The Evudarian Widowers Diary Chapter 28 Log 28: Mans Word, Womans Law Three days has passed since my last entry, but it feels as though eternity has taken a hold on these current events and stripped me of my youth, sanity and grit. The early morning before we came to the salt shore of eastern Ridar, I took a moment to stare at the waters on deck alone. My reflection was not found, but I did search myself. Answers. Questions. The world was too complicated, too political to be so easily solved by war or coercion, too caught up in silent anger. I could blame it on women and say their emotions and need for power caused the mess we currently faced, but man allows what man can live with. If it is allowable, its safe to say it isnt worth fighting for. In that, we are all to blame for the state of things, and I cant point a finger. But I was angry. Knowing what had to be done, I gritted my teeth and sunk to the deck, running my hands through my scalp while gripping handfuls of hair. It was maddening. Peace by force is not the kind of king I wished to be, and many have found that, even with the kindest intentions, death does not prove noble points well. Before I could rise from the following sleep, I felt the soft touch of Ravyn on my back and suddenly it was all okay. She had no words to give, and none were needed for her warmth to my skin calmed every cell I was made of. Even the bumps that grew for cold evened out on my arms, and I let her take me to lay with her. And Livyah. At nautical dawn we exited the boat, having Valentia take the lead. Id only heard of Ridar before this so I let her take us inland to parts unknown. My brothers, except Caelyn, brought up the rear while Livyah and Ravyn walked by my side, Caelyn next to his woman. No one spoke as we walked for half the day through the roughest sand Id ever felt. It was like a gritty dirt that attacked the feet as one trudged along, making every step worse than the last. By the time we reached our destination, we were covered in sweat. I say destination, but what we ended up staring at was a large tube that opened up in the middle of the ground. Im sorry, what is that? Amáde asked, running up to my side. A magtube. It has a completely frictionless surface and makes travel convenient. The Hamersians built us a series of them millennia ago when our people aided them in the Great Fallout. Its the last good thing anyone has done for us... Valentia said, walking up to it, waving her hand to the opening. The tube shifted and turned, looking more like fluid than glass. After a moment we heard a hum and Valentia took Caelyns hand with a smile, leaning past his body to address back to the rest of us. We must hold hands to travel through. If we dont, the trip could become uncomfortable, she finished, waiting for us all to join together. Raven took my left hand with Livyah on my right, and I was immediately uncomfortable with a sinking feeling of being trapped. Let me pause this. As I am writing this, I am being terrorized by... Okay, I have been urged to say that it was my choice to stand where I stood, hold hands and look where I looked. I dont know why this is so important but Ive been asked to write it down. So, as I was explaining, we joined hands and entered the tube, a slight invisible current pulling us forward with increasing speed. We began to move with terrible speed and I felt at any time we would be separated and thrown from this tube. The only real danger that I felt was the proximity of two women that wanted me more than anything. We exited the other side so quickly that most of us stumbled upon meeting the gravel. At the edge of the tube was a walkway that snaked around a large yellow tree to the gates of a wall covered in scales. Valentia explained it as we approached. The bones and scales of the Fire Lords make up the walls along with melted and mixed earth. Unable to be burned, nearly impossible to break, this wall has protected us for countless generations. It... She began to say, then stopped with her hands up to her sides as a group of men came rushing up through a small door, being led by a woman so large I could not help but to stare. Her chest was wrapped in a grey cloth while a broadsword taller than myself peeked from the bottom of a long, dusty skirt. She wore several piercings that lined her ears, nose and eyes, not taking away from the single sleeve of dragon tattoos that covered her right arm. Mammoth arms like thighs of butchers sat awkwardly at her side, unable to be flush with the rest of her. And even with all of that, she managed to have long hair, golden eyes and a strong, yet beautiful face. And a mans voice. What are your last words outsi... The stranger began to protest, seeing Valentia and suddenly beaming. My True Sister! Avix, youve gone soft havent you? I expected to meet arrows before seeing the guard. No matter, please, meet my promised one, Caelyn, and his family. Valentia said, holding in a laugh as Avix embraced each of us individually, bones cracking in the wake of her hold. After the last hug we were brought to the door, giving pause as the men vetted her presence and lifted the gate. Dust again fell off turning wheels and as the door opened, Valentia turned her head to me. Our men here are no hand servant. We arent so dull as to see their capabilities wane as the soft women of Evudaria, she said, her smile splitting her face as she lingered her face towards mine. My mother was soft. Before she died she could take out four men with one arrow, cook their catch and rock my cradle in three fluid motions. If my father took to drink she could bring him home on a thunderous night, pick up silk from a trader and teach me about the spirit with only a laugh and good nature to move her hands to purpose. The women you speak of are as sharp as a novaknife through a soft breeze. Ridar women must be... I started, realizing where I was. Id talked myself past the entrance, several guards, some informal introduction and into a room that looked