Authors: Unknown
*Lorraine:
in Krystállina’s time, Lorraine was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Present day Lorraine is one of the twenty-seven regions of France, located in the northeast.
Milano:
capital of the Duchy of Lombardy. Present day Milan, the second largest city in Italy.
[3]
Monacan Territory:
it is unclear if the Monacan were in America when Amihan was there, as the first European records do not show them until May 1607. Presently, there are significant populations of Monacan in Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Amihan’s Monacan family was located somewhere in Virginia.
*Navarre:
in Wintau’s time, Navarre was an independent kingdom in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. In 1513, the southern part of Navarre was conquered by the kingdom of Castilla (later to be
come the kingdom of Spain), while the northern part merged with France in 1620.
*Ostia:
modern day Ostia was not founded until 1884.
[4]
Palace of the Singing Rivers:
Lady Měilìde’s home, in the westernmost reaches of Wài.
*Queensberry:
in Krystállina’s time,
Queensberry was not yet a marquisate, but merely a town in Scotland. At the time of this writing, Queensberry is on its twelfth marquess, David Douglas (born December 19, 1929), who succeeded to the title in 1954.
Roma:
in Krystállina’s time, the capital of the
Papal States. Present day Rome is
the capital of Italy.
*Savoy:
in Krystállina’s time, Savoy was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Present day Savoy is a small area in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.
Śēśa
:
the realm of the dead, which is inaccessible by living humans unless granted special access by the monarch.
[Say-sah]
Les Soeurs de La Parole Éternelle:
a convent in Châteaubriant, Brittany.
Tahanan:
Earth
[Tah-ha-nahn]
Thebes:
the capital
of
Egypt f
or part of the eleventh dynasty and most of the eighteenth. Thebes stands within the modern city of Luxor.
[5]
Thessalonica:
when Krystállina was born, Thessalonica had been a kingdom for four years and was a vassal of the Latin Empire. Thessalonica fell in 1224, but remained a viable royal
holding
until 1320. Thessalonica is presently known as Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece.
*Tiber River:
the Tiber has its source in two springs on Mount Fumaiolo and runs through Italy to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Tiber is the third longest river in Italy.
Tuscano:
the present Tuscan region of Italy. In Amihan’s time, Tuscany was part of the Holy Roman Empire.
*Vienna:
the capital and largest city of Austria.
Wài:
the realm of the gods, which is inaccessible without the assistance of a deity or demi-deity. [Why]
Wyndham Gardens:
domain of Lady Lindele, in the northernmost reaches of Wài.
The Temple of the Elder Gods
1225 C.E.
Summe
r
“I
told
you we were not to be disturbed!”
“I beg Your pardon, O great Lord of Lords, but I thought that You would wish to know that Prince Amihan has answered Your summons.”
There was an indistinguishable noise, and then:
“Bring the best wine. The one I have been saving.”
“Your father is ready to see You.” The servant threw the young Thunder God a cursory bow on his way out of the Council Chamber.
“Amihan!” The Elder God of Wind rose to his feet, but the Prince raised a staying hand.
“I am not here for your false jollities, Father. I am here to learn what you want of me, and no more.”
“More important, I think, is what you have done to yourself!” The Elder Goddess of Water rose and came over to survey the young god.
“I live among the Monacan,” he replied. “As they worship me, I thought it would be prudent to resemble one of their people.”
“A shame,” said
Měilìde. “You were always a handsome picture of your father.”
“I am afraid you will have to leave your monkeys—”
“The Monacan are
human
, Father! They live in a country that—all of you willing—will not be discovered by the Europeans for another four hundred
years.”
“Regardless, you will have to leave them soon.” Léi Shēng met his son’s eye. “I have finalized your brother’s marriage contract—”
“And I have escaped you for far too long,” Amihan finished. He sounded weary at this news, but did not sit down. “Wha
t poor soul has been sold to Beniru?”
“Princess Masama!” Léi Shēng did not bother to hide the glee in his voice. “I named a considerable price—
more
than befits the son of an Elder—and Duchess Kimmeru was most eager to pay!”
Amihan shook his head. “If you w
ould have me marry, then I will wed Princess Dawn. I will not have some poor girl bought for an exorbitant dowry.”
The Elder Goddess of Earth bowed her head.
“You waited too long, Amihan…if you ever cared for her at all,” Lindele murmured. “My daughter died in childbirth just last month.”
“I am sorry for your loss, Lady.” Amihan, too, inclined his head. “Dawn was a beautiful girl.”
“Much as I love to see a pity party, I already have your bride selected, Amih
an,” Léi Shēng interrupted. “I would have you marry the Duchess Aĺakána.”
“But she is—”
“Thirty-two,” the Elder God of Fire supplied.
“She has not—”
“Been seen for twenty years and is an anchoress,” Měilìde said maliciously. “We know. We have discussed you
r complaints.”
“Endlessly,” Lindele added.
