A messenger had informed Rubad the day of the announcement, setting the near completed tower of Black Pass into a frenzy of preparations. His mother threw open the dungeon doors, and set every servant to gilding the new King’s residence with the booty skimmed from the former reign to outfit the place fit for his stature. Rubad too spiffed up for his expected appointment, only to be disheartened at the sight of the grand entourage Rolly brought with him at homecoming.
Ectron had vested Rolly with Ligau’s service as well as three other trusted advisors, Ronge, Poseh, and Oulsa. Ronge had formerly headed the army, yet in peacetime served more as a tactical advisor in relation to the kingdom’s resources. Poseh and Oulsa managed money matters for the kingdom. Trusting Ectron’s wisdom, Rolly retained all four in the early years of his reign, though he never much cared for Ronge’s blustery character, or Poseh and Oulsa’s heartless calculations.
Rolly entered the Black Pass to a find a festival at his hands. The marketplace never had so many vendors, and the carousing and revelry going on had the potential to become uncivilized come dark. Ronge quickly assumed his former military air and ordered the guards, also appointed by Ectron at departure, to surround the perimeter to ensure peace. Rolly was then shuttled to his royally festooned tower where he made his first proclamation flanked by Ligau, and to his own delight, Rubad.
“Residents of the Kingdom of the Black Pass,” he announced, eliciting loud cheers from the marketplace below, “We are no longer a hamlet, we are no longer a piece of another’s land, we built the Black Pass by our own energy, all of us, and we will continue to serve it faithfully, to create a Kingdom that will serve as a resource for others and the pride of ourselves, they will come from afar for our trade and we will provide a safe place for honest exchange, and I as your King will assure that everyone who assists to the upkeep of this fledgling kingdom will reap the rewards of their loyalty.”
Rubad became Rolly’s liaison to the townspeople of the Black Pass. King Ectron’s men knew nothing of the local customs, prejudices and the like. Rubad maintained relations with all of the old families, patronized established businesses and absorbed gossip with his keen hearing.
Though Rolly valued the loyalty of the people who had watched him swing from the tower at the beckon of his father not long ago, he considered the recognition of his position southward more of a challenge. Ectron had hardly concerned himself with the communities that clung to the river’s edge areas south since due to their small numbers in relation to the north, and the fact that they only populated a small strip of land between the rising mountains that provided the border to the south. Rolly however, having only recently visited them, understood their perceived independence, which he aimed to end peacefully.
With the exception of Thenen’s toll, only Dofer, the last agricultural area before the great mountains closed in, warranted the population for a calculated visit. Only days after his return, Rolly left Rubad at the Black Pass and took Ronge and Ligau to visit the toll-keeper of Dofer.
Rakesphe was the youngest of three brothers. The oldest brother inherited the task of toll-keeping. The middle brother, always jealous of the first, wooed the sweetheart of his brother while the other concentrated on his responsibilities. Eventually, the perpetual arguments erupted into a duel on the tower, where the older brother stabbed his sibling through and the younger brother thrust his weight on his elder, pushing him over the edge to his death.
Rakesphe had a quiet, studious nature, and not heir to the toll, planned to enter the monastery and devote his life to learning and worship. When the responsibility came his way, he adjusted his plans little. He hired two vassals, Khilso and Kodwar, to assist his duties, confined himself to his tower and ruled over the town of Dofer as a benevolent patriarch through his two assistants.
When Rolly, Ronge, Ligau and guards floated up to Dofer tower they found Khilso waiting on the Quay with a grin that betrayed his excitement at the visit. He almost forgot to kneel before the king and only remembered at the last moment before Rolly disembarked. Rolly had enjoyed Khilso on his last visit, recognizing him as a loyal and ebullient personality. Khilso collected friends with a handshake, and everyone appreciated his hospitality, but as the sun waned with the conversation Rolly asked the vassal for permission to enter the tower.
“I must warn you,” Khilso whispered to Rolly once inside, “Rakesphe has grown worse, your arrival and appointment could not have come at a better time. Kodwar has done all he can, and the two pray day in and day out for relief of pain.”
