Weight of a Whisper
VARGO, LORDSHIP OF VARGO, KINGDOM OF OTHARN, HIGH KINGDOM OF PARMA
Thordan (no need to confuse him with his grandfather now) had been invested with a lordship, betrayed, rescued, and lost his grandfather within the span of a mere ten days. Egil pitied him.
After King Thordan's funeral, the normally bright and talkative otter had shut himself in his room for hours, weeping the heavens out, and the weasel didn't blame him. This kind of stress would have driven anyone mad.
He had known him for three seasons, beginning as a mere pawn in his father's debt schemes. Having been fostered in Triel for much of his childhood, the otter was eager to make a new friend, Thordan was (unpleasantly) surprised when he found out that his servant was a 'mere' vermin, but the otterlord was exactly the beast that will stoop to any form of companionship, and he soon managed to coax the shy weasel out of his figurative shell.
Thordan was exactly the kind of beast to get himself into trouble, but all of his misadventures were unwilling, dragged into them by his half-siblings from both sides of the family. He would much rather read a book, and share it with his friends later.
It was simply good fortune that he ran into Lord Stalwart in Raevsvakt. He was in Kaldos with his brother-in-law when Thordan's letter reached him, and he simply took a ship to the port city. Lord Canute was a fool to crow about his 'victory', sealing his fate at the paws of a young Trielian lord.
After he had slain the rebel lord, Denebas Burelas was quick to fall into shock. He clearly has not killed prior to that. Thordan may have calmed him down after the incident, but now even the otter was in a similar state.
As for Lord Alfyn Stalwart, he went with Erlend back to Arnet. Council meetings in Triel were usually held by mice and mice alone, but King Garmund of Triel was desperate for all allies, and Alfyn had a sister wedded to Erlend's other son.
Lord Sigurd bore little resemblance to his father in temperament. While Lord Erlend was quiet and unassuming, Sigurd was loud and boisterous - a born leader compared to his father and half-brother. His sister was as quiet as his father, but she had more emotional capacity than her father and twin - almost as much as Thordan, in fact.
Lady Lorelei was not delighted to see that her husband had been unfaithful prior to (and as it turned out, during) their marriage, though she remained devoted to him. Her love for him may be monodirectional, but she was able to gain his trust and, more importantly, his friendship after a few seasons.
Egil felt for her as well. To fall in love twice yet not to be loved even once was a fate he would not wish on his worst enemy - not that he had one. His own parents may never have wed, by at least they frequently showed affection to each other.
He checked his letter for any spelling mistakes, then went on his way to the aviary to notify his father of the recent developments in both Meraholmer and Thordan. Writing about the emotional turbulence of a friend may not be an easy task, but it is at least better than orally transmitting information about the emotional wreck that was Thordan.
He opened the door of the aviary to see Lady Lorelei watching her own bird soar from the castle. He slid into a bow, though his movements seemed to be more rushed than anything. "My lady, did I disturb you?" He inquired politely, before suddenly recalling that she was now the Queen of Garlesca, and 'Her Ladyship' would not be the appropriate style any longer. You should have thought before you speak, you pigeon-brained fool!
"No, no. Not at all." The otterwife replied. Did she simply forget about styles and honours, or was she just simply too sad to care about formalities? I would say that it would be the latter.
The weasel was quick to change the subject. "Thordan is still mourning. For days he has only taken nothing but bread and water for all three meals, as if his hare-like appetite was simply sucked off. I...I am worried for him, Your Highness."
The Garlean Queen decided not to reply directly to the vermin servant's worries. "Has he been taken ill, or is he merely grieving?"
"The latter case is true, Your Highness."
"Then let it be known that I, his mother, who just happens to be Queen of Garlesca, Duchess of Thavnair, and Lady of Vargo commands her son to return to his lordship this instant."
Egil shuddered at her tone, then looked at her face. The warrior's look! This look was absent in both Thordans, but it is shared by both Queen Lorelei and her Truetide firstborn.
