Truth or Consequences

Aedric has a heated discussion with Duke Eleazar

19.

Truth and Consequences

 

 

Aedric didn’t have long to wait.   He really didn’t hear the Duke arrive, for like most Elves, Duke Dullerm was extremely quiet in his movement.   Instead, he just sensed he was there.   The younger Elf took a steadying breath and turned to see.  

 

In the twilight, the half-Drow’s red eyes glowed, which did little to ease the tension.   When he saw that Aedric was looking at him, the Duke approached quietly.  

 

He was holding a sword, but not in a threatening way and when he neared, he handed the hilt to him.

“Here”, the Duke said softly, “I can’t take your sword, Aedric, regardless of the decisions you make about your future.   It is yours and you are too well trained to be without it.   I’m giving it back to you and coming to you now unarmed to show you that I am very sincere in my desire to discuss things that I should have talked about with you, long ago.”

 

Aedric took his sword and slipped it into his scabbard, “You mean to discuss the death of my father.”

“Yes, and the events leading up to it.   I have to admit to you that I did something very foolish; I thought that taking you out of that environment and then keeping you away from me, perhaps you would have a better understanding of what happened in years to come.   Clearly, I was wrong.”

 

Aedric crossed his arms, “I saw you kill my father, then nearly kill me when I tried to attack you.”

 

The Duke nodded, grimly, “Yes, that is true.   I allowed my rage to overcome me.  You should have not been threatened; for that I am sorry.”

“So what are your feelings regarding the death of my father?”   Aedric asked him pointedly.

“I do not regret what I did; I will frankly tell you, Aedric, that while I know you loved your father, he was not the man you believe him to have been.”

 

The young Elf felt himself flush with rage, but he kept it controlled - for now, “You are wrong, sir.”

“Aedric, you do realize that it was your father who killed my daughter as well as Princess Joila?”

“I do not.   He would not have killed women unless they threatened him.  It was one of his soldiers, who acted improperly.”

“Killing a child is not ‘acting improperly’, Aedric!   Leah was 63 years old when she died, and in Elven years she was not even a youth.   Princess Joila was 31 years old, and she was a half-Elf, which meant that she was somewhat younger than you are now in maturity.   They were children, Aedric!”

“I concede that, Duke, but my father did not kill them, it was one of his soldiers.”

“How do you know this?”  Duke Dullerm pressed.

“My father would not kill women or children.  The soldier that killed your daughter and the Princess was wrong and deserved to die for his misdeed.   But that is the nature of war.”

 

“War, Aedric?   What ‘war’ had we declared upon the Faesidhe back then?   We had lived in peace with the Faesidhe for 60 years and they did not declare war upon us, but raided our city by night for no provocation.  Your father ruthlessly ordered a surprise attack that killed not only my daughter and the Princess, but many guards and innocent people.   For what offense did he attack us, Aedric?   For the color of our skin and our Dark Elven heritage?  We had always respected the established borders of their Kingdom.”

“He saw you and your family as a threat.”  Aedric began to feel panic stir within him, for he sensed that his foundation was rapidly crumbling.

“How are two girls who would have been called ‘teenagers’ if they were humans, be a threat to your father?   Think, son!   I did not want a fight with your father or your people!  Did you know that I met Thaominires - your own grandfather- before I married Aurei, when I was pursuing my horse into the Great Forest?”

“Your people captured me, Aedric and would have killed me, but your father’s father spared me and allowed me to leave.   I swore to him I would not go into the forest again and kept that vow until his evil son murdered my daughter.”

“He did not murder your daughter!”  

“He DID murder her!   Your father wanted all of us eliminated.”

“You should not have come to Westmark - none of this would have happened if you and your wife had not lived here.   You don’t belong here.”

 

The Duke sighed and there was a long tense pause.  

“Alright, Aedric, I see that reason is not going to convince you of anything.   Therefore I guess I’m going to have to tell you some things that you do not know.”

“I don’t need to know anything else!”   He protested, but the feeling that the wall around what he believed was beginning to crack remained.

