RE: Monarch

Chapter 29-30: Crossroads XII

My father laid the scroll before me with the tenderness you might use to handle a kitten. He placed it right on top of the sketch I was mapping of the castle, immediately annoying me. But even at the age of eleven, I knew better than to voice any irritation with him. I placed my pencil down and took the scroll, unrolling it cautiously. It was filled with large words and jargon I didnt fully understand.

"What is this?" I was almost fearful of the response.

"That, young man, is a document of conscription."

My name was clearly printed at the top. "Im being conscripted?" I asked, utterly confused.

My father blew air out his nose, stirring the long brown strand of hair that accented his regal ponytail. "I do not suffer fools, Cairn."

I said nothing to that. It wasnt my fault he could never be bothered to use more than ten words to describe a concept, and those words could often be taken multiple ways.

My father grunted. "The first son of every respectable noble house in Uskar has his own Battalion. A thousand soldiers that are recruited and trained to answer to ten officers, who in turn answer to one man."

I pointed to myself, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Of course not." He shook his head. "You are the first son of House Valen."

I breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"One measly battalion is not nearly enough for a noble of your stature. Youll need double that. A full regiment."

Talking to my father really was like being under the influence of verbal whiplash. A bolt of anxiety went through my gut. "Two thousand men?"

"The boy can count!" My father slapped me on the back entirely too hard. "Consider it a gift."

I picked the document up gently. Gifts from my father were rare and precious thingsbut that didnt change the fact that they were almost always dull and entirely utilitarian. The Kossboard I had used twice, and the sword that was too big for me were the only two that came to mind, though there were surely others.

"Father," I said carefully, "I think I might be too young to command men. They wont listen to me."

"You are the Prince. They will listen if you project authority, and if they do not, you must project terror instead."

My father seemed to interpret my reticence as a lack of enthusiasm. He put a hand to his forehead in frustration. "This is my son? Elphion. This chinless idiot?"

"Im not chinless!"

My fathers fist came down on the drawing desk with a loud bang, unsettling a nearby inkwell which tipped over, seeping a puddle of black all over my drawing. I didnt dare reach for it, not while his anger was peaking. Instead, I sat very still.

"Then prove it! Take responsibility for once in your damn life. By the time youre fifteen, I want that regiment fully filled, trained, and exemplary. Surely, you can manage as little as that in four years."

"Okay." At that point, once his ire was starting, Id say practically anything to appease him if it meant he would leave. "Yes, father."

King Gil stood, his disgust plain as day. That was my father in a microcosm. He never wanted children. He wanted miniature nobles that emerged from the womb fully formed and swinging, ready to go to war and command armies.

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"Get it done. If they do not meet the standard within the allotted time, if youre a man under two thousand, Ill reabsorb the men into my army, and there will be consequences."

He strode from the room, his crimson cloak wafting behind him.

There was a period immediately after where I took to the idea. I ran around the castle, recruiting hapless servants and irritated guards for my regiment. But the number never grew larger than two dozen. Eventually, the men quietly went back to their original postings. My ambivalence to the order was, perhaps, my first act of rebellion.

Surprisingly, by the end of the time limit, my father never spoke of the injunction. Outside the never-ending conflicts on the plains, Uskar had been peaceful, and many of the smaller houses had disbanded their tertiary regiments, those amongst the first sons as well. Though he never mentioned it directly, his manner grew much colder towards me, as if the lack of war was solely due to my disinterest in preparing for conflict.

It was a mile out from the enclave when I finally put the finishing touches on the documents, pricking my thumb and pressing it next to my signature on all three. It was crude, but I didnt have my stamp. A clerical magician could easily verify it as legitimate. Now, all I needed to do was sell my companions on the idea. It would not be an easy sell. Mainly since I needed them to agree because they wanted to, not because an arrogant noble was asking them to uproot their lives. Cephur pulled the carriage off the road, and we gathered around a fire. Maya was glued to my side, supporting me as I walked, my steps still tenuous and unsteady.

This would be a hard enough task coming from a normal child, let alone one that looked like he might pass out at any momentand very well could. The rangers were seated on a fallen tree, looking bemused and exhausted. I turned and whispered in Mayas ear.

"I may need you for this."

"I have you." Maya said immediately. Her tail curled around my arm. She flashed me a quick smile and touched the back of my neck. My mind cleared, the shroud of fog retreating somewhat. Her confidence in me was infectious, though I wasnt entirely sure I shared it. At the Dukes house, I had explained only what was necessary to Cephur and the rest, as time was sparse. Though my predictions had proved correct, this would be much more difficult. I just hadnt had enough time with them. My loyalty to them stemmed largely from watching them die for me, an experience that now we no longer shared.