Kodwar resembled his master in his devotion to religion and learning, specifically in the natural sciences which made him a known healer, yet his personality aligned with his fellow Khilso, and though he never divulged the nature of his master’s illness, he confirmed that he had suffered from the degenerative condition since young adulthood, but only recently had it digressed to threaten his life.
His path cleared by this misfortune, Rolly gave condolences to the ailing toll collector, and then spent a pleasant vacation touring the area with Khilso, who of course kept a favorable acquaintance with everyone, and sumptuous dinners with Kodwar, who prepared meals with the aid of his round wife. He so enjoyed the company of the duo he offered the two an appointment in his court after Rakesphe exhausted his life.
By appointing Thenen as toll magistrate, Rolly could reclaim the sovereignty of the toll collectors in most townships without fomenting any resentment. Since so many collectors were hermits without heirs, Thenen could appoint new collectors at their retirement, collectors who acted in that capacity only. He appointed Khilso to a serve a role similar to Rubad’s in the entire southern territories, and obligated toll collectors to refer matters of governance to Khilso, who would make the rounds, traveling across Rolly’s territories, introducing himself as the royal envoy, collecting questions, distributing alms, resolving petty discrepancies and generally acting as the jovial face of the monarchy.
Unmarried, yet supported by a large family of 11 brothers and sisters who spanned the entire kingdom, Khilso embraced the itineracy of his position. Kodwar, however, expressed some reservations on leaving Dofer. Though he had few remaining family, they had long resided in that region, and he never had any designs to leave. At the table on their final night, Rolly and Kodwar talked until near sunrise, each sharing their childhood concepts of home, each rationalizing their position, each growing more fonder of the other. Rolly especially enjoyed Kodwar’s clarity of speech, his ability to listen to and respect opposing views, and reason through an argument in reference to another’s opinion. Finally, Rolly relented to a bribe. If Kodwar joined his court in the Black Pass, he promised him leave to return to Dofer for one whole month of the year during which he would shed his responsibilities and return to peasant life. The role he offered Kodwar was the bishop of Black Pass.
Rolly’s father had long ignored the religious leaders in Black Pass. He preferred to raise his children on principles, not dogma, and Rolly knew his lack of religion had isolated him with the populous who regularly worshiped. In order to solidify his divine right to the throne, Rolly knew he needed a religious figure at court, and set his designs on Kodwar, the only man whose religious references elicited an iota of reverence for Rolly.
Though the town’s religious leaders treated Kodwar coldly at first, the new bishop’s even-tempered, genuinely friendly nature warmed many hearts. Moreover, Kodwar had the capacity for great mirth, and he always made sure to sprinkle his advice with a touch of humor, cheering the crestfallen and entertaining congregations with his sermons.
Rolly rejected the advice of Ectron’s advisers, who urged him to seek out qualified nobility to fill specific roles at court. Instead he created positions for those who he felt had merit.
During the early years, Rolly found many of his future loyal servants at the marketplace. He enjoyed touring the commerce center, which grew exponentially during the first ten years of his reign. He commissioned his favorite craftspeople to provide wares of royal quality, and often paid for two pieces to be made so he could select the one he favored. The merchant was then free to sell the inferior copy. In this way he raised the reputation of his marketplace, attracting craftspeople of quality and the nobility who desired their wares.
Rolly hired a baker he found at the marketplace to serve in his kitchen, he populated the high ranks of his army with the spare sons of successful merchants who had no hope of (or wish to) inherit the family business. He sought the best horse breeder in the region to man his stables, and always kept his eye out for potential talent.
Sometime during the years between his father’s death and his royal elevation, Rolly became acquainted with an inventor in the marketplace who created some novel gadgets. He recognized the man’s genius immediately, yet once he became King, Rolly began to consider his ingenuity as a potential threat.