 

“Aedric - look at me.   I am not a pure-blood Drow; I have grey skin, not black.   Do you know why?”

“You are half Elf; I know this Duke Dullerm.”

“Aedric, I am just as much Faesidhe as you are!”

“What?!”  The statement stunned him.

“My mother was someone you may have heard of while living with your father.   She was Sialia Fannithal.”

“You are lying!   Not the great singer of tales!”

“She was captured while travelling in a Faesidhe caravan in the southlands, in a Drow raid.    She was brought back to the Underdark and made into a prostitute slave for House Ar’Grumet.”

“You’re lying!!”

“When my Drow father fancied her, he pulled her out of the Ar’Grumet brothel and raped her for months.   I was conceived and he allowed me to live with her in the slave pits.”

“You’re a liar!”

“She taught me the Faesidhe tongue and gave me her mother’s ring - one of the Rings of Nitthum, though at the time I didn’t know this.”

“You are not her son; you’re lying!”

“My father’s mother ruled Ar’Grumet and she saw me once and decided that I would make a good gladiator to compete in the city rings.   But she wanted an edge, so she summoned a Demon of Rage, and to entice me to allow the Demon to possess me, she had my mother tortured and then killed in front of me, after I was placed in a magic circle with the demon.”

“You are insane - none of this happened!”

“When I saw her killed - just as you saw me kill your father- I was enraged, and the Demon took control of me.   I escaped the protective ring, killed my father and grandmother, many guards and found a portal to the surface, where the Demon left, though he had not been cast out of me, and he was free to return when he chose to take control.   I hated Drow, Aedric; in fact I led several expeditions into the Underdark against them.”

 

“Your wife is a Drow!”

“When I first met her, I tried to kill her; it was Sir Alvis who stopped me.   Aurei helped me finally purge myself of the influence of the Demon.   When I entered the Great Forest, King Thaominires did not believe that I was Sialia’s son.”

“He cast spells upon me to verify it, then had the Wine of Sialia brought for me to drink.   He knew that if I was not her son, I would be consumed by the Wine.   When he saw that I was indeed her son, he let me go, bidding me not to return to the Great Forest.”  

 

Aedric desperately wanted to reject Duke Dullerm’s words, but he knew in his heart that the half-Drow wasn’t lying to him and his words verified some tales told to him by some of the guards who had accompanied his grandfather.

 

He had always thought they had made up the stories to scare him.   But they were true.

“He let you go?   My Grandfather let you go because he knew you were half-Faesidhe?”

“Yes, you see, Aedric, I was your grandfather’s cousin, several generations removed; I am half Drow and half Faesidhe, just as you are half Sylvan Elf and half Faesidhe.   I am also your distant kin.”

 

Aedric just held his head in his hands, trying to take in all of the information much like someone receiving bad news.

“I don’t want to overwhelm you, young man; I know you have gone through a lot and that your father held tight rein over his Kingdom.   I just want you to understand what has happened.”

“You… my relative.”   Aedric said distantly.

“Not only me, son.   Queen Eioldth’s grandfather was King Elolmorin - your ancestor.   She too is your cousin, about four generations removed.”

 

Aedric just groaned in misery at the news, though he had known of the Queen’s distant relation to him.

 

“So you see, when your father killed my daughter and the Princess, he was killing his own distant kinfolk.”

“He didn’t kill them… it was his soldiers.”   Aedric replied automatically, his voice flat and distant.

 

“Well, in fact he did kill both of them… as well as other things.”  

The Duke’s eyes darkened and he looked away as if a wave of intense pain came over him.

“What things, Duke?”

“It is too horrid to relate, Aedric.   Suffice to say that we were able to verify it was your father who killed them.”

“Tell me how you know.”

“Aedric-“

“TELL ME, DAMN YOU!” He screamed, his protective walls crumbling.

 

The Duke nodded, and his eyes glowed bright red.   Aedric had never seen the man cry, but now the Duke wept as with great effort to control his emotion, he explained.

“Before they were killed… my daughter… and… Princess Joila… t-they… h-he… ah… he… violated them.”

