Blood & Besiegement Read online

  “Wait! That thing is after my daughter!” Caroline said.

  “Do you believe that she is here?” Guillermo asked.

  “Taesa was here. Several of us were together. She had a companion, another singer, as well,” Pradrock said.

  “Where is that rich boy? Can’t find him? Too bad. We have to get you out of here!” Claudia said, still looking at Pradrock.

  “If this other person is on the island, he can leave with the help of another ship. We must move away from here, and find opportunity in another location,” Guillermo said.

  Guillermo started moving the ship away from Udovedaj-Pren Island, so as to keep their distance from the flames in the forest, and from the burning remains of the Meticulous.

  “Can you navigate at all?” Claudia asked Akylas.

  Akylas started drinking the Atrejan waters and concentrated and said: “Possibly. Better than staying here.”

  “How did you even get here, captain?” Pradrock asked Guillermo.

  “We navigated by eye most of the way, and then there was a change in the sky, with the bright suns, which brought us the rest of the way,” Guillermo said.

  “That must have been Taesa’s song that Daven mentioned,” Pradock said.

  “What song?” Caroline asked.

  “Her companion – another singer named Daven – told us. He said that they were trying to find the island and Taesa sang a song and the sky changed,” Pradrock said.

  “That’s outrageous! I don’t believe it!” Caroline said, mostly out of habit or unwillingness to believe. At some level, she was extremely afraid that such an outlandish thing was true, and that her daughter’s music was powerful enough to change the sky.

  “That’s quite a voice to change the sky. Are you sure about this?” Guillermo asked.

  “We weren’t there for the song when Taesa sang it, but Daven is credible, and he proved his expertise with his own song,” Pradrock said.

  “What are you talking about?” Caroline asked.

  “We paid a little visit to the island hostess, along with your daughter and her rich singer friend – that Daven. We caught a light and magic show, meant to thrill us and kill us, but it didn’t work. Then he sang a song and the show was over,” Claudia said.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Caroline said.

  “There was an illusionist on the island,” Akylas said.

  “She used her powers to try to scare us all to death – she thought that Daven was rich, and wanted his money,” Akantha said.

  “I didn’t see a thing,” Torin said.

  “The illusions didn’t affect him, so we found our way out by following his lead. Then we had to deal with the illusions that were outside, too – tree after tree after tree – and those were mixed in with what was real, like animals,” Claudia said.

  While Claudia was speaking, Torin held his hands over his eyes, so that Caroline would see that he was blind. However, she remembered his disability from before, in the Port of Kemalorin.

  “Daven used his music to dispel the illusions, so we know that he is powerful. He told us that Taesa could do even more…she could call on the suns of the sky. Now, I believe even that, as surprising as it is, given what we just saw on the shore, whatever that fire creature was,” Pradrock said.

  “Whatever it was, it still wants my daughter,” Caroline said.

  “I thought it was a demon, but I’m not sure. The guy with the sword was able to confront it, and no sword can stop a demon,” Akantha said.

  “If it’s not a demon, then what is it?” Akylas asked.

  “It’s a creature of the suns. I’ve heard of these sorts of things, but I always considered them to be tall tales, told by the fearful or superstitious,” Guillermo said.

  “It seems they’re real, and we do need to be just a bit cautious…actually, a lot more,” Claudia said.

  “And we do need a new ship,” Pradrock said.

  “A fleet – of thousands and thousands – made out of the same material that sword was,” Claudia said.

  “That sword was interesting,” Pradrock said.

  “I’m sure you must be uncomfortable after losing your ship. Take these and dry yourselves,” Guillermo said, and he started handing out large dry cloths to his new passengers so that they could dry themselves off and be a little more comfortable. Then, he led them into a cabin with seats and a table.

  “Let me take each of you home, wherever that would that be,” Guillermo then said

  “Home? I’m not sure that’s where we need to be. Let’s try Emeth, if you would be so kind, Captain Guillermo,” Pradrock said.

  “Very well, the home of truth and of the scholar,” Guillermo said.

  “Look to the suns, sky boy,” Claudia said to Akylas.

  Akylas drank deeply, and repeatedly, of the Atrejan Ocean waters he kept in a vial. He was energized to a very high level, and then he concentrated, yet found only chaos. “There’s too much chaos above us. The yellow suns are doing things they never did. I can’t make sense of the stars – they’re even interfering with my reading of the red and blue suns!” Akylas said.

  “Let me try!” Torin said, and he drank deeply of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean he kept in his own vial. He was energized, and then he concentrated, and found only chaos. “Yep. Chaos. We need a new plan,” Torin said.

  “Trigonometric probabilistic navigation it will have to be,” Pradrock said. He drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his own vial and was energized. He then looked up at the sky, gazed at a blue sun along with a few red suns, and ignored the presence of the yellow suns. He began making mental calculations based on his knowledge of the red sun and blue sun orbits, and calculated a path with a margin of uncertainty. The visual distortions caused by the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean on which the ship was afloat created a strong possibility for error, and it had to be accounted for by assigning a probability to their success.

  “What does any of that even mean?” Claudia asked.