By that time the inventor had hired an apprentice, a loud-mouthed boy still years from a beard, who artlessly engaged strangers to his booth through ribald demonstrations of the inventions. Alone, the old inventor would sit at his plain table with the strange gadgets before him, everyone ignoring him, assuming his wares must apply to an unknown trade. The boy aroused attention, often traipsing through the crowds, flaunting some gadget or another, goosing people in good natured fun. When Rolly first stumbled upon him, the boy was demonstrating a new shoehorn on a lovely young lady, more demure than intelligent, who continued to pull her skirt higher at his request, much to the amusement and stifled giggles of the crowd. “I still can’t see your shoes from this angle,” he would say, and she would hike it up to mid-thigh.
Rolly too enjoyed the entertainment, but regretted the newfound popularity of the booth. He owned a number of the inventor’s products: a miraculous sight glass, and well concealed projectile, and a paper that captured an image in light, and feared such implements making their way into the hands of traitors. Interested in obtaining a private conversation with the inventor, he tracked him to his shop located in the barn of a long-neglected farm. Though no longer used for agriculture, the man and his wife lived on the land in large well-kept house. The barn too, lacked dust or disorder, only the surrounding farmland was taken over with accrued odds and ends, the materials for his inventions. Relieved to find himself alone with the genius, Rolly offered the man a salary in exchange for the right for prior review of all inventions. The man’s hesitation belied his skepticism. Rolly assured him that he only asked for first rights to the inventions, and that he would compensate the inventor royally for any invention that he requested exclusive rights on. The old inventor agreed, and from that point forward, the inventor, often accompanied by the boy, would come to the castle on a regular basis asking for audience to the king.
Rolly never felt comfortable with the concept of the receiving room. Had someone wanted to assassinate him they could easily walk right in and have a straight shot. Instead, he received everyone in the sitting room. Sometimes, as is the case with the inventor, he preferred to sit at the dining table. The inventor would place the item on the table, and if present, the boy would often run his mouth ahead of the elder, picking it up again and explaining its attributes with words paced to match his excitement. Rolly would later look upon some purchases with a mixture of fondness and regret. Though he often wished the inventor would arrive alone in order to save them both some time, in truth he admired the boy, whose enthusiasm obscured his intelligence, the presence of which most people, including Rolly, underestimated. Though his charisma earned him favor, his brashness cost him much regard. Once, seated at the table beside a bowl of grapes, Rolly watched the boy toss one after another in his mouth talking all the while, leaving the bowl near empty at his departure. After these occasions, he would feign displeasure with the kid, if only to assuage his own ideals.
At the start of this arrangement, Rolly received the two regularly, but gradually this dropped off, and by that time Rolly had more to concern himself with than obtaining frivolous possessions. Indeed, over a year had passed when Rubad announced, during dinner no less, that the boy apprentice requested his attention.
Rolly found it only fitting to make the youth wait, and after he cleared his plate and finished his conversation he strolled leisurely to the sitting room where he found a young man lounging with his heels on the table. At least he had the presence of mind to remove them when the king made his entrance. He stood up quickly before dutifully bowing his head. To his surprise, Rolly now matched stature with the young man, yet when he asked about his mentor, the former wilted.
“He has passed on,” said the kid.
“My condolences,” apologized Rolly, and bid the kid to sit.
He insisted on standing, and so remained Rolly, asking what misfortune befell the inventor.
The boy explained that the old man had died the normal way. He fell ill and never got better. He then pulled two small items from his pockets and handed them to Rolly. One was simply a piece of brass wrapped around itself. The other was shaped like a cone with a bell at the end. The boy began to explain that these two pieces represented a new invention, but he hadn’t the materials or money to complete it. He stopped just short of asking for the investment. Though the youth continued on for some time about his idea, rambling as was his habit, the whole concept seemed very far-fetched. He claimed that Rolly would hear events in other rooms of the castle through the horn when the invention came to fruition.
Rolly asked if the inventor had left any design drawings and the boy looked offended, claiming that the invention was his alone and not the inventor’s.
