Long-Remee

Prince Lee tells Nolen and Arianelle about a powerful Toi-Migg curse.

13.

Long- Remee

 

The court had dispersed by the time Arianelle returned to the hall, but she found Nolen waiting for her in the empty room.

“Wow, that is quite a suit of armor!”  he said as she joined him.

“Queen Aurei gave me this to wear,”   Arianelle told her cousin.

“It’s beautiful!”  He exclaimed, walking around her to admire it.

“So… have you told Prince Lee that we’d like to hear the story?”

“No, he left in the company of one of the sheet princesses.”

“Oh… that might be a problem then.”  

“Not if we interrupt them,”   Nolen said mischievously.

“That wouldn’t be right!   He’d never tell us the story then.”

“I’ll bet he would, if we play our cards correctly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on; but just follow my lead and you’ll see.”

He led her out of the palace, across the practice field and into the ducal keep.    The guard at the entrance saluted the prince as they entered but seemed not too concerned about security.

Up three flights of stairs they climbed until they reached the level where visiting dignitaries had been housed when the building had been the official residence of the duke and duchess.

Now it was apartments for the most important members of the royal court, and Prince Lee had one of the finest of these apartments, as he was the son of the Hutcaiah emperor.

“We really shouldn’t do this,”   Arianelle whispered to her cousin as they stood outside Prince Lee’s door.

“He shouldn’t be doing what he is doing, either,”  Nolen argued, still wearing his wicked grin.   Without further comment, he knocked loudly on the door, while calling out in an equally loud voice, “Prince Lee?   It’s Nolen, may I speak to you?”

 

There were muffled sounds of surprise from within and the muted squeak of a window being opened, then closed a moment later.    It wasn’t hard for Arianelle to imagine who had left by the portal, though she wondered how she would get away.

“Just a moment,”   Prince Lee’s voice finally called from within and then the door swung open, revealing a somewhat disheveled and frustrated Hutcaiah man.   But he tried to appear at ease and smiled upon seeing Nolen.    Then he saw Arianelle hiding behind him and his grin turned more genuine.  

“Ah, Prince Nolen and… Captain Maelneth, I believe it was?   What might I do for you at such a late hour?"

“We’re sorry to disturb you, Prince Lee, I hope we didn’t interrupt any plans that you had.”

“I was merely preparing for bed.”   He responded, shifting his feet uneasily.

“Well the reason for the visit is out of interest in the story about the Toi-Migg that you mentioned earlier this afternoon.”    Nolen went on to explain their reason for wanting to hear the story.

“By all means, do come in.”   Prince Lee held the door open for them after a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nothing incriminating would be found.

The room was lit by candle-light and the large soft bed was messy with the sheets thrown back in disarray.   Prince Lee led them into the sitting room next to the bedroom and had them seat themselves while he put on more appropriate clothing than a nightshirt.

Nolen and Arianelle waited quietly for him and he returned a few minutes later, dressed in the same clothing as earlier that evening.   He pulled a chair across from them and launched into the tale.

“The Toi-Migg were a people obsessed with magic.    Aside from their military might, they were always hungry for powerful magic and as a result, they had fantastic magic items.    Copper coins that turned into soldiers, a staff that would summon all the insects for five miles to do the bidding of the summoner, catapult stones that would change into rampaging stone golems when flung over a castle wall, and many more.

I have heard that King Eleazar possesses several Toi-Migg relics, and though they were quite powerful, their wizards’ spells were as powerful as their enchanted items.

They particularly excelled at powerful geis-like spells that could do terrible and powerful things, but it took great power to cast such spells and they always involved great cost.    Usually there was a chance of the spell-caster and his patrons being killed by the spell if conditions of the spell were not met. 

These types of spells are called ‘Sanzuzhow’, which means roughly, ‘Three-curses’.    These spells could have up to three subjects in them, but if they had only one or two subjects, the spell would be much weaker.   

The Toi-Migg believed that the number three was the most powerful way to curse someone.

When my people defeated the Toi-Migg, they executed the nobles and the wizards, and enslaved the poorer classes.    The Toi-Migg slaves were the lowest of the slaves, on the same level as the goblin races.     They were treated very badly, and after several generations of slavery, they hated all races nearly as much as the Hutcaiah.

