Chapter 3
As the doors flew open, the first thing the crew of the "Sleeping Mountain" saw was the flashy smile of Garus Hayward. Garus is a taller Nyvind with the paler, alabaster-like skin of most people of his kind and had the looks to match. Garus's white hair comes to about his shoulders and his eyes are almost impossible to distinguish the color, all anyone can tell of them is that they are indeed beautiful. The crew cheers at his presence and Garus feeds off the euphoria. He strums his lute and taps his foot, as he does so the crew stops their cheering, and begins to pound their tankards and clap their hands. Garus looks around the faces of the crew: Nyvind, dwarves, even surprisingly a few Pavest dot the ship's crew. As he looks at their faces filled with anticipation and wonder, he thinks to himself what an honor it is that they get to hear me play. With this thought, Garus begins to sing. His voice fills the whole ship with an angelic grace. The ship crew is in awe, many have heard Garus perform before whether it be in local amphitheaters or taverns, but most have not had the privilege of being so close to him as he sings. Sure, his voice is radiant from a distance, but when it is no longer muffled by the populace that always cram themselves together at each of his shows it is filled with even more splendor than some could have believed. Garus is a showmanship through and through, he starts off his top deck tour with a slower ballad, making sure to belt the legato. Then just when the crowd is enchanted, he follows up with a few hearty diddy's that brings the crew to their feet. The crew cheers and laughs, clinking tankards together and singing along to familiar melodies or some of Garus's famous originals. But it is the last song that is truly the show stopper. As Garus begins to strum the tune for his last song, the crew falls silent. Garus takes one hand off his lute and waves it in the air in a very showy manner. A small amount of Magenta energy comes off of his hand and begins to materialize in the air. It accumulates into a ball that floats for a moment before Garus opens his hand and it divides into a dozen smaller balls of light that illuminate the deck of the ship against the night sky. The warm light of the lanterns and the magenta energy create a spectacle for the crew that Garus takes full advantage of. Garus begins to sing a new original, a song he tastefully calls "the sorrow of the mountain,". As he sings, the crew begin to weep at the words and the elegance in which they are presented. Garus sings a song of persecution, a song of uncertainty, a song that encompasses the feelings that many Nyvind and Dwarves alike have felt through many generations of mining the mountain for which they call their home:
Why must we hide within our mountainous crypt?
Why do the other lands scorn us still?
Though our beauty is great and our people filled with glee,
They lock us away in disgust of what we could be.
Though the marsh may be treacherous, an unpleasant reminder of what
We are, we will never waver in our standard…until we get the
Life that was taken from thee.
As Garus sings the last verse, he too releases a few tears. The last chord plays and the ship is silent for a moment. Then everyone begins to clap and cheer, toasting to Garus and toasting to Limgren as well. Garus takes a bow and grabs a tankard.
"To Limgren," he says as he raises his glass, "to what could and what can be." He raises his tankard high as does everyone else. Everyone downs their drink in the name of their country then goes back to partying on the deck. Garus looks around at the smiling faces of the crew, proud that he could be a source of joy for them during a time of uncertainty such as this. No one truly knew why the Enguvil had called all the other countries to the center isle, but given the relations between the six countries, especially the relationship between Limgren and Fearsh, it was highly doubtful that it was something that Limgren would like. Just thinking about it made Garus angry.
For generations the people of Fearsh had been oppressing Limgren in border disputes. Both countries occupied the bottom continent of Hize which made working together much harder when they had such different ways of life. The people of Fearsh were smelly, overweight, beast tamers who spent more time trying to mount wildlife than they did caring about their own well being, or the well being of others for that matter. Over the past almost 100 years, the two countries have been having border skirmishes over the land that makes of Fearsh and the land that makes up Limgren. They have been bloody and mostly involved people in the outlying villages so neither country has sent in full military reinforcements to deal with it. Instead the citizens who live close to the border have to live in constant fear of what might come to them in the lawless region of the continent. The people of Limgren have not been able to do much about it because of the lack or resources as well as the swamp that is too thick to send reinforcements through, but Fearsh has simply ignored the issue in favor of having more banquets and parties rather than helping their country folk. Garus had never been to Fearsh but he knew that they were a people who cared more about taming beast then they did about their own people. They kept vast amounts of land just so they could tame beast of many kind rather than developing the land for the growing populace. Envy had grown for in Garus's heart for many years knowing that Limgren struggled with the land they had and Fearsh neglected their abundance. Garus was disgusted by this, he was disgusted by the request to meet, he was disgusted at feeling like a servant summoned to his oppressor. The Enguvil had made it a point to almost never talk to anyone in Limgren, even though according to history Garus's mother, the Skutsamling, and Rashom, the Enguvil of Fearsh, were once close friends. Garus remembers as a kid hearing the stories of his mothers adventures saving the world alongside the Enguvil and the other rulers of the world; but back then they were all just young adults trying to do something good. His mother was never the one to tell him any of this, he is a steel trap of secrets, anytime he wanted to learn about stories for the past it was always his caretaker Madonna that was willing to oblige. As to why the Enguvil would want to meet now after years of fighting without resolution nor talks of peace was confusing to Garus, but he remained skeptical not just of the intentions of the meeting, but also of his mother.