In the five years of his reign Rolly had encountered many opportunists, and as far as he was concerned, the boy’s merit existed only within his relation to the inventor. He started to dismiss the kid but the other swiveled around and pointed to the couch, “I can make you a far superior couch,” he claimed, “Do you see how most couches tilt you backwards, see, making it hard for the elderly or people with knee sprains to remove themselves from.” He demonstrated, mimicking an old codger in pain struggling from the couch. “Now I can make a couch much easier to get in and out of just by changing the feet.” He continued to explain this concept, and when Rolly declined, the kid pointed to the picture frame, claiming he could make a picture frame which could store many pictures at once which you could swap with a lever. He then moved on to the drapes, to the tableware to the lamps, explaining his improvements for each.
Though annoyed, Rolly sensed desperation in the youth’s insistence. He noticed the holes in the underseam of his shirt, and then remembered that he had, for his ‘salary’ excused the old inventor from paying taxes. In fact he only had actually paid the man when he accepted a commission. He asked the boy how the inventor’s wife had fared with his death.
Surprised by the question, he admitted he did not know. The woman never cared for him. He only knew that she had closed her husband’s shop and her brother had threatened him when he attempted to access their unfinished projects.
“So he was not of your family,” Rolly asked.
“No,” the boy admitted. “I took an interest in his work and I had the hands to make it happen. When I get an idea, I will work all night just to see it the next morning, I’m just like that. I have a lot of ideas, I have more ideas than I know what to do with and he knew what to do with them, and had the stuff to make it happen and I had the energy to make them happen. Now I have ideas and energy but…” The boy’s face displayed genuine bereavement.
“What is your father’s employment?” Rolly asked. He prided himself on knowing many of his subjects personally, but sensed the lad did not hail from the merchant classes.
The boy became evasive. “He died before I knew him,” he said.
“And your mother never remarried?”
“No,” the boy said, he strolled around Rolly and headed towards the door, turning to face him again he said, “sir I did not come for charity. I came to offer you my services. If you do not care for my inventions I will take them to the market.”
“I look forward to seeing them,” Rolly said. And with that they parted company. He would not see the lad again for three years.
Though Rolly familiarized himself with the merchant classes by touring the marketplace, he made great pains to socialize with the large landholders, who had the potential and capacity to resist his claim of authority. He invited them to intimate dinners at his castle where he felt he could engage with each family member on a more personal level. After establishing the social acquaintance, they too included him to their extended family events like weddings, births and funerals. Through this outreach, he became intimate with one such family, situated on the vast northeast corner of his land. Indeed, they occupied the whole flat ranchland from the east ridge to the river as well as the only area in Black Pass where a single lane horse trail crept through the mountains to his sister’s kingdom. The Odsu clan had managed pack mules through the area for decades, but with the growing wealth of the region, refined their equine fleet to include all manner of horse breeds for sale, from farm to military to stately show horses.
Rolly himself never cared for the animals, but since his mother socialized with a number of the clan’s ladies, he encountered the family often, and knew them to breed quality citizens as well as the finest horses. The family flourished like a well-watered tree on a sunny plain, sprouting numerous branches, the most intriguing for Rolly was a family of three daughters who maintained close friendships with his sisters. The oldest married ten years prior to Rolly’s ascension and he felt a pang of remorse when he received the invitation to the wedding of the youngest three years into his reign. Though the oldest surpassed her sisters in beauty the youngest held the most charm and Rolly had long considered her a potential queen. However, when he learned that she was betrothed to a wealthy landowner in his sister’s kingdom, he let the idea pass so as not to kindle any fires with those who he still considered his benefactors.
The wedding took place on a marvelous spring day, when all the wildflowers sprinkled bursts of color up the hills. Rolly sat up amongst them in the royal box beside his sisters, watching the family train arrive on the most splendid white horses, first the proud parents, followed by the immediate siblings. The oldest sister had borne three children yet lost none of her grandeur, and Rolly followed her with his eyes long after she passed so he almost missed the middle sister, which he initially considered no great loss since she was always the least fair of the three. He actually knew her most intimately, since Neona and Ani had a habit of sparking mischief with each other as kids, and Rolly would incite the two and then swoop in to the rescue attempting to impress Neona’s sisters. He also felt most comfortable around Neona in his youth, struck dumb by the beauty of her siblings.
