Capriones 8/1/2006
Capriones (ca-pree-OWN-ees): A roaming people of the Seyruun City-State region comprised of mixed race and heritage sharing common facilities and traditions. Said to have their own culture and to live outside the laws of any land they move through, they fight mostly amongst themselves in order to improve individual ranking in their encampments.
Disclaimer: We shall make use of several of the characters from The Slayers, none of whom belongs to us.
Chapter Eight -- Enter Cardinal Rezo
Xelloss finished off the rest of his meat pie, as Lina licked her fingers. He hopped to his feet, and extended a hand to her.
"Shall we get back to your training? See if you can surprise me."
Lina wanted to surprise him. She wanted to please him, remarkably. But more that either of those desires, she wanted to throttle him for making her feel that way. Nobody got to her. No. Body. Besides, he was going to marry a princess, and not just any princess, the one she was supposed to have rescued, until he got in the way. And what about poor Zelgadiss? That guy was in love with Princess Amelia and for some reason she seemed to have fallen for him and Xelloss was going to screw up all that. That was something to hate Xelloss about. There, a little anger--that felt better.
"I'll think about it," she replied.
"In fact, I have a new spell for you, maybe you've heard of it? Dragon Slave?" he asked, smiling.
"Dragon Slave! You're going to teach me that!" Lina said, gasping to catch her breath. Okay, so she could like him a little, but just a little, for now.
"Yes, but first . . . " He hesitated a second to add drama as he pulled several heavy pieces of jewelry from his shoulder knapsack.
Lina's mind went wild. Two bracelets, a belt, and a brooch for closing a cape, all of worked gold, encrusted with dark, red rubies. Instinctively, she reached out to take the shiny offering.
"What are those? Oh, yeah, you were wearing them under your cloak when I first met you."
"Very perceptive of you."
She froze in position as it occurred to her how inappropriate it would be for her to accept such a gift. Just what significance would Xelloss and his fellow Capriones apply to this exchange if a single necklace could denote an engagement? Slowly, she withdrew her outstretched hand.
"Eh, nice," she said. It was painful yielding to her underutilized self control.
"Oh, don't worry. It's not a trick. There's no implied obligation here. These are for you. They are magic amulets to strengthen your magic. You'll need them to execute the Dragon Slave, at least at first."
In the blink of an eye, Lina's eyes, ruby-red like the gemstones embedded in the jewelry, Lina liked Xelloss more. A lot.
"Hey, thanks!"
He noticed how flawless her skin was and how smooth her neck against which he was attempting to attach a king's ransom in jewels, an unusual brooch of cabochon star rubies in pure gold backed by an adulterated metal for strength.
"The blouse you are wearing is too thin for the weight of this. Tonight there will be music and dancing and feasting, assuming Prince Philionel accepts the deal. It will be cool then. I have a cape for you to wear and you can close it with the brooch," he said, smiling down at her and tracing his finger over the curve of her cheek and neck.
She jumped at his touch, blushing. Xelloss helped her pin the last amulet to the belt.
"There. That will do for now."
Lina admired what she could see of the jewelry on her arms.
"Nice. So, Rezo and his red-blackguards hate the Capriones because you are magic users you think?"
"Cardinal Rezo goes back some time, and the explanation is even more basic than that. During times of social turmoil, leaders always look for someone to blame for their troubles. It was easy to blame the Capriones because of our nomadic lifestyle. With no permanent settlements there was no king to protect us, no army. The initial curiosity and appreciation the folks of a new kingdom might have of our people when we just entered, seems to soon disintegrate and turn into suspicion and fear when fueled by Rezo's threats and lies. We were, and still are, often blamed for crimes within months of our arrival in towns."
"Yeah, well you also pay no taxes, rob folks, shun churches, and other establishments, too. Unfair treatment isn't unexpected, surely?"
"Probably not," Xelloss shrugged. "Our livelihood presents a negative image certainly. Then there were the charges of sorcery and witchcraft made against fortune-tellers."
"Mostly due to their wild and dire predictions that spread fear and panic among the ignorant townsfolk," Lina filled in. "Not to mention that they actually practice sorcery, which, we all know, is outlawed."
"And as the Great White Shrine rose to become the controlling power in much of land, Capriones living outside of the protected settlements were hunted down, mistaken for spies, and murdered."
"Along with the rest of the members of the sorcery guilds, Xelloss. You haven't been alone in your misfortune, you know."
"I know. We lost many friendly people in the first 'scourings.' Cardinal Rezo excommunicated all the Capriones, though, calling them pagans and forbidding them to worship in churches. That kind of attitude of the dominant church certainly influenced the populace to view our people as a threat. The actions of the cardinal were the beginnings of the last decades of discrimination and persecution by the church and other authorities, which have ultimately escalated and resulted in attempts to actually exterminate us to the last man, woman and child!"
"Well, that I can attest to. I've seen decrees and edicts issued for the purpose of expelling Capriones from territories all the way from Atlas City," Lina said.
"Many Capriones have been enslaved for their metalworking abilities, after becoming indispensable to monarchs and economies and wars. We probably hammer out the swords to kill our fellow people," Xelloss said sadly. "We are called pagans, because we believe in the supernatural and are condemned for our nonconformist attitudes. Well, may your gods protect you," he added with a humorless chuckle.
"My gods? Are mine so different from yours? I mean, Capriones are obviously not Cepheid believers, and since you use black magic, then I expect you invoke the power of Shabranigdo. Do you have some religion?"