Secretly, in their mud huts at night they somehow learned of a scroll with the most powerful of the Sanzuzhow spells.   It was considered the most devastating and was known as ‘Long- Remee’

which means, ‘Dragon of Sorrow’.     They believed that there was an invisible dragon that controlled all the weather and could bring diseases and drought to a land.

This spell is the most complicated of the cursing spells.    For it to work at full force, three subjects, or more accurately, ‘victims’ have to be selected and then the spell must be cast by three groups of ten spellcasters, continually for one month.    Different shifts of casters can join in, but there can be no stumbling over the words of this spell or it will be broken and those mispronouncing the words of the spell will die.

The Toi-Migg descendants learned how to cast this spell and after nearly 200 years of slavery, they secretly trained 90 spellcasters to work in 8 hour shifts, for a month, chanting this spell.

It is said that two times they failed, for one of their spellcasters, each time, stumbled over an arcane spell.

But the third time, it was cast successfully, though none of the Hutcaiah royal family or nobles knew of it… at first.

This spell worked like this:     One subject was the Hutcaiah emperor, whom they hated as he had persecuted their ancestors.    The other two subjects were two powerful regional governors who ruled with iron fists as subject kings to the emperor, one of the two governors was a younger son of the emperor.

First, they had to have a blood sacrifice of one of the three rulers’ heirs.    They would have tried to sacrifice all three of the sons of the rulers who would inherit their father’s thrones, but the Hutcaiah royal heir was too closely guarded and one of the governors’ heirs was at the royal court, so was out of their reach.     But the governor that was unrelated to the royal family kept his son in his court.   It was there that the Toi-Migg struck.    

They sent twenty assassins into the governor’s court and they were able to murder the governor’s heir.    As soon as he died, the Dragon of Sorrow curse was launched.   The emperor, his governors and their primary wives were all stricken with terrible sickness.   It was like a flu virus, but grew worse each day, as they weakened.

Of course the priestesses of the moon goddess cast healing spells upon them, but when they did, a terrible enchanted darkness covered the skies.   Thick, grey clouds covered all of the Hutcaiah empire and soon a heavy rain began to fall.    This occurred at the start of the summer season, when it is usually the driest, and the temperature became very cool.

The rain would not stop, and the healings of the priestesses would only last for an hour, then the rulers and their wives would weaken and sicken.    Of course the very best wizards and healers in the empire were quickly summoned to try to help the emperor and the governors, but all that they could determine was that extremely powerful magic had been cast that they were unable to dispel.

For three days the emperor, his queen, the two governors and their wives grew sicker and weaker.    Then, late on the third day, there appeared a huge glowing magic scroll that hovered in the air over the Imperial city and the two seats of the governors.

The text was legible to everyone in the three cities and it contained the conditions of the curse that had been placed upon the three rulers and their wives.   It specified that the rain and clouds would continue for 28 days without stopping.   During that time, the rulers and their wives would slip into comas and weaken.   Magic would not heal them, nor could it stop the rain and clouds from blanketing the land.

The curse could be lifted, if three conditions were met.    First, the Toi-Migg people would be freed of their slavery.   Second, that the governors of all the districts within the Hutcaiah empire would resign.   Third, that the Hutcaiah emperor would abdicate and restore the Toi-Migg royal family as the rulers of the empire.

Of course these were outlandish demands, but the scroll warned that if they were not met, the emperor, his wife, the two governors and their wives would die, the crops would be blighted by the month of rain and disease and famine would plague the land.

My ancestor was stubborn and he refused, as did the two governors.    So the curse kept going and most of the Hutcaiah land was under water.   All the crops failed and sickness killed thousands.

At the end of twenty-eight days, the emperor and his wife, the governors and their wives all died at the same moment, and as soon as they died, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

But it had done terrible damage and the empire was in near anarchy for several years.    All the crops failed due to the blight from the rain.   Starvation and disease was endured for a year, but in retaliation for his parents’ deaths, the new emperor ordered all the Toi-Migg people executed.    A few escaped, but the vast majority of the Toi-Migg slaves were killed in this purge.”

 

The prince ended his tale abruptly, and for a moment Nolen and Arianelle waited, expecting him to somehow tie in the tale with the assassination attempt.    Finally Arianelle spoke up.

“Uh… so, Your Highness, do you see any connection with what happened yesterday to that horrible spell?”