Yet he found himself pleasantly surprised by the figure Neona cut on her steed that day, she embodied the grace of her older sister in her stature, and though her angular face could never carry the warm wide expressions of perfection placed upon her sisters, her always muscular frame had rounded out in all the right places yet no evidence existed that it would continue to spill out as some older women do. She sat easy straight on her horse, her smooth straight hair meeting its rump.
Later at the reception, he asked for her hand to dance, and so enjoyed the conversation he found himself drawn to her side. She spoke freely about how she had forgone marriage in order to take over her family ranch, and her father spoke highly of her management skills. He boasted that he had retired quite easily in his old age. Her father carried the wide smile of Neona’s sisters, as well as their joviality, and his second chin wiggled as he laughed. On the contrary her mother had the structure of Neona, which had aged into a stately older lady. Rolly’s mother held her in high regard. Rolly asked how Neona would run the ranch without children of her own. She explained that the clan had grown so large that she had hands aplenty, but thanks to the newfound wealth and popularity of the district, she hoped to promote the recreational use of horses.
Struck by the serendipity of purpose Rolly agreed that his kingdom could benefit by an arena, and offered to help construct one for racing and other entertainments. Delighted, Neona and Rolly spent much of the night elaborating on their vision, Neona offering many valuable insights and suggestions.
Rolly would later publicly declare that three factors attracted him to Neona, first being her land holdings in a border region where her extended family spanned state lines. Second being her business acumen, her tact, practical vision and attention to detail, and third, her lack of charm.
Almost immediately after making royal acquaintance, Rolly had filled his quiet hours with diligent historical studies, first among the records of his own region, and later, since the widow queen had maintained the city citadel as a center of learning, he regularly sent couriers to fetch journals from their collections. Though he struggled with the language in much of the documents, only accustomed to the keeping of logs and other such business receipts, he identified a common strain in the downfalls of many rulers. They often chose the most beautiful women in the kingdom as their brides, forgoing other values of more tactical importance. Some of the beautiful queens who had married old kings found their ears filled with the sweet words of self-serving knights. Some queens lacked the intelligence not to gossip about their husband’s affairs. Some were so vain they drained their kingdom’s resources in their extravagance with the king too dumbstruck in the glow of their beauty to argue.
Rolly waited until builders started digging the foundation for the arena before requesting Neona’s hand in marriage. “I would never have married anyone but you,” she responded.
Rolly’s marriage to Neona marked the beginning of the golden years of his reign.
Neona bore Rolly a son and a daughter in the time before the arena was completed, but once her dream was realized, she juggled too many responsibilities for any more. Though the model mother, she continued to oversee the show stables and organize arena events as well as maintaining the day to day affairs of the castle. Rolly watched with pride as his wife exhausted four horses a day running out to supervise her tasks. For the nursery, Neona hired the daughter of one of her favorite houskeepers named Inthy.
Inthy shared Neona’s energy and good sense, though her manner of speaking and rude language evidenced her station in life. She was always careful to present her best character to the children and noble company, but Rolly recognized early Inthy’s ability to communicate on the same level with certain sailors who passed through, and later, when the children reached the age of minimal supervision, he called upon Inthy to manage the tolls.
Though Rolly studied the habits of the great kings, and carefully heeded the warnings of those who fell before, he rarely emulated the organizational structure and processes of the most successful nations. Instead he prided his intuition on character, and upon encountering someone of value, he created a special place in his court for their skills. One day, close to the opening of the arena, Rolly and Neona visited the marketplace seeking entertainers to fill the quiet periods between races. This technique was common to Rolly’s reign. Instead of advertising and auditioning people to fill tasks, he preferred to find them. It saved him the time wasted with those who failed to make the grade.