“Violated them?!   What do you mean?   No!  He wouldn’t do that!”

 

For a long moment, Duke Eleazar cried and Aedric knew by the terrible hole in his stomach, that the man had told him the truth.

“We… we had detection…. Detection spells…  that we c-cast upon their… bodies.   He left… evidence….”

 

Aedric held his stomach, rocking back and forth on the bench that he had unconsciously sank down upon as he shook his head.

 

“We had other evidence, Aedric.   Snoe was there - with her older sister.   They had her hide under the bed.   S-She… she saw it all.   She saw it, Aedric.   We didn’t get there until after it was done and your father and his guards had fled.   They… they were sprawled out naked on the bed.”

“He slit their throats.   Snoe saw it from her hiding place.  She saw your father…  she saw his coat of arms.   She was catatonic when we found her.   We thought she’d lost her mind.   Her mother held her for hours as we searched around for the criminals.”

“About dawn she started screaming, horrible, piercing screams that neither her mother nor I could calm.   She screamed and screamed and screamed!   She screamed until her voice failed and since then she never uttered another word.”

“We found in her hand a Faesidhe broach pin that had secured the cloak of the man who… who… who did it.   He had thrown off his cloak and the broach had fallen loose and rolled under the bed where Snoe had hidden.”

“We had to pry the broach from her hand.   I have it here, Aedric.   This is the broach of the man who raped and killed my daughter as well as Princess Joila.   Look at it!”   Duke Dullerm pulled open a belt pouch and dropped a small silver broach into Aedric’s hands.  

 

It was engraved with a very familiar Coat of Arms, with a ruby set as the swan’s eye, and pure emeralds as the green tree.  

 

Not the pin of a servant, it was a royal broach, which only the King would wear.   Aedric had seen his father wear an identical broach many times on his cloak.

“No…” he whispered, his whole world dissolving before him.

 

“The detection spells and the broach, Aedric - it was proof.”  The Duke said in a weary voice, “When she regained her senses, Snoe wrote down what she had seen.   It was enough proof for us…”

“Why?”  Aedric felt like his head would pop like a soap bubble, “Why would he do this?   Why did he hate your family so much?”

“We know why, Aedric.”  Eleazar sat down beside him on the bench, “We pieced it together later.”

“Tell me… please, I want to know why.”

 

“Do you recall the tales about the Drow raid upon the Clearing of the Ages?”

“Yes.”

“In that raid, Matron Zeatt’s mother led a group of Drow nobles -including Duchess Aurei’s mother, as well as Matron Zeattt, on a night raid to try to gain the White Fruit of the Faesidhe Tree.   You’ve heard about how the raid failed?”

“My father foiled it.   He was a hero.”

“Not exactly.” Duke Dullerm took a deep breath and explained his theory, “You see, the Drow of House Ar’Rilla had help finding the secret entrance into the Clearing of the Ages.   It was a younger son of the King of the Faesidhe at that time.   His older brother had been selected to eat one of the white fruits.   This younger son was jealous and greatly wanted the immortality.   He wanted power and prestige.” 

“So he found a way to make contact with the Drow and they agreed on a plan.   He would unlock the gate of the sinkhole where the Faesidhe dumped their trash underground.   The Drow would wait until most of the Faesidhe forces were away, preparing for a Drow invasion army while the Ar’Rilla nobles climbed up the trash chute.   The Drow noblewomen would take each of the White fruit for themselves and leave one for the younger son of the King.”

 

“He’d lead them at night to the tree, allow them to eat the fruit, and then he would eat one.   The Drow would be allowed to escape through the trash chutes and he’d ‘discover’ their theft and sound the alarm.   They’d discover the theft and he’d look like a hero for sounding the alarm and preventing the Drow from doing more damage.   His own stealing of the fruit would be blamed on the Drow and he’d get what he wanted, as well as depriving his hated older brother from the fruit.”