“If you had not evaded me for so long, we would not be having this discussion!” Léi Shēng growled. “Lindele was right—you have waited too long! All the highest ranked gods betroth their daughters at an early age,
so that they can be wedded and bedded as soon as they reach menarche!”
The God of Thunder winced at this, but his father plowed on.
“And I will
not
have you betrothed to a babe in the cradle, so that you can put off marriage for another thirteen years!
“Beniru will wed Masama three summers from now and already has instructions to go to her every night, in hopes that she will conceive in the first month. That means you have three years to seek out the Duchess and marry her. And if you have to tie that woman down and rape her all day, every day to get me a grandson before Beniru so much as
looks
at his bride, then so be it!”
Amihan raised an eyebrow. “In short, impregnate her before she even has a chance to step foot outside her hut, then drag her back to you so you can begin planning the wedding as soon as possible.”
“I grant that you are no Lothario, but I am sure you can achieve even
that
much!” Léi Shēng replied.
Prince Amihan glanced at the other Elders, but there was no reaction to his father’s words.
“Is that all you wish of me, Father?”
Léi Shēng made a dismissive gesture. “Go home and pack if you think it will make you seem more huma
n during your search. But I want to see you before you leave.”
Amihan was muttering to himself by the time he slumped down the temple steps, causing him to nearly run into a young woman in his haste to get away.
“I am sorry…I did not see you there,” he said, reaching out a hand to steady her.
“No, it was all my fault.” She glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sorry…
I can’t linger…I need to see Lord Léi Shēng.”
“The Elder Gods are not seeing anyone today,” Amihan replied. “They are wrapped up in their own business.”
The woman’s face fell. “I
really
need to see Them—”
“Trust me when I say that
They
will not want to see
You
. Is there anything I can do to help, Miss…?”
“Óneira. Krystállina Óneira.” She looked at him doubtfully. “A large portion of my father’s olive orchard was destroyed during a recent storm and—”
“If the harvest is bad, your family will suffer and your children will go hungry,” he finished.
“Pardon me, Sir, but I do not have any children.” Krystállina ducked her head shyly. “But you are correct about my family suffering. Are you an expert on olive orchards?”
“Let us simply say that I can help.”
“But I don’t have any way to pay you.”
“Do not worry about that for now.” Amihan put an arm around her shoulder. “Now, I want you to close your eyes…and think of home…”
Thessalonica
When they arrived, Krystállina stumbled hard and landed at the base of an olive tree. She looked up at Amihan, startled.
“Who…who
are
you?”
“Do you trust me?”
She stared at him for a while.
“If you trust me, get me a ladder and something to cut off these dead branches.”
Krystállina looked at him a moment longer, then rose and disappeared into the grove. Amihan contemplated using his magick to entice her to come back, but decided against it. He suspected the power of curiosity would be magick enough.
“What would my father say if I fell in love with a mortal?” he mused
as he inspected some of the trees. The Thunder God laughed. “The great and powerful Léi Shēng, Elder God of Wind and hater of humans; stuck with a mortal daughter-in-law!”
“Is that who You are?” Krystállina appeared through the trees with a hacksaw in her belt and a ladder tucked underneath her arm. “A relation of Lord Léi Shēng’s?”
Amihan flushed as she reached him and leaned the ladder up against a tree.
“I was going to surprise you,” he admitted. “I was going to cut the dead branches off this tree and r
evitalize it.”
“So you’re definitely a god, then? Perhaps one of those minor entities…Duke So-and-So?”
He straightened up and knew she could see the lightning flashing behind his eyes.
“I am Crown Prince Amihan, firstborn son of the Elder God of Wind.”
It was Krystállina’s turn to flush. She sunk into a deep curtsey.
“I apologize, Your Royal Highness. I did not mean to insult You.”
Amihan brought her out of her curtsey and hesitantly kissed her hand. “I did not mean to scare you.”
She gave him a small smile. “What have I done to attract the attention of a powerful god such as Yourself? Especially since I heard You address the trees on the subject of marriage?”
“You ran into me at the Temple of the Elder Gods.” Amihan glanced around. “Could we continue this in private?”
By the time the Thunder God finished relating his story, Krystállina was pale.
“Does He treat all women this way?”
“He is forced to treat the Elder Goddesses with respect, but otherwise, I do not know,” Amihan admitted. “I left my father’s household early in life and my stepmother—if you could call her such—never invited confidences. Dowager Queen Sundara, my mother, has always refused to speak of him.
“But I should think so. More than that, he hates
mortals
. If he was the only Elder God, he w
ould eliminate humanity and make Tahanan a playground for the gods.” Amihan got off the garden bench to stretch his legs. “The only thing Léi Shēng hates worse than mortals are demigods. My father thinks they are vermin that should be drowned at birth.
“So
why should You wonder aloud of marrying me? You’ve only known me for an hour, yet You already speak of subjecting me to the wrath of the Elder God of Wind?”
“Would you rather I go after Aĺakána? Would you prefer that I spend the next three years searching Tahanan, Śēśa and Wài, only to rape the woman incessantly until she conceives?”