The marketplace had a raucous element to it that day, people seemed to spontaneously burst into laughter, yet when the royal couple investigated in that direction they found nothing out of the ordinary, only smiles. Eventually the two stopped in front of a magician performing the familiar sleights of hand when laughter rippled through the crowd. Rolly failed to see anything funny until he noticed the spectators to their right had made way for a replica of a duck that had emerged through the crowd. Lacking legs, and apparently without any other form of propulsion, it scooted across the ground to the magicians’ feet. Irritated, the entertainer shooed it away, and it left as it had arrived, with Rolly and Rubad at its heels. Rolly went first, knowing the crowd would make way for the king, and with the route clear he caught up to near grasping distance of the duck when a familiar face picked it up from the ground. The inventor’s apprentice, now nearly a foot taller than Rolly, smiled and offered the duck to him for a kingly sum.
“I only wanted to know how it works,” Rolly responded.
“An inventor cannot divulge his secrets,” the young man answered. “But you can have it…for a price.”
“Now what would I do with that?” the king questioned.
“Fine then,” said the boy, raising his chin in mock pride and turning to swagger away.
“Halt!” commanded Rubad with authority.
Rolly stayed his friend’s aggression and, though he would not have accepted the slight from any peasant, even during his toll-taking days, was familiar with the boy’s freewheeling style and, genuinely impressed by the trick, told him so, asking him his name.
“Oregoro,” he announced, removing his cap and bowing so low it swept the ground displaying a patch of dry dirt on the crown when he placed it back on his head. “But most call me Eg,” he finished, acknowledging the incongruity of his given name to his informal demeanor.
“Pleased to reestablish the acquaintance,” said the king, “Do you have a shop?”
The boy led the three, Neona now included, to his stall at the edge of the marketplace, past the artisan stalls, through the produce market and between the empty crates of rotten leftovers and the livestock stalls. Here was where Eg and other enterprising peasants had erected makeshift stalls from the nearby garbage heap. Eg’s, it was noticed, had the most orderly appearance, composed of sturdy produce crates cobbled together with a bright overhang from which he displayed some small tools and gadgets. Rolly recognized some as replicas of the old inventor’s most useful and others new, ostensibly silly novelties. Rolly was about to interrupt Eg in mid-description of these of when Neona placed a kind hand on her husband’s arm and respectfully encouraged him to elaborate.
They left that day with the duck and the strange handset that controlled its movements, two items that, to Rolly’s befuddlement, gave the children, servants, even the guards, delight way into the night. Rolly waited in the study for them to bore of it, contemplating his wife’s suggestion that every castle needs entertainment, and though his little trinkets may not suit the larger arena, Eg could make a fabulous fool for the household, especially since the poor kid appeared to have little to sustain himself but his ingenuity. Rolly had noticed that despite his lively demeanor, the young man piled clothes on his frame in the familiar urchin’s attempt to extend his belt with something other than his empty stomach, but before he took him into his employ, he felt it only prudent to qualify him further. The fact that the inventor’s wife had shunned the boy arose his suspicions, and Rolly wanted to know why before he exposed the urchin to his family, and sent Rubad and Khilso to investigate.
When Rubad requested a private audience to divulge his findings, the news exceeded Rolly’s wildest suppositions. “From what I gathered,” Rubad said with some discomfort, “from what the publicans say openly and other upstanding members of your nation who shall remain nameless assert, most believe, but nobody knows for a fact, that…this boy Eg…is the son of the Lady Einorah.”
“The Lady Einorah! But the lady can have no children!” Rolly hissed violently so no adjacent rooms could hear.
“The Lady Einorah claims to have had no children, that is true,” Rubad answered, “but some assert, that before entering the convent, that she was compromised as a young girl, and for that reason took the habit to hide her condition. We do know that Eg was raised by the housekeeper in the Temall Glen monastery who was too old to be his mother but who had some relation to Father Nethen, then the head of the monastery, so that would explain why nobody questioned the provenance of this little boy in their midst, not that monks gossip much.”
“How did you come about this information then?” Rolly asked.
“About seven years ago, if you would remember, we received a request from the monastery for a referral, for a housekeeper of theirs had passed. That was exactly when the merchants recall noticing this boy milling around the marketplace, offering his services to the merchants. Some employed him to stack produce at a day rate but he must have preferred the company of the inventor and found steady employment with him.”