  Pradrock then said: “Due south plus thirteen point four two (13.42) primalurens west, to compensate.”

  “That shall be our course,” Captain Guillermo said, and steered the ship in that direction.

  Pradrock then began explaining himself, saying: “The positions of the suns, along with knowledge of their orbits, can be used to trace out triangular regions over the ocean that indicate the proper path to steer the ship. That’s the trigonometry, and it’s ordinarily quite simple.”

  Then, he continued, saying: “These ocean waters – the same ones that bring about the darkness when someone with innate potential drinks them – also have the effect of distorting the appearance of objects and distances around them. It becomes uncertain, like rolling dice, how things will appear relative to how they are truly positioned. Certain constraints can be used to bound the uncertainty – just as there is a largest and a smallest value on the facets of a die, there are also minimum and maximum distortion amounts.”

  Pradrock then took out a clear crystal from a pocket in his jacket – which was, of course, soaking wet from when they jumped overboard – and he saw that it was still clear and reflective.

  “If you look into the crystal, you can see your reflection in it, yet your appearance will have distortions caused by the crystal’s angled facets. As I tilt the crystal, the angle changes, so the distortion changes. It can be calculated for, and that’s still trigonometry,” Pradrock said.

  “So what’s the problem?” Claudia asked.

  “Imagine rolling this crystal like a die, and trying to see your reflection, while the crystal is still rolling. That’s the problem,” Pradrock said, spinning the crystal on a table in the cabin.

  “Is it really that bad?” Claudia asked.

  “Sometimes, with a certain probability distribution,” Pradrock said.

  After repeated adjustment, with Pradrock giving revised directions to Guillermo, he steered their ship and they made their way, slowly, to the sou
th, over the Ikkith Tar Ocean. Eventually, they found their way to the shores of the continent of Revod.

  “We have reached the northern coast of Revod. It gets much easier to travel from this point. Thank you for your navigation expertise, Captain Pradrock,” Guillermo said.

  Then, Guillermo converted the ship to the form of an airship and they traveled south over the continent of Revod, and then returned to sea level in the Medathero Ocean. From there, they sailed southwest to the mountainous land bridge where the ancient City of Emeth was located.

  CHAPTER 3: Stay and Leave

  “We should leave this island…soon. The number of dangers we need to defend against is growing, and we need to make necessary preparations in Revod,” Emerond said.

  “Travel will be challenging. The bright lights in the sky have faded, and these waters are notoriously difficult to navigate. I will begin making calculations at once,” Admiral Gavin said.

  “Someone should remain here, on this island. I believe that this fire creature – this Prince Kirdothet – may try to return to his temple and gather strength. We cannot allow him to become more powerful,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Yes. I will remain,” Lady Onora said.

  “You? Do you have a means of stopping him?” Lady Ismene asked.

  “Yes. And I will be sure that I am ready,” Lady Onora said.

  “What do you even know of these matters?” Lady Ismene asked.

  “All that I need to know. I know the Way to true power – not my own, but the True Power that far exceeds what this fire creature has,” Lady Onora said.

  “Will you see him coming? I know you have the power of song, but you do not have the knowledge of the spirit world that I do. You will need someone to look and warn you, for this fire creature will come quickly when he returns. I can see into the spirit world and sense its approach in advance,” Lady Ismene said.

  “This creature is no demon. It is a being of fire. How will seeing into the spirit world be of use?” Romana asked, having listened to the exchange.

  “There is a place where the kingdom of the sky meets the spirit world, and movements in one can be felt in the other. Things are connected in ways that might surprise you, if you only depend on faith in another without having your own knowledge of matters,” Lady Ismene said.

  Romana sensed the slight, as Lady Ismene was an independent person, who wished for direct knowledge of the spirit world rather than depending on a deity to give the information as needed to those who had the faith. She wanted to make a useful reply, rather than a scathing rebuke, and said: “Mere knowledge – however vast – of the spirit world is not sufficient to contend with its dangers. One can know of the existence of an evil power – such as a demon or fire creature – but that knowledge is not the same as strength or protection. Faith in a Far Greater Power is where the strength, and protection, can be found. With knowledge alone, one can be aware of a danger and be unable to confront it, having only a greater awareness of one’s own impending demise.”

  Lady Ismene found Romana’s point to be clever, and at least partly true, and said: “Indeed, I may not have the strength to contend with this creature, but ignorance serves no one. Without knowledge, how could you tell a benevolent deity from a deceptive and malevolent one? Without knowledge, how could you know where to put your faith, and where to put your doubt?”

  “True faith in the True God will bring the Peace and the Love of God, and then you will know,” Lady Onora said, wishing to emphasize her own position and bolster Romana’s argument.

  “No mortal, however knowledgeable, can expect to know all things, or even understand all that they do know. We have to accept our limitations, knowing that our abilities to handle complexity are bounded. If a person is confronted by a great many spiritual matters of right versus wrong, having to decide each matter through their finite personal knowledge – rather than faith in the One True God – then there is a chance they may fail. In fact, even if you had two (2) chances out of three (3) to decide each spiritual matter correctly, and had to decide twelve (12) matters of great importance, then you have a zero point seven seven (0.77) percent chance of deciding them all correctly, thus a ninety-nine point twenty-three (99.23) percent chance of making at least one (1) error, with all of its deadly consequences,” Romana said, ever committed to quantifying all matters, including those of faith.