 

“The Drow noble women ate the fruit, but the younger Prince double-crossed them and raised the alarm while they were still under the Faesidhe Tree.   The Drow were attacked, and could not escape through the chute, for he had wizard-locked the gate.   He thought that he’d look even more like a hero if the Drow died - after he’d eaten the fruit, of course.”

 

“It almost succeeded, but Matron Zeatt and Aurei’s mother, Alleania, as well as another sister, escaped in a Drow coach.   Though it went off a bridge into a flood swollen river, he wasn’t certain if they were dead.   They needed to be eliminated, for if they were taken prisoner, they might tell of his scheme.”

 

“But he learned that one of the Drow noble ladies had survived, and that the newborn daughter of a second Drow had been found downstream in the coach by the Duke of Westmark.”

 

“He was paranoid that his people might find out about his scheme with the Drow, and he sent spies to find out about the surviving Drow lady.   The newborn baby, he learned, was the child of one of the Drow noble women who had died, and he tried to kill the baby, but was stopped by Archmages Kinzer and Drake.”

“Fortunately for him, the two Watchers were not permitted to visit the Faesidhe, so his scheme to kill the Drow baby was unknown to his father, the King.   He finally decided that since the baby would not know anything about the whole event, there was no real harm in letting her live.”

 

“The surviving Drow lady, he learned, had become a Yeshite and was living in the Southlands, raising her daughter, and was no danger to him as long as she stayed there.”

 

“Yet his brother still lived and remained the heir.   He waited years and schemed, knowing that time was on his side since he had eaten the White Fruit.   When his father was old, I appeared in the forest and his father let me live.   But it was when Matron Zeatt came to Westmark that he grew very nervous, especially when he saw how the King and Queen of Northmarch had befriended her and Aurei.”  

 

“He knew he had to try something to hide his treachery.   His chance came when the Necromancer’s Guild tried to invade Northmarch.   They sent a detachment into the Great Forest, and his father was killed in battle fighting the undead.”

 

“This next part we theorize: we have heard that this younger Prince knew that his older brother was also fighting against the undead, so he had some soldiers loyal to him kill his brother.   We heard reports that the heir had been found with Faesidhe arrows sticking out of him.”

 

“Then this younger Prince ascended as King.   But the Drow remained, and they began to have a family.   Plus, the King and Queen of Northmarch had named Aurei and me as nobles.   He wanted rid of all the Drow who could foil his plans.”  

 

“He plotted for 60 years how to get rid of us in some secret way, but finally he decided he’d have to just try force.   He spent years spewing venom about the Drow of Westmark and the danger of them to his people.   In the meanwhile, he worked hard on securing his own throne.   He made alliances through multiple marriages with powerful Kings and nobles.   This was something no Elven King had ever before done.”   

 

“Aedric, I and Aurei know your mother’s father.   Travin has long been on good terms with Westmark.   He told us how your father threatened war against the peaceful Sylvan kingdom if he didn’t give your mother to him as a concubine.   Since Travin knew he could not defeat the Faesidhe, he agreed.   Your own grandfather knows the truth about your father.”

 

“Then, 22 years ago, your father decided it was finally time to try to eliminate the Drow that made him so nervous.   So he attacked Westmark with the plan to kill all the Drow.”  

 

“As to why he did such a horrid deed to Leah and Joila; I do not know - perhaps it was out of hatred and frustration.   But we were too strong for his forces, and so he had to retreat.”

 

“You know the rest; we learned who had done this and I led an army into the Faesidhe forest.   I killed your father because he was evil.   When Matron Zeatt saw his dead body, she quickly identified him as the Faesidhe who had allowed them to come up the trash chute, then betrayed them.   We interviewed many Faesidhe in his palace who helped us fill in the details that I’ve just told you.”

 

“Your father’s power over his people was nearly supernatural.  Aedric, Aurei had known your mother for many years, but she was so browbeaten from her marriage to your father that even after his death, she would not speak anything against him.   He had stolen her mind, preventing her from thinking clearly.”

 

“I offered to send her and you back to her father.   I nearly begged her to go, Aedric, yet she steadfastly refused and asked to be allowed to stay with the other concubines.   She was once a proud, feisty young princess, but by then she was timid and broken.   Your father did all of this and has poisoned your mind too.”

