice told her and with a blinding flash, the garden disappeared and Ehlena reappeared in the temple of the Lady, where she had stood only moments ago.
In amazement, the congregation in the temple saw the girl, Ehlena, the newest candidate for Priestess, reappear with a flash. Those who sat close to the front of the temple would swear that something about the Aghlar princess had changed. There was a glow about her, a radiance that was almost a warmth that some thought they could feel. Those who were closer still noticed that Ehlena was no longer completely unclothed and unadorned. She had reappeared with a ring on her finger. It was a simple ring, but it was made of that most precious metal, silvergold, something that could only have been a gift from the gods.
Ehlena looked at the other priestesses who smiled warmly at her, so pleased that the Lady had shown them all a miracle, if they did not yet know what it was. She turned and looked out among the people who looked at her in wonder, feeling the warmth and light of her gaze. They saw her smile at them and felt true joy in their hearts then, with a sigh, Ehlena vanished again, this time for good.
Ehlena reappeared out in the city near the harbor and walked barefoot through the muddy streets, either unaware or unconcerned that she was still unclothed. All she knew was that she needed a ship and she was headed to where she knew she would find one that would take her where she needed to go. She continued toward the main pier and people respectfully moved out of her way. They could see and feel the radiance that surrounded the beautiful princess and knew that something wonderful was happening. Somehow though, when Ehlena had passed from their view, none of the people could recall exactly what they had just seen. The moment of euphoria had left them without any memory of what had caused it, but all of them would walk more lightly that day and for several to come.
After only a short walk, Ehlena reached the Al-andor and walked calmly up the gangplank to stand atop the deck. All hands turned to see the princess, who they by now recognized, and knew that they were to set sail. They turned to their tasks and began readying the great ship to leave port. Sten was just coming up from inspecting supplies that were stored belowdecks when he saw Ehlena standing naked among the bustle of the ship.
“Ehlena,” he called. She did not turn. Sten walked across the deck towards her, trying politely not to stare at her body which, still infused with the magic of what had happened at the temple, radiated beauty and lush perfection. “Princess.” He called and Ehlena turned. He was glad when she smiled but just as the ship’s first mate reached her, the young princess collapsed into Sten’s strong, burly arms.
Ignored by the crew who strangely continued their tasks, Sten picked up the girl who now looked more young and innocent than he could ever remember her being and, like a concerned father, he carried her gently over to main cabin where he could put her to bed while he set about finding out what was going on. Moments later, Sten re-emerged on deck and seized the nearest sailor, a tough and weathered woman by the name of Rika, by the shirtsleeve.
“What’s going on?” he asked. Rika gave him a confused look.
“We’re readying to sail, of course,” she told him. Sten stared her in the eye.
“Who gave the order to set sail?” Sten asked. Rika squinted back at him, unsure why the first mate was asking such ridiculous questions.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Who gave the order?” Sten repeated.
“The Lady,” Rika said then turned and walked away. Confused, Sten walked around the ship and asked a few more of the sailors and got the same answer every time. Though he knew that something strange was going on and that the Al-andor was not supposed to sail without Carlis, her rightful captain, Sten also felt that somehow the crew were doing what they were supposed to and he began running through his own checklist of things to do before disembarking.
Before long, the Al-andor cleared the harbor and was well out to sea before anyone even thought to ask where they were going
*****
Carlis had regretted not making it back in time to Aghlar to see Ehlena’s acceptance ceremony in the temple of the Lady. He regretted it more when he returned to discover that not only had the ceremony been one of strange miracles, but that after disappearing from the temple, Ehlena had reappeared on his ship, the Al-andor which had sailed to no one knows where.
King Toren had convinced Carlis several days earlier, to accompany him on a whale hunt, an adventure that Carlis likened to being invited by a land-bound king to come hunt in the royal forests. They had gone out to sea and sailed northwest along the Aghlar coast to where the whales would often be found. A true adventure, they had sailed past a number of rocky and forested islands and seen some true sailing weather. The seas had been high but not dangerously so and King Toren’s own ship the Al-dea had sailed swiftly across the swells and waves toward the whaling grounds.
Exploring the seas up along the northern coast had been fascinating enough for Carlis, but when they had caught sight of whale’s breaking surface, the former magistrate had been completely enthralled. The ship sailed up along side the giant sea creatures that looked like the hulls of ships turned upside down as they lazed along the surface of the deep waters. Their massive tails would occasionally break and slap the surface in a display that Carlis thought to be miraculous. He wished that Elaine had accompanied them but she had begged off, admitting that she was not comfortable out on the open seas. Still, Carlis thought, even if she feared the sea, the sight of these great and magnificent creatures was completely worth the rattled nerves it took to get to them.
Toren was glad that his guest had enjoyed himself and even tolerated Carlis’ brief objections when the Aghlar king had given the order to fire the giant harpoon at one of the giant creatures of the sea. When Toren explained how many whales there were in the ocean and that his people only took a few each year, Carlis seemed more comforted, though the sight of the whale as they pulled it’s dying body along side the ship to be slaughtered, made the Marmyrian somewhat uncomfortable. Toren did not tell Carlis that, though the Aghlar’s did not abuse the whale population, there were others who spent every waking moment trying to kill the great creatures just so they could harvest certain delicate parts of their anatomy. Those killers were the pirates that Toren and his people patrolled the waters against and they, along with the Adrans, another sea-faring land to the southeast were responsible for the declining numbers of whales in the ocean.