Prince Lee shrugged, “I don’t know, it came to my mind because it was a terrible time in my people’s history.   The Toi-Migg are extinct now --- more or less-- so I don’t think it would be them who plotted the assassination.     They worked secretly, as they had too few to confront the Hutcaiah in arms.”

“The assassins of yesterday were all humans.”   Nolen interjected.

Again the Hutcaiah prince shrugged, “Perhaps there is a connection… I honestly don’t know, though it would seem very unlikely that it was Toi-Migg wizards.   It could be a remnant of some of your enemies.    Some of the enemies of Marksylvania.     I suppose they could have found a way to cast the Dragon of Sorrow spell.   Yet the assassination attempt, yesterday, was certainly not the result of the Dragon of Sorrow cursing spell.”

“But the minds of those who tried the assassinations could have been influenced by the tales of the Toi-Migg.”   Arianelle argued.

“Who here would know of these tales?   This is the first time I have spoken of this to anyone here.”

“That is assuming that the assassins of yesterday were really from here.”   Nolen replied, “We don’t know where they came from.    Their magically controlled airship seems to indicate that they have had at least some dealings with Hobnail’s pirates, and that is northeast of Marksylvania.”

“True, my friend, but why would a group of assassins want to harm your grandparents and their kingdom?    Does King Eleazar know of any subversive groups that are active now, with enough resources to conduct such an attack?”    Prince Lee’s question stumped Prince Nolen.

“What if it wasn’t King Eleazar or his kingdom that were the targets?”   Arianelle asked the Hutcaiah prince.    He looked at her in surprise.

“What do you mean, captain?”

“Well, your coming here was big news all over Marksylvania, and I would expect all over the Hutcaiah Empire as well.    A few days after your arrival, while you are in the royal court, there is an assassination attempt.   Perhaps they targeted the Queen’s Guards so that their numbers would be weakened for a second attack soon afterwards.    The Toi-Migg would just see other elves ruling Marksylvania and perhaps their bitterness and hatred extends to anyone elven.”

Prince Lee and Prince Nolen considered her words in sober silence for a few moments.  

“I don’t think there are many Toi-Migg left, captain.”   Prince Lee finally said, though his tone betrayed his own worry that he could be wrong, “There was an exacting extermination of them.”

“Yes, but they surely would have known that it was coming, if they had spent months plotting out this terrible spell.   They could have hidden some of their number, or sent them into foreign lands.   But even if a handful survived, Your Highness, their descendants could have slipped into Marksylvania and sought out the remnants of Torrin’s sect, as well as any who hate elves ruling over them, and preached their hatred to them.”                     

Nolen nodded thoughtfully, “Then these new ‘recruits’ could be used to further the goal of revenge of the Toi-Migg.   Perhaps they were stirred into action upon hearing of your arrival, Lee.”

Prince Lee seemed concerned, “It seems logical, but it also could just be a coincidence.    King Eleazar needs to try to find where this attack originated.”

“Oh, he is doing that.    What do you think would be their next move against us?”   Nolen asked.

“If they are few in number, and if they have kept knowledge of the Dragon of Sorrow spell, I would expect that they would seek to cast that again.”

“Didn’t you say that it was most powerful when there were three targets of the spell?”   Arianelle asked.

“Yes, if there are only one or even two subjects of the curse, the power of the spell is weakened considerably.    If there is a group plotting to use this spell again, and if they are based in Marksylvania, they will obviously name King Eleazar and his queen as one of the targets, and my parents as the second, as they would still seek revenge for past wrongs.     That would leave a third.”

“The more powerful the subject, the more potent the spell’s effects.    When they cast it last, they chose the two most important governors of the Hutcaiah, as there were no other kings that they knew of to use as subjects.    It is said that something from each of the targets is needed to focus the spell.”

“What do you mean?”  Nolen wondered.

“A personal item - a few hairs, a couple drops of blood, fingernail clippings, sweat or even urine - anything coming from the intended targets-  must be gathered.   So servants have to be carefully watched, as they could provide hairs from the queen’s hairbrush, for example.”

“Do you know what they used when they cast the spell before?”   Arianelle asked.

“We never knew, but there is no realistic way to keep an enemy from obtaining something from their victims.”