Garus stares up at his mother on the quarterdeck. She is with the helmsman looking over a map of the world, navigating the waters that lead to the center aisle. Long ago she was the navigator during her parties adventures around the world. She has inspiring determination as she looks over maps. If Garus knew anything about his mother, he knew that she loved the sea. Even if they only had a small amount of it in Limgren, his mother intentionally had the palace built as close to the sea as possible. Most of the time Garus views his mother as a stern, cold, and often distant woman, but when it came to water there was always a peace and calm about her. Her coldness is supplanted by a warmth that Garus never truly understood. Even though things between the six nations are tense, there seems to be good memories associated with Garus's mothers past that he has difficulty fully comprehending. This voyage was no different, his mother is clearly not happy about being summoned but even she seems more at peace on the ship than she does being in a throne room. His mother notices Garus's gaze and they lock eyes, she motions for him to come up to the quarterdeck. They had yet to talk about the meeting that was ahead, Garus had assumed that his mother had things under control (as she normally did) so there was no need for Garus to do anything other than entertain the nerves of the many people on board. Garus ascended the stairs to the quarterdeck, his mother rolled up her maps and handed them to the captain of the ship.
"That will be all, see to it that these are locked in your quarters; should any rogues try to get onto the ship this is the last thing I want them to find," she says. The captain nods his head and passes Garus to head down the stairs to the deck. Garus's mother looks at him. "Was that a grand enough performance for you?"
"Any performance is enough for me, even ones I do in the bath…don't think too much into that," Garus cringes as he speaks. Garus's mother chuckled a little bit, she even let out a little smile. Most of the passengers, various noblemen and officials, could not help but feel uneasy during these times and yet the Skutsamling seemed…at ease. "Did you need something from me mother?" Garus examines his mother intently.
"I want us to be a united front," she says to Garus.
"A united front?" Garus gives her a puzzled look.
"I have known Rashom for a long time, he and I have seen each other only a handful of times since the Council of Zerlif was disbanded, and even fewer have I seen all the others. Somehow this almost feels like a family reunion," She says. Garus lets his jaw drop a little upon hearing these words come from his mother. She mainly speaks with disdain for any nation that is not Limgren, words like 'family reunion' after laughter from his mother brought a chill down his spine.
Could my mother…like people? Garus thinks, a foreign thought to be sure.
"It will be nice to see how much they have aged. Grown decrepit in these 50 years. I hope one of them has to use a cane that would be fantastic," She says smiling. Garus let out a sigh, his mother is still his mother. "The rest of the world has grown in strength and prosperity but we have remained the forgotten child of Hize. The others are expecting meekness and timidity during this address but I propose we put forth strength. After all, they still do have reason to fear us." Garus's looks down at the ground and his expression grows grim. But quickly he regains his composure choosing to let his smile grow rather than his anger.
"Yes, let us all grow in disgust and devour the world! I am sure the other countries would find themselves foolish for having condemned us in the first place if we did something like that!" Garus says with an exaggerated laugh. The Skutsamling looks unamused.
"I have grown tired of your jokes on this. You are lucky you are a prince otherwise this would be considered treason," she says in a serious tone.
"Mother you are insistent of this idea that if we were to unleash the very power that we were persecuted for that the nations would fear the raze that is coming and regret their decision yet that unleash of power is why we were given this desolate swamp to begin with! Would you condemn the future generations to stricter condemnation simply to make yourself seem strong?" Garus says growing in frustration, he and his mother have had this conversation many times.
"Were you not the one just singing of Limgren's torment? Were you not singing of hope for a better tomorrow?" The Skutsamling says cutting back at Garus. "Do you expect that the other nations will simply go 'they have suffered long enough, let them gain power now'? They will never relent on us until we no longer exist. Luckily the other nations do not have the gall to officially finish us off, their morality does not allow them the convenience of being rid of us as an issue in such a simple manner." Garus wants to argue back but as the conversation has gone many times before he relents to his mothers wisdom. How can Garus argue when all of his countries history, since the descending of the void, has been persecution?
"I am sorry mother, I do not mean to rehash an argument that has been exhausted countless times; but if our united front is built on the idea that I will one day accept the genocide of all groups that are 'other' then that will never be something I can concur with you on," Garus says forthrightly. Garus's mother walks around the area, pacing a bit.
