Chapter 7

Jacob sat in the middle of a giant padded couch staring at the high-vaulted ceiling above him, dressed in his finest clothes. From what he could figure, he had been sitting there for the better part of an hour and he was growing quite bored with the place. He had figured that since it was the entry chamber to the room in which the lords of the Kyrithian Federation met it was bound to be interesting. Unfortunately he had found himself rather disappointed.

The room was large, to say the least, but surprisingly empty. A series of rugs covered the floor, dazzling in their brilliant patterns and beautiful colors. The walls, made from some strange white stone, were similarly draped with massive tapestries. Unlike the ones he had seen in the house he had illegally entered, however, these held no famous scenes of battle or the like. They had patterns and colors which complemented the rugs but where otherwise unremarkable, according to Jacob. There was a small gallery composed of ancient suits of armor which ran down one of the walls and he had occupied himself for a while looking them over. The only one that really interested him, however, was an odd looking suit that was mainly green with gold trim. It looked ornamental, at best, yet it held scratches and dents that spoke of battle. The plaque upon the base of the armor stand read, “Lord Diatar of Helmfrost,” and Jacob had absolutely no idea who that was.

He looked up and down the large chamber, wondering where everybody was. When the lords weren’t meeting in Haden Hill, the building acted as a sort of town hall, where people of the city came to pay their taxes, file market quotas, and do other mundane activities. It was middle of the week and the building was eerily empty.

Sighing, he stood and walked over to the armor again. He looked over the old green armor, trying to envision the battles that it had been in. He pictured Lord Diatar of Helmfrost riding upon a massive green dragon, his armor and the dragon’s eyes and teeth shining in the noonday sun. The lord had obviously been a tall man, but he would have been almost unnoticeable upon the back of the mighty dragon. According to a few of the books Jacob had read about the subject, the average dragon had been seventy feet in length. He didn’t really understand what a man could do from the back of a dragon but he didn’t doubt that riding one was rather exhilarating all the same.

“Jacob!” The scream pierced the silent and resounded through the empty vault.

With a start, Jacob lost his balance and stumbled into the shoulder of the armor. It wavered back and forth for a moment before, to Jacob’s horror, the armor came crashing down upon the floor. The pieces fell away from the wooden frame holding them together and went sliding and rolling across the floor.

“By Elihu’s Beard, why did you yell?!” Jacob stammered forth.

“It’s a surprise the building is still standing,” Noreen said, calmly walking toward Jacob and shaking her head. “You’ve no respect for anything. Clean that mess up this instant.”

“No respect? You’re the one that startled me.”

“Then you need to be more observant. Now here, where does this go?” she said, bending over and picking up the left gauntlet.

“Are you serious? Where do you think it goes?” With a huff, Noreen tossed it toward Jacob and walked over to the couch. Glaring at the woman, Jacob went about the arduous task of propping the armor stand back up and resembling the thing. He was surprised by how much some of the pieces weighed and decided that it would be a pain to wear such a thing around all day long, let alone fight in it.

“I’ve got us a carriage for this afternoon. We’ll be picked up at the inn in about two hours and we’ll ride to the keep from there.”

“But the keep is just right around the corner. Why can’t we just go over there and wait for the wedding?”

Noreen rolled her eyes and looked at him as if he was a complete dullard. “This is a royal affair and one of the most important things to happen to your family in generations. After today your family will have ties to the Faryden line.” She said the name with such passion that he imagined she wished it was her getting married.

“I don’t know of anything a Faryden ever did for Penrith Harbor, though. I’ve never even seen a Faryden; I don’t understand why they’re so popular.” Perhaps he spoke out of jealousy, he suddenly thought. He had been in Haden Hill for a week and a half and whenever he mentioned to anyone why he was there, they would inevitably launch into a grand monolog praising Michael Faryden and his family for their impeccable leadership and foresight. He didn’t live in the city and most had never even seen him but he was loved even still.

“I know your father has explained this to you before.”

“Yes he has and I’d rather not hear it again.” He yawned and he stepped back to admire his handwork. From where he stood he couldn’t tell that the armor had ever been touched. “So how long will this wedding take? An hour or two?”

“Well, the actual ceremony should only last an hour and a half or so, yes. But we’ll be required to attend the worship ceremony before and the feast afterward. It’ll probably last long into the night if I had to guess at a length.”