“Still, I have never heard of a connection between Father Nethen and the Lady Einorah, and one would think if everyone knew that this housekeeper, as you are insinuating, was related to both and this housekeeper had a small child and a daughter in the convent…”
“Father Nethen himself was raised in the monastery, and when a man takes the cloak his family is God. It is said that the Lady’s mother was of some relation to Father Nethen, if not necessarily the housekeeper, though it is possible. The monks I have spoken swear by the relation…in a sense.”
“I thought the monks don’t gossip.”
“Most don’t; one might.”
“So did this chatty man of the cloth tell you why the boy was dismissed when his grandmother died?”
“He refused to take the habit.”
“So, with the exception of the monks, nobody knows that this boy is the supposed son of Lady Einorah?”
“Not quite. Sir, in defense of our most respected citizens I cannot tell you who has witnessed the boy in the convent, but they maintain, he does not visit for the usual reasons. In fact, they say she treats him like a servant.”
“Well, we might call him a lucky teen who may have won her affection.”
“But that is exactly the point, sire. She is in no way affectionate to him but tolerates him as if she has a duty to, or so I am told.”
“You need not say more Rubad.”
“Thank you,” Rubad said, bowed and departed.
Though at the time a well known secret through certain circles, the infamous convent mother Lady Einorah maintained a favorable reputation within the clergy until her death, when the many prostitutes under her employ for decades within the confines of the convent spilled into the streets, driven out by the devout who finally possessed the clout to retake their sacred space. Most now accept the story relayed by Rubad as absolute fact.
Einorah was the youngest of six children, the last vestige of her father, who died shortly after her birth. Though now a widow and poor, her mother made handicrafts all night which she sold in the market to afford to spoil Einorah thoroughly in her husband’s memory. Her other children were all much older. Her first daughter, the oldest, married and moved away when Einorah had just learned to talk. Two sons married and through their unions gained farms of their own shortly thereafter, supplying the family with food, but the other two had no such provenance. One became a traveling merchant and left never to return, and the one closest in age to Einorah felt inspired towards valiant deeds that he thought would lead to knighthood but instead ended in his death in a foreign land.
Beautiful, with no male influence at home, and a mother who worshipped her, Einorah gained a reputation as a headstrong girl with no discipline nor sense of morals. Her mother, a devout and diligent woman, had difficulty enforcing her ideals upon her daughter. Church bored Einorah, and after enduring a series of shameful incidents in the Lord’s house where her daughter would dance around the aisles or otherwise cause a scene to her amuse herself, her mother stopped taking her to church altogether, resolving to teach her the gospel at home instead, which one assumes never took place. Naturally, the situation grew more difficult as Einorah blossomed. Her mother started clearing her path to the convent early, knowing that despite the girl’s aversion to religion, it may prove her only option. No eligible man who knew her considered her the marrying type, and Einorah, for her part, wanted nothing to do with the whispy-bearded youths who naively fawned for her. Instead she flirted with older, often married, men of a higher class, none of whom claimed responsibility for Eg. Most doubt that even Einorah knew the father of her son, but she went willingly to the convent, her vanity over her bodily disfigurement her only shame. Her mother felt differently, and herself beset with guilt over the condition of her favorite daughter, pledged to clean the feet of the monks until she died.
At that time, the head Mother of the convent was elderly, blind and idolized by a small group of nuns. The remainder, however, had entered the convent in similar conditions as Einorah. In fact, families came from far and wide to deposit their pregnant daughters in the convent of the blind mother, who blessed anyone her hands touched. Einorah’s free spirit especially energized the old lady and to the dismay of the devout daughters, the old mother took exception to the girl. She had equal effect on the other sinner sisters, and when the old mother died, the majority of the girls rallied to appoint Einorah to the position. Her uncle wrote a glowing letter of recommendation and the entire family lived happily ever after.