Still, I had to try.

Maya released my arm and stood to my left, within arms reach in case I fell. I took them in one after another. Cephur. Tamara. Orben.

"When we started this journey, you volunteered to escort me. Despite Cephurs assurances to the contrary, you did not have to come. Lesser folk would have simply spun a tale of my escape into the Everwood, eschewing all responsibility. Lesser still would have simply not reported finding me at all."

"We thought about it," Tamara said, grinning. She bumped Cephur with her shoulder. "But this old goats too set in his ways. Honor and duty and what not."

"Let the boy speak, Tams," Cephur said, entirely focused on me. Orben shifted uncomfortably, as the log was a bit too small for him.

"I am little more than a boy," I agreed, looking at each of them in turn, "But for this single moment in time, I would ask you to ignore that. What Im about to tell you is a secret that less than a handful know." Id thought on how to pitch this for hours, and now it was finally time to take the plunge. "I am spirit-touched."

They visibly reacted to that. Tamara studied me with new eyes and Cephur let out a low whistle. Orben leaned forward.

"Youre a seer." Tamara said, shocked. Her reaction wasnt unexpected. The seers of Lothturn were a notoriously secretive group that lived in the high reaches of the mountain above Uskar. They rarely descended, but when they did, it was always with tidings of woe.

I hated lying to these people, but I needed them to take me seriously.

"Thats how you knew about the attack?" Cephur asked slowly.

"Yes. However, my power is limited. You have already seen one aspect of it, my ability to see immediate danger. But there is another." I crossed my arms behind my back, keeping my body language open and fighting the urge to pace. A little over a month ago, I was given a vision of the future."

I described the attack to them in vivid detail, leaving out a few aspects, including my behavior at the coronation, and of course, Mayas role. To my surprise, they did not laugh. Their demeanor grew sullen and focused as I described Thoth in detail.

Tamara started. "The woman in the field. That was her."

"Yes," I grimaced. "I suspect she has foreknowledge of some sort, though I cannot imagine the means. I have no doubt she could have slaughtered us easily, but from my experience with her, Thoth is egocentric and overconfident. She wants me to know shes comingI think she prefers it that way, as it makes her potential victory all the sweeter. In many ways, she is not unlike my father."

"Whats your history with her then, yer grace?" Orben interjected. It was an excellent question, one that I still had nothing remotely resembling an answer for.

"All I know for sure is that she hates me enough to burn down the entire kingdom out of spite."

"Im sure you see how this is all a bit difficult to believe?" Cephur said. The doubt in his face was clear. "If you were any other noble, Id smile and nod, and call you daft behind your back. But I like you, kid, so Im trying to tell it to you straight. No ones heard from the seers in over fifty years. Theres no way to verify your claim."

"I get it." My vision swam. I sat down before them, pushing the nausea down. "Trust me, I understand how ridiculous it all sounds."

"You believe all this, little purple?" Cephur said off-handedly, lost in thought.

"I do. His visions speak for themselves. Regardless of whether an attack comes to pass, I believe Cairn wishes for a unified Uskar." Maya squeezed my shoulder.

Tamara chuckled and leaned back. "I cant even imagine what that would look like."

Up to that point, it all played out the way I suspected it would. Id made them think, opened a sliver of doubt. Now was the critical moment. I had to trigger a buy-in.

Theres a maneuver in Koss called the Carthien Gambit. You force your opponent into a position where their only option is to surrender advantage. If it were my father, he would have coerced obedience by offering two bad options, one markedly worse than the other. I suspect, in my stead, he would have capitalized on Cephur and Tamaras relationship, using blackmail to force compliance. But that wasnt the sort of ruler I wanted to be. I didnt want compliance. I wanted loyalty.

So instead of offering two bad options, Id do the opposite. I handed all three of them the papers I had prepared.

There was a moment of shocked silence.

"This is a writ of nobility," Orben said, numbly.

"They all are." I answered. Something Maya had said came back to me. "Dont get me wrong. This isnt a bribe, or an attempt to buy you. Weve only been together for a short time, but suffice it to say I have no doubts in your loyalty."

"Youre high. That damn physician screwed up the dosage." Tamara shook her head in disbelief.

"Trust me, its not that effective." I closed my eyes briefly, my head swimming.

"And what will you be chargin for this benevolence, your grace?" Cephur asked. There was a dangerous edge to his voice, one Id heard many times. Nobles didnt have a reputation for giving things away for free. Writs of nobility were rare. There was always a price. And he wasnt wrong, it just wasnt as nefarious as he thought.