She must have sensed the weasel attendant's trepidation, and soon her voices returned to a more gentle, motherly tone. "Here. I'll handle your letter. It's to your father, right? Don't worry. My husband will not default on his loans yet - not when his situation is this precarious."
He handed her his letter, calmly walked out of the doorway, then ran through the hallways like Vulpuz himself was chasing him. How could she not give anyone the creeps?
Thordan II, High King of Parma, King of Garlesca, Otharn and Ilsabarna, ex-duke of Thavnair, and Lord of Vargo and Further Garlesca was dead.
His servants chanced upon him at dawn, when he was in bed, with a serenity in death that he was never able to achieve in life. For sixty seasons he was king of merely his mother's Garlean inheritance, his father's domains left to his uncle. He had managed to gain Parma after allying with the Trielians, and much less bribery than he expected. This was what he told his daughter, anyways.
The Kingdom of Parma was not like those across the Sea. Seven nobles gathered in Kurburg, and they discussed, plotted and connived until a king was chosen amongst them. In the previous century, however, the Lords of Vargo produced every single king aside from Otto of Doma, whose defeat at Balv signified a revival of the Skywards of Vargo.
Otters have ruled Parma since the great-grandfather of Thordan II got himself elected, ironically enough due to his lack of power. Within three kings and a century of incredibly opportunistic marriages, they have managed to obtain true control over Parma - something no previous king has ever done in over a hundred seasons.
With the last Skyward in the male line deceased just days after Otto's eldest son, Parma would be thrown into a crisis beyond every measure. From this chaos springs both opportunity and perdition.
Niels Crestworth, Lord of Hvidvande knew everything above, except for that last bit.
The younger Lord Crestworth had played no part in his brother's foolish scheme to defraud Meraholmer. He had been taken under one Thordan's wing, and he had did the same to the other. The art of healing was not considered to be a suitable discipline for a lord, but he studied and studied until he was said to be one of the masters of the science of restoration.
The only person who would say that Lord Niels Crestworth was not one of the best healers ever to live would be Lord Niels Crestworth, thought Isangrim. Which makes him another name on King Thordan's list of trustables.
He has ambition only to serve, so Thordan appointed him as Royal Vicar if things went the wrong way. And went the wrong way they did.
Events have gone awry the moment Thordan left this world and into the next. The inexperienced Niels quickly proved himself as incapable of healing a nation as he was capable of healing a beast, so he had to turn towards the unexpected for the slightest bit of help.
Which drove him into the paws of Isangrim the fox.
"His majesty always spoke highly of you." The fox paced around the room as he continued to analyse the situation. "Your gift for healing is unsurpassed, and you have obtained much experience in diplomacy and statecraft. Negotiating a peace with the Valnainers after five seasons of war would simply not be done without you."
Valnain lay at the southeast edge of Parma, so the southern kingdom breaking into revolt occurred periodically even before the Skywards took the throne. The first Thordan grudgingly accepted a white peace after his force was annihilated at Cleignan, and the his grandson and namesake was denied a decisive battle. Thanks to the influence of peaceable beasts on both sides (in which Niels was one of them), Thordan II was content to see a few lordships annexed to direct Parman sovereignty as dictated in the Treaty of Lorsa, and troubled the southern kingdom no more until his passing, focusing on bringing rebellious Ilsabarnese cities to heel.
"I am just a beast with no talent but loyalty to the old king. It is a true wonder that your lordship would ask for help from me."
"The situation can worsen to a higher degree if I do not ask for help. You know full well why Thordan trusts you." Although the true reasons are only known to him and you. "You have led his troops in both Valnain and Ilsabarna, and you are a strategist of the highest caliber."
The younger Lord Crestworth studied the sable-furred fox. He dressed quite simply for a royal servant, wearing a simple brown tunic and trousers, and his pale blue eyes revealed not determination or kindness, but some sort of hidden knowledge, not unlike the trivia young Thordan liked to spout, but kept more secret. He was, in a way, a walking, talking forbidden tome.
