‘It is true that our plans did not eventuate as we had intended but there is time. Today the victory was yours.’
Conn couldn’t help himself. ‘As it will be tomorrow.’
He smirked, his eyes hardly leaving Alana; the girl moved behind Kutidi to avoid his gaze.
‘I apologize if I have scared the girl – your daughter I presume – the eyes…’
‘She is … and she has my protection in
any
land – without fear or favour.’
Agkell smiled a shallow smile. He didn’t believe. ‘So what do you intend to do with me – with us – with your prisoners?’
Fighting the urge to kick him again, or worse, Conn answered truthfully. ‘You I will send back to Samria – the rest I will keep as theow.’
He hadn’t discussed the outcome with Efilda and as she was about to complain, Conn saw Derryth grab her elbow and shake his head. Agkell didn’t see the exchange. She then followed his lead.
The Folgere protested. ‘But I need a crew to take me back!’
Conn shook his head. ‘That will not be possible. The ships are your ransom. I will arrange for you to be taken to the mountain pass that I understand is still open despite the lateness of the year, and we will hand you over to the wiga on the other side. I hope that they will get you home safely.’
He continued to protest. ‘But that will take weeks – I need to get back as soon as possible.’
‘That is your only choice – except for execution. And trust me – that is my preferred outcome but I think that you will make a good messenger.’
Anger flared again. ‘You cannot execute a beloved of Ashtoreth. She will smite you from within your soul.’
Conn laughed this time. He stood. ‘I have no fear of your Gyden – Ashtoreth – we have met several times already and yet here I stand.’
Agkell looked disbelieving.
‘Go on, ask her – I’m sure that she will not lie. And tell her that I think that she would love anything as unholy as you is beyond comprehension. She is defiled by your mere presence.’
‘You blaspheme! You will die for that!’
‘You can try any day you like, Folgere. Go on, ask her!’
He did ask, as consternation ruled his face and demeanour. It was clear that Ashtoreth said nothing – which was as good an answer as any.
Conn continued. ‘When you return tell the Healdend to rid himself of all Ancuman and surrender, and I will let him live. If he does not do so before next spring, tell him that he can expect to see his town in ruins – and his family as theow.’
Before the Folgere had a chance to speak again, Conn had him removed and placed in solitary confinement, under constant guard.
After he left the room, Alana was at his side. She hugged him, seeking protection. ‘Papa, that man is evil. His eyes were merciless and they watched me wherever I went. I have never seen such cruelty in anyone’s eyes. How can he be a Folgere?’
Kutidi answered that question for all of them. ‘Because the Folgere of Ashtoreth have the right to every maiden in all Ancuman lands. And all wiga in training are ordered to submit to their desires. What you saw was lust – and a very degrading form of it.’
With Kutidi talking for the first time about these things, Conn took his chance. ‘Have Ashtoreth’s Folgere always been male?’
She shook her head. ‘No, it has not always been that way. Once they were only female like those of the Priecuman Gyden. But a single Cirice rose in Axum that was led by a man – and then more men, and they have finally subjugated all female Folgere over the last three hundred years until none get the call. That is why…’ She paused and reached for her necklace before continuing. Giving a voiced name to her Gyden was obviously not easily done ‘…why Istah became vanquished – her Cirices were overrun and her Folgere were enslaved – now in all our lands there is only Ashtoreth.’
‘Do we know why?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I only know rumours. It is said that one of the Axum Healdend fell in love with a boy, and in his guilt of violating that boy before he was of age, he asked the Folgere and Ashtoreth to heal the boy. Ashtoreth agreed, and her Folgere took the boy into their care. Of course, as a member of the cirice, the Healdend was then able to continue his debauchery with the boy, despite his age, and Ashtoreth drew so much power from the assignation that the boy eventually became the first male Folgere. As a beloved of Ashtoreth, he later subjugated all the female Folgere to his lust as well – and then drew in more boys. He was as depraved as the Healdend who abused him. Those that he abused also became Folgere.’