“You know, perhaps the attack yesterday had another purpose.”   Arianelle said, suddenly looking alarmed, “Queen Aurei was cut a few times in the battle yesterday.    Were you injured in the fight, Prince Lee?”

“A few minor cuts were all I sustained.”  He replied proudly.

“But those who delivered the cuts - did they escape?”

“I killed the man who cut me.”   Prince Lee answered.

“What about the man’s sword - with your blood on the blade--- what happened to it?”

Prince Lee looked at Nolen, who shrugged and said, “I have no idea, honestly.   I imagine that servants cleaned up the mess and took the weapons.”

“What if the attack yesterday was merely an attempt to get samples of blood for the spell?    If the sword that cut you, Prince Lee, was taken back to those who cast the Dragon of Sorrow spell, and your blood was still on it…”

“Well, I see what you are getting at, but I am not even the heir to the throne; I have a brother who is next in line.    I was told that they need something from the actual subjects of the spell, which would be my parents, not me, if I follow your theory correctly.    Also, they would have had to get something from King Eleazar, and he was not injured in battle, yesterday.”

Arianelle thought about that for a moment, wondering if she was jumping too far in conclusion. “Well, I’m certain that he sweated and perhaps they stole some of his undergarments that he wore during the battle.” 

The Hutcaiah prince shook his head, “I believe you are building a conspiracy where none exists, captain.”

“Perhaps, Your Highness, but if they had personal items from the king and queen, they could start the spell.”

“It would be a much weakened form.    They would need two other subjects -preferably royalty- for the most powerful version of the spell to work.   As I said before, they would need something from my parents, if they wished to strike at the Hutcaiah royal family again.    But even if they had this, the spell would still be weakened, unless they found a third subject.”

“I wonder if it is in the blood?”   Nolen thought out loud, causing the other two to look questioningly at him.   The paladin explained his thoughts, “Prince Lee, what if it isn’t something specifically that comes from the subjects of the curse?    What if all that the spellcasters need is a sample of blood of someone related directly to the victims of the curse?     If that is the case, then a bit of your blood would give them the component they needed to target your parents.     They would have Queen Aurei’s blood anyway, but I too was cut during the battle, so if my theory is correct, my wound could have provided the component to include King Eleazar into the curse.”

The Hutcaiah prince was taken back by the theory and contemplated it briefly, “It is possible, but even if that is so, the spell requires one of the three subjects’ heirs to be sacrificed for the curse to begin.     That part is certain, there has to be one death.”

“So, assuming that the Hutcaiah throne and Marksylvania were the targets, that would mean your older brother and… my father!”   Nolen jumped to his feet in alarm, “My father is the heir to the throne of Marksylvania!”

“Yes, but he is a mighty paladin and not easy to assassinate.” Arianelle assured him.

“Where there is determination, there is a means!”

Prince Lee arose and put his hand on Nolen’s shoulder. “I share your apprehension, but there is one thing that we are forgetting.    This spell requires three subjects and we have theorized that our families are two of them.    That would leave one last one, and if this third subject is less powerful than the other two, then that is certainly where the assassins will strike to get the sacrifice.    So what would be logical for Toi-Migg and disgruntled subjects of Marksylvania to strike?    Perhaps the duchy of Helios’ Valley?    But Duke Aaron has lived in constant fear of my father’s attack for years, so he is well fortified and strongly on guard.”

Nolen shook his head, “No, a better subject would be another king, and directly between our kingdoms is the Kingdom of Tarmard.”

“Tarmard!”  Arianelle shouted in alarm, for an instant forgetting her secret identity.   The two men looked at her in surprise at her reaction.   Regaining her composure, she smiled weakly, “I have always wanted to see the Sylvan elven kingdom… I hear that it is beautiful.”

“Well, that would be very logical to target their king.”    Prince Lee told them, “What was his name?    Aedric?   Who is his heir?”

“The Sylvan elves do not allow women to reign, so it would be Aedric’s cousin, Mattleos,”   Arianelle replied, her thoughts troubled by worry for her father’s cousin.

“No, that’s not true.”   Nolen countered, “That has been changed.”

“What?!”  Arianelle responded.

“It’s true - Aedric has been meeting with his nobles for months convincing them that this law is sexist and outdated.”

“I hadn’t heard anything about that… uh… from my Sylvan friends,”   Arianelle quickly added.