"The cost is simple, as is the reasoning. My father charged me to fill a regiment by my fifteenth birthday. And I want you as a regiment leader."

Cephurs eyes went wide. "I aint even close to qualified."

"Look, youre tired of the Everwood. We both know it. Worst case, you get a few years vacation to corral and slap around some recruits, and head back to the rangers with your noble title intact.

"And youd just let me do that?"

"No questions asked. Its more harm than help, forcing a man into a position he doesnt want." I turned to Tamara and Orben. "That goes for the two of you as well."

"Well" Cephur hesitated, sparing a split-second look towards Tamara. "Since youre effectively formulating another noble house, I assume you have some sort of match in mind for me?"

Ah. So that was why he was so guarded. Writs of nobility were rare, but they did happen. Every so often, a noble would effectively adopt a commoner into their family. As a noble of the royal house, I couldnt elect a commoner to house Valen, so he was correct in that I needed to formulate a new one. My father had done this sort of thing a handful of times, using the formation of smaller houses to pull away upstarts from larger houses, effectively breaking up any house that had grown large or powerful enough to eventually form a threat. Normally hed raise hell over something as blatant as his son elevating commoners, but not if he thought it meant I was taking his mandate to form a regiment seriously.

I had to hand it to Cephur, though. Even with the offer of nobility and a salary that dwarfed whatever he was being paid now, his first thought was for the woman next to him.

Still, it was an excellent opportunity to have a bit of payback at a certain someones expense.

"Yes, I have a match in mind," I said. Tamara grew very still. "Shes a warrior. Beautiful. But a terrible personality."

"I... see." Cephur responded, his accent thick.

"It cant be helped, but really, her personality is awful. Shes terrible with children. Shes also a notorious lecher. Though you might find that to be a good thing."

Cephur actually started sweating. Tamara was staring at her hands, so she missed it when my eyes flicked to her, but Cephur did not. He broke out in a wide grin.

"Does she have a little somethin I can hold onto?" He asked with a playful southern twang.

Tamaras head whipped up to look at him, her eyes furious.

"Mmm. Decent looking. Maybe a little flat. Id say she makes up for it with personality, but..." I shrugged. "Who am I kidding."

"Alright kid. Whos this fine noble lady you got for me?"

Tamara looked between us suspiciously, finally clueing into the fact that she was missing something.

"Actually, shes a new noble as well."

"How new?" Cephurs eyes twinkled.

"A noble as of..." I looked up at the sun, musing. "Around fifteen minutes ago."

The half-elf next to him fell off the log, her face a mask of surprise.

Orbens head shifted slowly from Cephur, to Tamara, to Cephur again, his mouth open in unrestrained excitement. He helped Tamara up and leaned into her ear. "I think hes talking about you." His voice barely qualified as a whisper. Tamara was visibly stunned.

I stood again, letting the levity go. "All joking aside, no arranged marriages or interfering with your lives. But what Im offering does have benefits. As regiment leader, you report directly to me. That means youre immune to scandals affecting your rank. Meaning that, should the need arise, you can marry whoever you want, with no fear of it affecting your standing. Thats a promise."

Tamara covered her mouth.

Cephur stood across from me, his smile gone, expression filled with silent gratitude and understanding. He gripped my arm, and I gripped his.

"I think I can get behind that."

I found myself filled with a strange satisfaction Id never felt before. Maybe this was what it felt like to be a leader. To use my power and position to forge allies, not from tyranny, but cooperation and loyalty.

Then a grim weight settled on my shoulders. There were no delusions. When Thoth invaded the capital, people would die. My people. I needed to stack the odds infinitely higher in my favor to protect them. I could not afford to turn down power, as I had with Kastramoth. There was no choice. I had to be better.

Tamara jumped up and hugged me fiercely, and I stifled a groan. Orben slapped me on the back, and that did elicit a groan.

Maya shooed them away.

"If you kill him before we reach the enclave, I will be very unhappy," she said. I nodded a silent thank-you. She squeezed my arm, her face proud.

"You aren't planning to come back to the capital anytime soon, are you?" Cephur asked.

I glanced at Maya. "Itll be a couple of years, at least."

"Welp. Thatll give me some time to whip the men into shape."

"The best you can find. And I dont care about their backgrounds, Cephur. I have no doubt there's plenty of talented soldiers with mingled heritage that have been held back. I want them. As many as you can find."

He nodded

"Hey!" Tamara seemed to realize something, her face outraged. "Who do you think youre calling flat?!"