Still, there were plenty of whales still swimming the waters near Aghlar and Toren marked it a good omen that they could come back to port with full stores of the important whale fat and the oils that could be used for making all manner of items. The size of the whale they had managed to catch was much larger than normal and the task of butchering it and storing its meat added several extra days to their trip.
They returned to Aghlar to a frantically worried Elaine and to widespread gossip that the Lady had taken the princess Ehlena into paradise. Those rumors were being corrected by the people who now remembered having seen Ehlena walking toward the shipyards and the stories were further supported that she had boarded the Al-andor and disappeared from port with its crew. Many speculated that Ehlena was on some holy mission, while others sent messages to the palace, asking whether there was anything they could do to assist the princess on her mission.
Toren, faced with so many messages and questions, was unsure how to respond. Carlis was more concerned that Ehlena had disappeared without telling anyone where she was going, than he was concerned about his ship. He was also irritated that the crew would also have gone without leaving him any kind of word and he wondered just how much they respected his orders. He decided he would take a firmer hand as Captain when he boarded the other great-ship, the Al-sea, the sea-princess and set out in search of his unofficially adopted niece.
Toren also sailed in search of Ehlena and the Al-andor, as did several other great ships from Aghlar. While many were awestruck by what had happened at the temple, most of the Aghlars were now concerned for the safety of their new priestess. There had been news that the pirates from Meer Island had recently stepped up their raids and their attacks on Aghlar ships. They hoped that Ehlena would not run into trouble with the ruffian sea-bandits. Still, they took some comfort that Ehlena had sailed on the Al-andor, which was perhaps the fastest ship in Aghlar and it was also equipped with a full compliment of cannons and crewed by some of the best sailors in Aghlar.
*****
Having a fast and heavily armed ship with an able crew was one thing, but Sten was concerned about the fact that the Al-Andor had left port without a proper supply of the precious black powder that made the cannons work. They were also short on fresh water having not had the chance to resupply due to the need for haste, which meant that they now had no choice but to resupply at their destination of Meer Island. He grimaced at the thought of approaching the pirate’s den without any real ability to do battle; they were defenceless and ill prepared for what lay ahead.
“I just don’t get why we’re sailin’ right smack into trouble princess!” Sten protested. When Ehlena had finally awoke from her dazed sleep, the crew had also come to, regaining whatever will and freedom had been subdued when Ehlena had first boarded. The crew continued with their duties, but now many of them were asking the same question or why they were headed toward obvious trouble. Ehlena sipped some more water from the covers of the bed.
“Sten.” She looked at him gravely. “I don’t know why we are going to the pirate island, but I do know that the Lady wants us to go there. I am sure it will become more clear when we get there.”
Sten was not entirely convinced, though it did matter to him that the Lady had actually, in a sense, appeared and taken an active hand in the matters of the world. It had been generations since anyone had experienced a miracle of this kind.
“And the Lady herself told you that we have to go there?” he asked, just trying to understand what had happened. Unfortunately, Ehlena herself did not understand what had happened when the Lady had touched her.
“I don’t know,” she told him. “But I do know that it is important, or the Lady would not have acted so directly. There is something I must do there. Do not worry, Sten. The Lady will protect us and the Al-andor. She would not send us to our deaths,” Ehlena reassured the first mate who nodded in agreement, seeing a faint light in her eyes. Sten too saw the light and felt his spirits lift as he felt the power of the Lady Goddess.
“No. The Lady most certainly would not do such a thing,” Sten agreed, but he noticed some ominous looking dark clouds appearing in the sky far to the northeast, which tempered the feelings of inspiration and courage he had felt from Ehlena.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Carly and Aaron, along with the complaining pirate, Malek, made their way down the river to a small port town on the coast where they had resupplied Malek's small ship and, with favorable winds, they set out to sea. Leaning against the rail at the bow, looking out over the gently rolling waves, Carly realized how much she had missed the ocean. It had been a long time since she had felt the sway of a ship and the fine spray of salt mist in the air and it brought back memories, of a different life, one she had not expected to see again and here she was, sailing right back into the middle of it all; their heading, Maer Island.
They were lucky with the weather for the first few days at sea, with a good, strong breeze and clear skies. Aaron had suffered a little at first, having never been aboard a ship at sea, which was very different from floating along the river, and the effects of seasickness were worse on Malek's small ship than they would have been on a bigger vessel, but Carly was not surprised when the mysterious young swordsman finally managed to get his sea legs. She was pleased that Aaron was also learning about sailing the ship and had made himself useful, helping Malek, which meant Carly could have a few moments to herself.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel the gentle crash of the ship as it rode up and down the waves, cutting through the water. It was a natural rhythm and one she knew well, like a heartbeat that she felt in the core of her being, powerful and relentless, like life itself, she mused, forever changing. As the memories of the sea flooded through her, Carly felt something change, like a scent on the wind or a chill in the air; something was different. She opened her eyes and turned around to see a dark cloud growing in the sky, far behind them, but something about it seemed unnatural.