“It’s been kept top secret, I only know because my father spoke before the Sylvan council last month.”

“Why is it secret?”   Lee asked, always loving secret things.

“Aedric is keeping it from his daughter, Princess Arianelle.    During the fall festival in Tarmard, he will officially announce the change and she will be officially proclaimed as his heir.”

“Really?”   Prince Lee had a very thoughtful look in his eyes, “So where is Princess Arianelle now?”

“She travelled with her uncle and aunt in a convoy heading to East Point.    You have met her, Lee… remember?”

“She would not dance with me.”   The Hutcaiah prince mumbled, smiling, “Yes, I have briefly met her.    She is in grave danger, if your theory is correct, Nolen.   If the assassins have targeted Tarmard, and if they know that she is the heir - then her blood would be needed to activate the spell and she would be a wonderful choice for a sacrifice.”

Arianelle stood in shock, her mind reeling with all of it.   She had been injured during the battle of the day before, so they could have a sample of her blood as well.   Yet she couldn’t tell Nolen and Lee who she really was, or she would destroy her false identity.    But if she didn’t, their parents could be in grave danger.

Her cousin was speaking when her mind came back to the conversation.

“So if they don’t know about Arianelle’s new status, the assassins would target Mattleos?”

“Perhaps - but they just may assume that the only child of a ruler would inherit the throne, and if they did not know the Sylvan custom, then they’d seek out Princess Arianelle.”

“But as long as she hasn’t been harmed, then the spell’s effectiveness will be weakened, as the spellcasters would not have the components for three victims.”

“Yes, but she should be located as soon as possible and warned.    Of course we are just assuming that there will be a plot against the three kingdoms and that they will use a Dragon of Sorrow spell.    It is all speculation, we need proof, Prince Nolen.”

“I agree, Prince Lee.    I would suggest that we both contact our fathers about this theory, to put them on guard.”

“A fine idea.    Even if they have all the components in place, the spell must be chanted - perfectly- over the course of a month, and so we have time to stop it.    The casters have to chant the spell in one place, so it has to be in one of the three capital cities of the three rulers.     That would be Lu-Wadj, Westmark, and Tarmard’s capital… what is it called?”

“They just call it Tarmard, the same as the kingdom, for it is a small kingdom.”   Nolen explained.

“If Tarmard is small, it is unlikely that the spellcasters will chant the spell there, for there is safety in larger cities.    In Lu-Wadj, there are many who know of the spell, so here in Westmark would be the most logical choice.”

“Still, we need to warn King Aedric and send warning to East Point as well, so Arianelle will not be surprised.”   Nolen glanced around at Arianelle, who still stood there silently, not knowing what course to take, “Captain Neth, are you alright?   What is wrong?”

“Sorry… it is the news of all of this.   I was just wondering what I… what all of us should do?”  

Seeing her somewhat scared expression, Nolen went to her and put his arm around her reassuringly, “Captain, this has really bothered you, hasn’t it?    I’m rather surprised, for you seemed so cool in battle yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, Prince Nolen, but the scope of this is alarming.   One of the heirs of the three kings has to die for this spell to activate?”

They glanced at Prince Lee, who gravely nodded, “Yes, and that means that my brother, Nolen’s father, or Princess Arianelle will be targeted to be killed.   But do not fear, Captain, for this is all speculation amongst us.”

“We need to find out if there are any Toi-Migg descendants in Westmark.”   Nolen suggested.

Prince Lee agreed. “They will be easy to see, for they will have the same features as the Hutcaiah, though they are humans.   They will have oriental features.”

Arianelle suddenly jumped as a revelation came to her. “Oriental features!”

“Yes,” Lee answered, “The Toi-Migg Empire, like the Hutcaiah Empire, was vast, but all of the Toi-Migg were oriental in appearance… why?”

“There is no time to explain!   Just follow me!”   Without further explanation, the girl ran out of the room.    The two princes looked at each other, and then ran after her.

Reviews

[Elina]

"...stumbling over of the words of this spell..." You can remove the first "of."
"...wives all were stricken with terrible sickness." Instead, "...wives were all stricken..."
"...a couple of drops of blood..." You can remove the first "of."
"...will be the targeted to be killed." Perhaps change this to "...will be targeted to be killed."