‘They let a fox into the henhouse. How ironic.’ Conn looked back at the door, where the Folgere had been man handled out. ‘Do we know why they have been able to eliminate all female Folgere?’
‘I believe that it has something to do with men having a much stronger level of desire and lust than a woman. As you know Gyden are sustained by the lust of their devoted. Over time, and as the numbers of her male Folgere grew, the numbers of females declined – those that were called died or were driven away by the never ending demands of the male Folgere. With no females to satisfy needs they could provide for each other, they started their initiation customs. Every sixteen year old girl is forced to submit to a Folgere – males a year younger after their first year as an apprentice. Finally Ashtoreth became more powerful that her sister, and after they had conquered the Southern Isles militarily and Istah was banished, they spread their vile practises there as well. Thanks be to Ashtoreth that they do not sire children. Everything seems to have a price.’
Conn looked at Derryth. ‘My to-do list just keeps getting bigger and bigger!’ He looked back at Kutidi. ‘So created through pain, the cycle continues. But if Istah was banished, how is it that you have her necklace.’
Conn used her name but didn’t open his mind to her. He suspected that she wouldn’t answer anyway. He had yet to hear her speak to Kutidi after than one time.
She nodded as she instinctively reached for the stone. ‘I am of the almost extinct house of the Healdend of Alwa – and all of us that are female wear the amulets. I was found by one of the beloved who are in hiding. Istah saves us by sending the Folgere to us instead of us going to them.’
Derryth suddenly realized what Conn had said. ‘What did you just say – are we going to take on Gyden now as well? Haven’t we already got enough to do?’
Efilda interrupted. ‘And what of my countrymen – do you really intend to make them theow?’
Conn shook his head ‘No – but I want the Folgere to think so – if they make an oath of allegiance to you, they can join us here. We need all the hands we can get.’
~oo0oo~
The next day a troop led by Wystan and Brys escorted the Folgere out of the village and into the hills. It would be some weeks before they would return; Brys was going to survey the pass and the surrounding area before winter finally set in.
Conn was happy to get rid of the Folgere – the overwhelming desire to kick the life out of him was not something Conn had ever experienced. A man who had lived a life of controlled aggression – some would say violence – he never enjoyed the process – he just wanted the outcome because he wanted to test himself. He had always maintained a high level of detachment. It was both his gift and his burden. This time, he felt he would enjoy beating the Folgere to death. The thought scared him
With the Folgere gone, the ‘prisoners’ quickly “joined” the rebellion and the extra workforce would allow him to continue expanding the village through the winter months. From them, they also learnt a lot about the current situation in Samria. Things were not going well. The Healdend controlled his demesne with fear and oppression, and without the Ancuman mercenaries, he would have nothing. There was about three hundred of them, but more seemed to be arriving every day, including lots of cavalry, which was unusual. Consequently, he was deep in debt to them, and increasingly isolated and paranoid.
Efilda was distraught. ‘How dare he destroy everything that our family has built? We have an obligation to our people – and after five hundred years of faithful service, my own father’s indulgences and my brother’s treachery has brought all my people to the edge of the abyss.’
‘It seems to me that there are usually Folgere around to help guide you away from such things. Where are yours?’ Conn had been curious that there had been no mention of Folgere and why there were even Ancuman Folgere allowed in Samria.
The Wealdend shook her head. ‘We have none. We have a Cirice but no Folgere. I remember hearing that only one arrived on the ships with us but died before the Cirice was complete and before others could be called.’
‘So where are the Samrians from exactly? You said you arrived after the Casere…’
She nodded. ‘Yes. We are from where we call the homelands. I don’t think it has a name but it was a great land that turned into hundreds of islands after the ocean rose after the “Great Darkening”. It is where we are all from – the place where the Gyden raised all the people. We were one of the smaller tribes of the Priecuman, and our lands were disappearing. Some left to join the other tribes as theow but others decided to risk life by travelling across the ocean to the east. I was taught that a thousand ships left the homeland but two hundred were lost along the way. Ten Folgere joined us on the voyage – but only the one survived but died sometime after.’