Thordan found the fox ten seasons after Queen Lorelei was born, and quickly took to him as one of the rare beasts he could always confide in. Strangely enough, he deceived other beasts less than any average vermin. In fact, Niels had never seen him break his word even once - an admirable quality that he has not seen in either of his own brothers.
As a child king, Thordan II would simply wander out into the streets to be free from grasping regents, visiting his subjects incognito at first, before doing so more openly once he knew how to fend for himself. The old king quickly gained the disapproval of his subjects by inviting commoners, woodlanders and vermin alike, to his wedding. His Trielian in-laws saw vermin as nothing but slaves, so were doubly embarrassed by Thordan's antics. Thordan would later say that he would carry the memory of the Trielian king's face to his final day, but no one now knows if he did.
"Oh? Parma needs not diplomats like you, nor militarists like me. The realm is in desperate need for administrators - beasts like Queen Lorelei, but I suppose you're too shy to ask her - for quite obvious, not to mention personal, reasons."
Niels folded his ears and fumbled for a response while Isangrim grinned. Before both of her marriages, he was barely able to pick up the courage to propose - and get rejected twice in the most brutal of manners. Lorelei was quick to joke on the hilarity of the situation. Niels was not.
The otterlord changed the subject quickly. "So who do you think should be High King?"
Isangrim shifted into a more serious tone. "Hmm… I don't have much of an idea, but Lorelei has plans to nominate her husband for the throne." Ignoring the otterlord's aghast reaction, the fox continued, "He would be a better candidate than both her sons. Thordan is simply too young, and Corrado is content with his Duchy of Garlesca." His voice began to lapse back into mirth. "Just how many places are called Garlesca anyways?"
Niels was not in the mood to joke anymore. "Erlend as High King? That would surely draw us into war! It is common knowledge that every single enemy of Southsward is connected to him in some way! Parma cannot afford a war! You know that as well as I do!"
Isangrim reverted to a more serious inflection. "And you are going to do something about it, I presume."
The otterlord sighed. "Yes, I suppose I am. As Royal Vicar of Parma, it is my duty to summon the Electoral Princes to Kurburg. If four in seven of them vote for any single beast but the Swalestroms, it would be enough. Queen Lorelei needs to be crowned in Imlizze before she would cast her vote, but she will have to respect the other voters' wish for some other candidate. Two of the Electors are Crestworths as well, so they would not vote for Erlend. That leaves four beasts, who all want a king as weak as possible."
Having heard enough, Isangrim asked, "Who are you going to support?"
Niels shaked his head. "I haven't thought of that. I do not have the right to choose who sits on a throne - I only have to govern the realm in an interregnum. Not that I want to, of course."
Isangrim knew exactly what to do. "Call them. Call them to Kurburg now, and waste not a moment of time." Niels quickly nodded, then walked out of the room, unsure of what this chaos will bring.
With the door closed, Isangrim finally had some time to adjust to this recent development alone.
Niels does not want Erlend nor Becker, hmm? We would have to act fast before anything happens to our plans.
He spun out of the room and clambered up a tower. Lorelei would be in for quite a shock, seeing the beast that loves her still derail her plans, but she will triumph in the end, as every Skyward before her has done.
For it is etched.
A/N: Back on track! All the April chapters were actually completed before 7 April, as I had to write fast to avoid writing in exams. Isangrim was a relatively new character, having been devised mere hours before Prologue II, so he lacks development compared to, say Garrion, Young Thordan, and the Burelas brothers, amongst other beasts. I had to add more scenes for him to display more of himself.
Being the least developed of the three kingdoms (it is only mentioned in TBBU), Parma deserves a chance to be fleshed out as much as Southsward. Just to be on the safe side, the next chapter will come from a Trielian point of view.
Sebias: Well, my writing can be over-formal at times, though we're lucky for it to fit the situation here.
Grey: Thordan dying was necessary for the grand scheme of things. Don't worry! You'll get enough of him later on! (Only otters get surnames in ARR, so mice, squirrels etc. do not get house names. Just like in the original Redwall books.)
Chapter 3 (Silver Tears) will be out on 1/2 May!