 

Aedric just stared blankly at his feet for a long time, before finally saying, “I can’t accept what you just told me as the truth, Duke Dullerm.”

“I understand that, Aedric.   But it is the truth, whether you accept it or not.”

 

Again there was a long silence and they just sat there listening to bullfrogs in the royal lake as the stars came out.

 

Finally Aedric shifted, “I have to sort it all out - you understand this, don’t you?”

“Yes.  It takes time.  I’m not making any demands on you, nor do I expect you to suddenly respect me.   You can take as much time as you need to sort this out.”

“What about the knighting ceremony?”

“Well, that would be up to you.   The ceremony does not make you a Paladin, it makes you a knight.   Yesh is the giver of the Paladin blessings.  No-one will ask you tonight if you are now a Paladin.   You have earned the right to knighthood by your skill-at-arms.    There were other young men affected by Brother Keaven’s words and several were meeting with their Lords as well, so no-one will think it odd that you left.”

“But I am not a follower of Yesh.   I know that may be wrong, but I merely did what Alis and Aedric expected me to do.   Not because I believed it.   Don’t all knights take vows?   If so, then wouldn’t I be a hypocrite by swearing before Yesh when I do not follow him in my heart?”

“Aedric, I know for a fact that Yesh extends mercy to those who do not yet really have a relationship with him.   He extended this mercy to me for years while I was tormented with the same sort of rage and hatred that you are feeling.  I think God looks at the extension of mercy as sort of a loan or an advance.   He feels you will be worthy later, so he gives you the mercy now.   My wife, Aurei, received the blessings of a Paladin before she even really knew what a Paladin did.”

“So you are suggesting that I go back in and go through the knighting ceremony?”

“You have earned it, but the decision remains your own.”

 

Aedric thought about it for a moment, “Won’t I be expected to pledge my loyalty to you as my Ducal Lord?”

“If that bothers you, you can substitute the Queen in the Pledge.    Or perhaps you pledge your loyalty to all those who are good and noble and who pursue truth and righteousness.”

 

Aedric nodded, “That last one might work for me.   That way if I see any falseness, my loyalty is no longer guaranteed.”

“I am fine with it.   You need to know that by doing it this way; you will be in effect a ‘free knight’ during the tournament.”

“That would not offend you?”

“I understand your reasoning, and I respect honesty.   Aedric, I would much rather you tell me how much you hate me, than lie to me and give fake respect.   I think you need to take charge of your own life.   You can’t let bitterness and revenge, or hatred run you.   But you probably need to feel free of being under my authority for you to heal.   I’ll agree to this and will gladly allow you to return as one of my knights if you ever choose to do so.  I have no ill-will against you, son.”

 

“I would say to you though that if you do make a vow of loyalty to all those who pursue truth and righteousness, that you also seek these things earnestly for yourself.    Seek the truth - don’t believe what I’ve told you, find out for yourself what the truth is, but be man enough to accept it even if it isn’t what you thought.”

 

Aedric again nodded, “So how then would we proceed?   All my equipment and weapons were given to me by Sir Aeric, and it is the property of Dullerm.   If I become a free-knight, I should use my own equipment.”

 

“Yes, but you won’t have time to assemble it all for this tournament.   One of the key pillars of a knight is courtesy, and I offer to you this by giving to you all the equipment, armor and even the horse that you use.”

 

“I don’t want your charity, Duke Dullerm.”

 

“Well, consider it then as restitution for me not having this candid conversation with you many years ago so that as a younger man we could have worked out our differences.   It will be a symbol of a truce between us, let’s say.   I don’t ask you to like me, Aedric, but let us behave as gentlemen under the terms of this truce.   I give you the equipment in return for your vow that you will seek no harm to any of my family.”

 

The young Elf considered this and nodded, extending his hand to the older knight, “I accept these terms, Duke Dullerm.   I swear to you on my honor that I will not raise my hand against you or your family, nor cause any harm by any means to you or them, unless I am attacked first.   I also swear to you that I will indeed seek out the truth and righteousness and will examine everything fairly.”