  Lady Onora and Lady Ismene both looked at Romana, surprised at her statement, somewhat understanding its conclusion if not the logic behind it.

  “How can you measure matters of faith and spirit?” Lady Onora asked her.

  “I suppose that one will eventually make some errors here and there, but that is not an excuse for ignorance,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Probability is about measuring uncertainty – quantifying ignorance – and comparing one’s options. Because of the high fallibility of our reasoning – which occurs at a level which we can at least estimate using the laws of probabilities of events – we can conclude that self-reliance is inappropriate. I don’t make the argument for deliberate ignorance. Rather, I argue for not placing something of ultimate value – the fates our very souls – into our own incapable hands. Have faith, instead, in the totally infallible One True God,” Romana said.

  “We’re not playing a game of throwing dice here, my dear,” Lady Ismene said.

  “That’s right – I refuse to throw dice when spiritual matters are concerned. A lifetime of relying on oneself, however, is akin to a game of chance. The expected number of mistakes is very high,” Romana said.

  “I will continue to depend on faith in the One True God. However, I can do that without counting and calculating,” Lady Onora said, finding Romana’s technical arguments strange.

  “I will continue to depend on my own knowledge, and the knowledge that others share with me, when it comes to spiritual matters, my dear,” Lady Ismene said.

  “This creature will continue to search for the girl – the one named Taesa – and will continue to burn everything it can,” Emerond said, interrupting them.

  “That is true, and we need to allocate our resources appropriately against it,” Romana said.

  “I’ll stay here with you. We’ll see the fire creature coming, and we’ll do the best we can to stop it from getting stronger,” Lady Ismene said to Lady Onora. She didn’t want to hear any more about Romana’s mathematical arguments but she did like the strength of Lady Onora’s music, hoping that it might be enough. Lady Ismene then drank the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from the vial she carried and was energized. She opened her senses to the spirit world, seeking any sign of the disturbances that Prince Kirdothet could cause.

  “I will prepare to dispel this creature of fire, so that he does not grow stronger in his evil,” Lady Onora said. She then drank the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from the vial she carried and was energized. Words began to come to her, and she planned the lyrics and music for a new song – one that would be powerful against fire. And the song didn’t sound anything like a mathematical puzzle, at least as far as Onora thought. She believed in the same True God that Romana did, but found the math a bit distracting, despite being a good friend of Romana.

  “Hopefully that problem’s under control here. Let’s get ready to deal with it when it decides to visit us at home, and get ready for the other one, as well, shall we? To the ships,” Emerond said.

  ~~~

  Judith and Ovid captured all of this exchange, down to the very numbers that Romana quoted, into their books. The waters of the Ursegan Ocean – which they both drank anew from their vials – slowed down time for them such that recording the words and actions was a simple matter for them. The shorthand notation of the Chroniclers only facilitated this further.

  ~~~

  Prince Emerond, Admiral Gavin and General Joshua led all the Jenaldej troops and they began boarding their ships, to make the return trip to Revod. Romana, being a scholar of the Jenaldej Empire, returned with them.

  Ovid followed th
e Jendaldej troops and boarded on their ships, under the authority of the Chronicler’s Oath, as he was curious to see what preparations they would make in Revod.

  With much trial and error, they navigated the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean, having many false readings of the directions around them due to the visual distortions caused by the dark waters. There was not a sufficiently capable drinker of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean among them who could use telepathic navigation – the technique of telepathically sensing one’s distance from other sea travelers, who may also be in motion in various directions, and thereby choosing which way to go when other direction-finding senses failed. That was a very rare level of ability, and drinking even the purest Elanatin Ocean waters was not enough: the innate potential for telepathic navigation had to be present.

  The Jendaldej leadership and forces returned to the continent of Revod to make their preparations against the Ahitan woman, Victoria, and to stand guard against the fire creature known as Prince Kirdothet.

  CHAPTER 4: Command and Supremacy

  Lavakara appeared next to Serafina and said: “It is time we left this island. All the troops must return to their ships, and return to Ihalik. We must prepare against the Ahitan threat.”

  “What of the fire creature?” Serafina asked.

  “He is gone for now. It’s not us that he wants…it’s the girl, the one called Taesa,” Lavakara said. He had been hiding in the spirit world, and listening to what was said by the others.

  Lavakara now knew that Taesa had powerful songs, and thereby had the ability to call down the suns. This made the girl as dangerous as the Ahitan woman, if not more so. He was deeply concerned, and considered that Taesa may have to be controlled, or even killed, and very quickly, before she called down even more powers. He would have to make that every bit the priority that killing Victoria would be.

  “Very well. To the ships,” Serafina said, and the Ihalik troops worked their way through the forest and back to their ships.

  “Leave these animals here. We have no further use of them,” Lavakara said, referring to the wolves and bats that were previously under the command of the dagger.