like a house with a metal floor and stained windows. I was speaking to a hall of women and my brothers were gone. A soft fire went on in the corner, a seeming waste in a land so warm, but the room in all of its metal seemed to envelop an indescribable cool that made the flames welcome. Women sat around in a low murmur, speaking to each other indistinctly when I coughed, gaining their attention. One woman with the front half of her head shaved, rings coming from most of her face and tattoos up her neck stood, almost at a near growl. Excuse our conversation, it could not have been important at all, please do speak, soft Evudarian boy, the woman said, the rest of the women rising with a flex in their body that made my eyes rise. I am Brother to Caelyn who is engaged to Valentia... I started, the women looking to each other with a laugh. Another woman with a similar hairstyle but half of the piercings and no tattoos came to me and hugged me till I was breathless. You are the Antik our true sister speaks of! We are all her sisters, absent a few of course that are doing their duties. We will excuse your rudeness of course. Children do not know when to speak, she said, her deep voice resounding with the others in a laugh as I tried to give my most disarming smile as they took turns squeezing the life out of me. After I had been passed around, the door to the room opened and I turned to see Miss Lifarak walk in, her arms behind her back with a regal nature that did not match the roughness of her shoulders of the muscles it hid. Her most disarming stance was, at its least, aggressive. She was accompanied with Miss Darlin, the other Stateswoman who seemed to be even more upset than the former. Antik, the King who says he is not, Miss Lifarak laughed, walking up my toes with an ease of an executioner knowing which way the blade pointed. Darlin and I were just discussing how laughable your claim to our army was. Id heard from the waters so many stories of the Rogue Nation of Ridar riding under your banner. Treachery and treason are hard to whisper boy, and these thoughts arent some echo coming from one and spreading around. These are thoughts of many, given life and breath every time they meet and creating a new energy that we believe have to be coming from the head of a rising Dragon. Darlin walked behind me and placed her hands on my back, letting me know just how surrounded I was. Her voice crackled low as she spoke angrily. We have volcanoes here in Ridar, and all manners of fire spitting beasts. Our defeated dragons make the impenetrable walls of our kingdom, larger than the three other lands combined. To believe we would bow our heads to you even if you were made of scales and had the size of a true Drake... Beyond foolish, boy, she said, poking my lower back with what I assumed was her personal blade. I had to diffuse the situation. Its difficult to think I would think anything but highly of women so powerful and full of tact. I came here solely to find a woman to promise myself to. This world is hard... I have no need for the tongue of a Forsii damsel or the ingenuity of a Hamersian tinkerer. I was already marked by an Evudarian woman who was supposed to... I started, the women all rounding on me. Are you meaning to tell me you wish to marry a Ridarian woman?! One of the other sisters said, all the women laughing in unison. My face was hard. I need a real woman by my side when the Aushlandirs cross from beyond the darkness, I said, the room going quiet. Each woman looked to each other before the sisters lined up, the ones without daggers on their chest stepping forward. I looked to Miss Lifarak. Who is the strongest and least agreeable woman in Ridar, other than anyone in this room? I asked, crossing my arms on my chest. She looked to Miss Darlin as she giggled, rounding my body to look in my eyes with a softness that made me shiver. That would be my daughter, Hilaria. She would destroy you upon mentioning marriage, she smiled, enjoying that Id ask about her. This was the moment. Id worked through every possible scenario in the future, and after hearing what Livyah said, the rest of the formula was there. I was to marry someone else, so the only way to keep peace was to marry into it. Not only would my marriage to the daughter of a Stateswoman almost assure an uprising would not happen, but marrying the hardest woman in their culture would inspire a respect that they could possibly rally behind. Marrying the most impossible, man-hating, brutish woman would put all doubts to rest. It was the best, most horrible idea ever and it had to work. Then with your permission I would love to speak with your daughter, I asked, the room looking around in confusion. You mean, you wish to fight her? Miss Lifarak said, my face now a puzzle. Fight? Why would I fight the daughter of a Stateswoman? I asked, the room looking to each other before returning their gaze on me. Darlin pointed to the wall, showing a longsword sitting there with strange etchings on it. My Daughter is not known by Hilaria. She has a more infamous nickname: Jakallor Bvet, or as it is said commonly, Murderer of Men. And the only way you could hope to gain her favor is to beat her in combat. Thats the Ridarian Way, she said through a smile, my worries compounding. *** I was given an extra day of rest as I waited for Hilaria to be summoned from the far away lands to meet me in order to slay a man who asked for her hand or be my wife. I lay here alone writing these words with heavy breaths. I can only think of my potential impending death and how I am supposed to marry three women that will probably never agree with each other. I give myself pause to enjoy my lonesome that, if all goes to fruition, will never happen again. May the Spirit give me understanding in this most perilous and awesome time. King Antik Aruway, Dagger Brother 19007, Marche, Day 25
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:40:30 +0000
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