"We do not have a religion of our own nor traditional priests and ministers, in fact, you might call me both a prince and a priest combined together. We do believe in a supreme being, The Lord of Nightmares, and in the supernatural. We have faith in magic, in omens both good and bad, in powerful curses, and miraculous cures. We also have a strong belief in invisible spirits, ghosts, and vampires. We believe that evil spirits exist everywhere and must be carefully guarded against and kept at bay through the use of spells and charms."
"Or put to use," Lina said with a smirk. "Good or evil, spirits have power to harness."
"Well, yes, but most people prefer to ward off evil spirits we resort to the wearing of good-luck charms and magic amulets imbued with magical powers that have the power to ward off danger."
He had carefully avoided mentioning the demon lord by name, as Lina had done with a cool nonchalance. Shabranigdo was not a force to be taken lightly. He touched the pin at her waist.
"These amulets have far more use than that, of course. Let's test them out."
(O)
"It is for the greater cause," Rezo invoked to the masses swarming below his balcony.
He had arrived at the Great White Shrine of Seyruun, which was a shrine to Cepheid second only to the one reduced to a crater in the demolition of Sairaag during Rezo's first purging of the evil sorcerers. Although Atlas City was the larger, grander city, Seyruun was reputed to be the white magic capital of the world, in direct defiance of his edicts. They were the last hold out and, as he was discovering, a most difficult city and kingdom to subdue. So far, he hadn't threatened the leaders with death or expulsion; he didn't need to, the city was flooded with expatriates from all over the country, carrying with them tales of 'cleansings' more poignant than any he could tell. It was just a matter of time, waiting out the slow-witted, peace-loving Prince Philionel to bend to his will, while removing the more dangerous elements, like Lina Inverse. She had thwarted his best men, including his deputy, Vurumagen, a staggering number of times. His informants had intimated recently that Lina could be hiding in Seyruun.
Thinking of her and the frustration she caused him, darkened his heart further. With an irritable flourish, he raised his arms, holding his ringed-staff aloft and spreading the crimson-colored mantle that hung over an even deeper wine-red cloak. He knew this gave him the appearance of being larger than life. Across square, over the heads of the rapt audience the rings to the priest's staff banged together, ringing, jangling, and mesmerizing the weaker minds.
"Ordinary values of life or death can be set aside almost as they can in war. You say to yourself, 'This is for my shrine, my people. I create a lesser evil that a greater good may be obtained.'"
He watched his audience closely for their expected reaction to his words, woven with magic to intensify the emotional impact, and slowly lowered his arms.
"All through history people have done that, and depending on the outcome, they are either crowned or hanged. History afterwards will call them hero or traitor. Success is the common judge. It takes a rare man to set his standards over other standards, and that is why I am here, your cardinal. Good day and may Cephied bless you."
He smiled, pleased with their applause and cheers and accolades. Everything was coming together, except . . .
Before his smile faded, Rezo left the balcony and stormed into the great hall of the shrine, demanding answers.
"Rodimus, Zolf! You have been combing the land for my grandson for years and my Orihalcon statue for months. And have you found that Inverse witch? I give you men and funding and what do you bring back? Stories, excuses, nothing! I should have your heads set on spikes and carried around the country as a warning to all who fail me."
The two men had no defense. They had intentionally avoided obeying all those commands.
"We believe that Zelgadiss must have been killed by the Capriones in return for having freed them."
"Nonsense!" Rezo said. "You deduce that from what?"
"Ah . . . Well, they haven't asked for money in return for him, mostly. He's worth more than those people see in a year," Rodimus replied. The grizzled man was sweating, his eyes restless.
"We haven't encountered a single bandit in weeks," the younger man called Zolf said. "Which implies Lina's still out there robbing and slaying them. She must have the magic statue!"
"Fools! If Lina Inverse had such a tool, she wouldn't have the self-control not to use it! I would know if she had. No, it's hidden away, its value unknown in some bandit's hideout."
"Well, it's possible that the same Capriones that killed Zelgadiss have Lina and the statue you want," Rodimus grumbled.
"Then it is time you finally dealt with the Capriones," Rezo said in a tightly clipped manner, his patience with the incompetents thinning. "Well? What are you waiting here for? Get on with it!" Rezo snapped. "Don't stand here in my presence– get out and do something useful!"
He had an appointment with Prince Randolph, Prince Philionel's youngest brother. Prince Philionel, Princess Amelia, a middle brother, Prince Christopher, and his son Duke Alfred, all stood in line to inherit the throne before Randy. Philionel ran the capital city of the kingdom of Seyruun, while Christopher lived like a nomad, in charge of the outlying villages and towns and on the road much of the time. Randy was a trusted advisor and priest to the king, their father; however, he lusted after the throne and was hungry for power, something Rezo understood and admired, because it meant that he could manipulate Randy.
"Ah, what would you have us do? I mean, where do we begin, Lord Cardinal?" Rodimus asked cautiously, but meeting Rezo's eyes with a straight, challenging stare.
They were just two men. They couldn't search the entire kingdom for a missing boy, a magical implement, and a sorceress all at the same time, even if they had wanted to.
"I haven't got time for wastrels," Rezo said. "Find that Inverse woman! If she's not in Seyruun, then go elsewhere! Whether she is here or hiding out with those foul Capriones, I don't care, just don't return empty-handed again."
End Capriones, Chapter Eight.