"Despite what you may believe of me I actually do value your opinion. I am not conceited enough to believe that I am always correct in my thoughts, even if that is not how I carry myself. Your father was always willing to give me his opinion on things, flawed as some of them may be. No son nor ruler should be spineless," Garus's mother said. Garus had never heard this from his mother before. It is a nice reprieve from the usual questioning and strife he had become so used to from conversations.
"Wait…you are telling me father had a spine? In all my years I do not remember him ever talking back to you once. In fact, I am positive his favorite words are 'whatever you say my Skutsamling," Garus began to laugh and his mother did as well. The memory of Garus's father is a shared common ground between the two. Memories of him are a shared bit of joy for the two of them.
"Surprisingly yes, there was a time when he was willing to talk back to me. But he was never like you, he never told me his true opinion. Maybe at one point I would have respected him as a fellow ruler but not the man you knew, not the spineless full I called a husband," Garus's mother talked with disgrace. "You do not relent Garus. You have your opinions and you stick to them. You are not perfect in your method but at the bare minimum you stand by what you believe. You will be the ruler of Limgren one day and I believe you will be a great one, even if you do not follow my path."
"Thank you…" Those are the only words that Garus could muster. Love was something he never expected from his mother but respect even less so. Garus was the leader of a band, he played in taverns throughout Limgren, he spent most of his time conferring with the "commoners" and advently avoiding meetings of any kind. His Mother is strict, disciplined, calculate, all things Garus had a hard time understanding; the idea of his mother respecting him was a difficult concept to grasp.
Garus's mother reached behind her and grabbed something that is concealed in her waistline behind her back. She pulls out a sleek black dagger a little over a foot in length; the daggers edge contains a faint red energy that is persistent while the rest of the blade down to the hilt had faint etchings on it of some language did not know, but the etching also glow red. The most prominent feature of the dagger was the blade itself. The longer Garus looked at it the more he noticed that it had the faint outline of what looked to be screaming faces in the blade, faces that were experiencing some form of torment. It disgusted Garus the longer he looked at it.
"Woeful Admonishment. That is the official name of this blade but most wielders have simply called it 'woe'," she says, "I am sure you have maybe seen this blade in passing before but never taken notice to it. It is passed down from ruler to heir in our country but its identify has been concealed for reason even I do not know. When it is given from ruler to heir, it marks the passing of the times. It means the previous ruler is now running on embers while the future one is being to blaze." She reached it out towards Garus. Garus looked at the blade longer, studying its features, analyzing its meaning. His mother was passing on her rule to him. Garus, who played in taverns and had never taken a single interest in the legislative affairs of the country was now being handed the reigns.
"Do I have to actually physically grab it or like…" Garus says jokingly, but inside he was terrified. His mother puts the blade it in his hand.
"I am with you. I am still ruler of Limgren but my embers are now fading and I pork forward to seeing your flames grow brightly." and then she said something in a language that Garus could not understand. As she spoke Garus's eyes began to glow red faintly, with his eyes the blade also illuminated brighter. Garus took a small step back in shock. He looked around, stunned by the red tint that everything had become.
"Mother your strange speech has made the world red. If it could be a different color that would be better," Garus says trying to relieve the tension. Garus's mother finishing talking in the strange language and with it Garus's vision returns to normal. "Oh," Garus says, "Everything being its normal color works also."
"The blade has to be bonded with its owner. By speeching the incantation I have transferred possession over to you," Garus's mother explained. Garus looked at the dagger in his hand, slightly allured by its etchings anf color. The mere fact of holding it felt wrong to him.
"What does it do? The incantation I mean," Garus asked.
"The Dagger has a will to protect the wielder of it. If you are ever in danger, it will protect you. But you will not always remember its effect," Garus's mother said, "It has a strange effect on the mind. Whether it is a way to protect itself or you, I do not know." Garus's mother reached out her hand and grabbed Garus's. "I believe in you. Let me be the one to guide this meeting but when we return home, you will begin your steps of beginning to rule. In this meeting we must show that we stand together, which is why this dagger is now yours."
Garus stared at the dagger longer, looking at him made him queasy but he couldn't look away. He was pulled from his trance by a voice from the lower deck. One of the shipmates was cheering for an encore and more followed as well, soon a small cackle of passengers were cheering for entertainment only Garus could provide. Garus's mother gave a small grin.
"Your fans await," She said, "I know you have more questions but they can wait don't you think?" Garus never did want his adoring fans to be let down. The sense of dread that was in his stomach began to subside to gain the nerves to perform.
"We will discuss this more later, but for now mother; be enchanted" Garus said forcing his usual enrapturing smile. He lifted himself off the ground with his wings, and then gave himself over to the fans below.