‘Does the Cirice have haligdoms?’
Efilda didn’t know what a haligdom was so that answered the question. Conn then asked if the Folgere had a colour.
She nodded. ‘I recall we have a tapestry in the great hall. She is depicted as wearing a gown something like the colour you have on your banner – the brown. I think that must be her colour.’
Amongst Conn’s unusual collection of items left to him by his mother was a box of gemstones – at least thirty, and all sapphires except for one black round cut tourmaline. Eleven of them had been used to create the portal opening pentacle that he had spent years devising from the range of colours in the box. Others had been used as haligdoms since his arrival, and amongst those he still had was another single stone. Its existence was part of the reason it had taken him so long to determine the correct pattern within the pentacle because it was the same size and cut of the tourmaline. However, amongst the numerous red, green, blue, and yellow sapphires, it was the only cognac coloured stone – a brown sapphire.
He had that strange feeling again that he was being played. He looked at Derryth. He knew about the stone, they had discussed its purpose, and he helpfully shrugged.
~oo0oo~
It was midway into winter when Njil returned from Meshech, and most of the village watched as the largest ship that anyone had ever seen, a schooner, came into harbour and docked.
Conn stood with Efilda as they watched the ship arrive. She turned to him in astonishment. ‘You have
thirty
of these?’
‘Not all as big as this one… I had more but I’ve sold them. Some of my captains are wealthy enough now to purchase them from me.’
With the help of the MFIC, Conn didn’t add. It was the case with a lot of Conn’s investments over the last ten years. As each factory or enterprise became profitable enough, his partners would start to buy him out, and after ten years most were extremely profitable. Even on his demesne, the number of Lairds was increasing so that he didn’t even control much land in Meshech anymore – though still more than anyone else in Meshech. What he was left with was extremely profitable and consequently had a very healthy bank account in the MFIC.
They watched Njil disembark with his family, who were soon mobbed by Ewan and Alana. Alana was carrying her young brother, Kutidi’s boy, Sarun, just a month old. When Njil finally escaped and greeted Conn with a hug, he bowed respectfully at Efilda. He looked around quickly.
‘Where’s Derryth – I hope nothing bad has happened?’
‘No. No, he is well. As soon as I had reports that you were coming I sent him on a mission. I want to steal some cattle. You did bring some with you?’
Relieved Njil laughed. ‘Gyden – cattle stealing; he’ll love that. And yes I did. Ten I think. They will be here in a couple of days.’ He looked over at Alana.
‘Kutidi only had one child…’
‘Indeed – and a boy, Sarun.’
‘That is surprising. And I gather that we survived the attack from Samria without too much loss…’
‘We did – they haven’t been back.’
‘Can’t imagine why… and the village is vastly improved…’
‘Not much else to do… I have buildings under construction for three times the population we have… how many wiga were you able to recruit?’
‘Just over a thousand – but only a hundred horse – they take up a lot of room and I thought you needed other things more. I have ten ships on the way – nine junks and another schooner in point. I left them a day ago; figured I could be unloaded before they arrived.’
‘We’ve run out of beer…’
He laughed. ‘I’ll get that unloaded first.’
‘Not for me of course, Derryth will be back soon – he will be disappointed to find that it is still on the ship.’
When they finally celebrated his arrival with the kegs of beers and wine that had been unloaded, Njil asked about the cattle stealing.
‘Samria is apparently very famous for its cattle’, Conn explained, ‘though there are very few here in Subari. Our neighbour to the west is the Marquis of Sarepeta, and he has a lot of cattle by all accounts, and all that separates us from Sarepeta is a mountain range that is over three thousand feet high in places.’