 

Duke Dullerm took the boy’s hand and shook it, “Very good, we have a deal.   But though you now have your equipment, you will still need a sponsor or patron in order to compete in the tourneys.” 

“They require a sponsor?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.   I have a suggestion that you might consider.”

“Go on, I’m listening.”

“Most of the sponsors are either wealthy nobles that don’t have their own knights to compete, or a handful of very successful businesses that sponsor a knight as a way to promote their business.    Some are very generous to supply their man well, but many are rather lacking.    The Dwarven Armorer’s Guild would be your best bet.”

“From Westmark.” He replied with a slight frown.

“Well, yes, but they are completely independent from the Duchy.   They actually have a charter from us to operate, yet they are completely independent.   They usually find a knight to sponsor at the larger events like this.   But what makes them the best choice is that they are the largest armorers in Northmarch and these events are the absolute best place to show off their wares.”

 

“They will fit you out with the very best equipment that most of the other knights will not yet have had access to, and the usual deal that they make is that if you place in one of the top three places in any of the tourneys, they will give you all of your equipment to keep.”

 

“That would be worth it to nearly any young knight.”  Aedric replied.

 

“Yes, and it would also be a quick way for you to be completely free of any association with me, for then you could use the prize money you’d win and do whatever you wanted.”

 

Aedric just stared at Duke Dullerm for a moment, frowning, “I don’t understand something.  You have been far too generous to someone that professed hatred to you and a desire to kill you - all in the same day.”

 

Duke Dullerm smiled, “Aedric, you said you hated me, I never said that the hatred was returned.   In my case, I was fortunate to have a number of people that showed mercy and kindness to me when I was certainly not worthy of their kindness.   Let’s just say that I see in you a man that may one day find an angry young knight with whom to return the favor.   I think you deserve some consideration and compassion.”

 

Aedric shook his head, “I wouldn’t have done this if the situation was reversed.”

“Well, Yesh said that when we feel hatred or anger toward others, we should instead act as Yesh sees them; with compassion.   I have no hatred or anger toward you, young man, but I do understand Yesh’s mercy.   I guess that is why I’m doing this.   I honestly want you to be happy and focused in your life.   Revenge is not a purpose or a future for any person.”

 

“It’s easy to say, Duke, but even though you have been kind to me this evening, I still find it very difficult not to hate you.”

“Hatred dies very hard, Aedric.   Sadly, the Faesidhe are not much different from the Drow in the passion of their hatred.   But it can be overcome.   Have you ever visited your mother’s father, Travin?”

 

Aedric shook his head, “I’ve never met King Travin.   My father wouldn’t allow any of the Sylvan Elves to come into the Great Forest.”

“Not even the Sylvan King?”

“No; he didn’t want any of them tempted by the Faesidhe Tree.  My mother was greatly bothered by this, but he promised her that we could go see him some day in his Kingdom.   However, that never happened.”

“So you were a prisoner in your father’s kingdom.”

“It wasn’t a prison to me.”

“I’m sorry, it just bothers me that you never met your grandfather.   He still reigns; after the tourney, you might consider visiting his kingdom.”

 

Aedric shrugged, “Perhaps.”

 

His reply seemed to please Duke Eleazar, “Fair enough.   Now, we had better return to the banquet or else they will begin without us.   I will inform the Queen and your foster parents of our talk and the agreement we reached.   Thorm, who is the master of the Armorer’s Guild, is at the banquet, so I’ll have him come and speak to you after the ceremony.”

 

Aedric nodded, “Duke Dullerm, I will admit this to you; I am greatly surprised at the outcome of our meeting.   I am very surprised at how fair you have been to me.  If this is a result of your faith in Yesh, perhaps he is worth considering… some day.”

 

The Duke smiled and without another word the two men returned to the feasting hall.

 

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[Elina]

"...a number of people that shown mercy and..." I think "shown" ought to be "showed."