Einorah won the favor of those who had entered the convent in a similar condition by devising a plan to smuggle earthly pleasures into the convent walls. The ladies of the convent had long maintained a garden courtyard in the rear of the public church, accessible both through the church and from the outside. In the corner of the courtyard, a small sanctuary stood with a donations box for the sisters. Though open to the courtyard, the sanctuary featured a locked door which led through a windowless passage to the convent. Sisters took the passage to and from their gardening duties. A bell hung above the door signaling when the ladies entered and left. Decorum dictated that all enjoying the garden at that time vacate to allow the sisters to do their business. Einorah removed the bell.
The Monks at that time kept a strict schedule, using the church at certain hours of day and vacating for their own contemplation exactly at the same time every day. Einorah selected the most lovely nuns to ‘tend the garden’ at this quiet time and contrary to custom, allowed and encouraged the public to attend the garden at any hour, mingling with the ladies at work if necessary.
Men dressed in their best to visit the garden, hoping for one of the lovely nuns to hand him a flower. He would then wait for her to leave through the passage before entering the sanctuary to offer his donation. The number of petals on the flower dictated the room he would find the lady when he entered the private quarters. Einorah herself selected which men she thought fit for her girls. Einorah herself handed Rolly his flower.
All respectable men in the kingdom knew Einorah, but since only respectable men were given flowers, the knowledge of the practice remained contained therein. However, Rolly recalled the boy’s hesitation when asked about his family, as if he felt the shame these better men shrugged off, and on that merit, sent Rubad out the next day to invite the fool to come showcase his wares to the court.
The audition could not have gone better for the young man. He arrived pushing a cart that had lost an axle along the way, and without motivation, started juggling toys to amuse the children. He cracked a few application jokes that only the men would comprehend and charmed the ladies with his apologies and boyish grin that exposed his amusement at himself. After a stellar presentation, the group sat down to dine and Rolly watched with some consternation as the boy appeared uncomfortable among his betters, preferring to make funny faces with the children instead. Neona encouraged him to eat more and he seemed to stuff it down in politeness only. Then suddenly he stood to leave, shocking the table accustomed to moving only when the king did so first. Rolly joined him standing but advised the rest to stay seated as he escorted Eg from the room, and though by custom the king always walked ahead of the rest, the boy seemed to move like a gale wind shoved him forward and the king had difficulty keeping up.
Yet his sails deflated when they exited the hall and the boy faced the empty space where he had left the cart with all his wares, stopping short with a wide stance and exploding with anxiety that someone had stolen the broken vehicle, under the keen eyes of the king’s guards no less. Rolly tried to assure him that all was well but the boy kept interrupting, inserting his fears, accusing the stone-faced guards, describing every item of value to him now missing. Finally, the king commanded the kid to be quiet. In silence he then gestured towards a near chamber, the closest to the grand hall and once the pantry until they expanded the kitchen towards the rear of the castle. Inside they found his cart, a bed, a cupboard and all the comforts of home. Eg protested, and seemed not to hear the king’s words as he vested his honored appointment upon him. Finally, in exasperation, the king quit the room and instructed the guards not to allow the boy to leave except on Rolly’s order.
When he went to retrieve the boy the following morning the latter requested the proper costume to assume his duty. Rolly sent for it that day, and at dinner they once again enjoyed the amusement of their jester.
With the addition of Eg, the court society began to take shape. He seemed to draw together the disparate humors of all the players, Khilso and Rubad, once almost rivals, became best of friends, swapping gossip of the north and south now without competition of who told the most interesting story. Kodwar and Eg formed a strange couple, the bishop and the nun’s son seemed to strangely respect each other’s capacity for optimism. Inthy felt more comfortable at court with the addition of someone with less bred decorum than herself, and became a confidant of Ligau, the sage of the old regime.
Not all felt at home at Rolly’s table. With the exception of Ligau, the other vestiges of Ectron’s court, Ronge, Poseh & Oulsa never adjusted to Rolly’s more flexible authority, insisting he follow the standards of his benefactor, until finally in one heated argument during taxation time, the king dismissed all three, and they went to rejoin the old queen, much to their relief.