Jacob did his best to make his sigh as audible as possible. He had forgotten about the worship ceremony that would come beforehand, but that should only last ten to fifteen minutes at most. He hadn’t counted on the feast, however. In Penrith Harbor they usually had a party but it wasn’t required. He was quickly growing tired of “the duty of his station,” as his father had put it. The only consolation was that Aidan was being permitted to attend.

For almost their entire time in the city, Aidan had stayed within the suite or at least within the inn. He had grown quiet after Highwood, which for him meant that he pretty much didn’t speak at all. Jacob had tried to engage him in conversation but it never seemed to work for long. He hoped that perhaps the ceremonies and feast would help to lighten the man’s spirits.

“Well, now that you’re all done I suggest we get back to the inn. Come along.”

Jacob was amazed at how Noreen continued to treat him like a child, despite the fact that he would be turning twenty in a few days. But he supposed it was because she had helped raise him since his mother’s death all those long years ago. He surveyed the armor once more to make sure nothing was amiss and then jogged down the room to catch up.

They arrived back at the suite a half-hour later to find Aidan quietly sitting by an open window, reading a book. Noreen said that she had to get ready and disappeared into her room.

“Didn’t she just get ready a few hours ago?” Jacob asked Aidan.

“Never question a woman’s right to prepare as many times as she’d like,” Aidan responded.

Jacob awkwardly stood there for a few moments, not knowing what to say and not wishing to sit and wrinkle his clothes. He knew Noreen would throw a fit over that. Casually, he walked over to the window and glanced out over the district.

“So, what are you reading?”

“The Dragon’s Sorrow and Other Tales.”

“Never heard of that one. What’s it about?”

Aidan paused for a moment and glanced at Jacob as if he had just realized that Jacob had actually tricked him into talking.

“It speaks of the wounding and death of Akorius the Dragon King. It has other stories set during the Burning Years and some right before the formation of the Old Empire. It’s a good book.”

“Sounds like it. Sounds like something Guy Longtongue would write.”

“It was dictated by Yonrhy. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”

“He was a dragon! Wow. There aren’t many books written by dragons still around. Where did you get it?”

“The Court library. They have a large selection.”

Try as he might, Jacob couldn’t think of anything else to say and it didn’t look like Aidan was going to take over the conversation. With a nod, Jacob slowly paced back and forth for a while before going to his room. He wasn’t about to stand around for an hour and a half, regardless of what Noreen said, so he plopped down onto his bed. He yawned and tried to think of some way to skip the required feast after the wedding. Slowly, though, his mind began to dull and he found himself drifting off to sleep.

He abruptly awoke just in time to avoid slamming directly into the floor, throwing his arms forward to break his fall.

“What are you doing sleeping on a day like this? The carriage is here, let’s go.” Noreen stomped out of the room leaving Jacob there to try and figure out what had just happened. A few minutes later, he walked out of the front of the inn and looked around for the others. For a moment he thought that they had left him; which was fine by him. He finally saw Aidan, who had managed to slip into some fancy clothes, and jogged over to them.

“You look a mess, boy. Straighten your collar and coat. My goodness, they’ll think we’re from some backwater.”

“Umm…we are sort of from a backwater.”

“That’s beside the point.”

Jacob gave a quizzical look to Aidan, who simply shrugged and got into the carriage. To his knowledge, Jacob had never ridden in a carriage before and he was quickly realized why. Though the temperature outside was pleasant, perhaps even a bit cool, the inside of the carriage managed to feel like a furnace. The science behind how that was possible eluded him, but Jacob knew that he wanted to be free of the thing as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite the case.

About a thousand yards from where the carriages were releasing the lords and ladies, Jacob’s carriage came to a halt. Sticking his head out the window, with horror he saw a giant line of carriages and buggies. He decided that he wasn’t going to wait around for that.

“I’m getting out, this is ridiculous.” Jacob stood and made a move for the door.

“I don’t think so, mister,” Noreen said, grabbing the tail of his coat. “You’ll be staying right here. How do you think it would look if a relative of the bride went walking up to the keep? Do you not care about your father at all?”

“Leave my dad out of this, Noreen. Aidan, what do you think? Let’s just walk.”

Aidan didn’t seem to like being put on the spot without warning, but he recovered quickly. “If we walked up we would be able to mingle with more lords and ladies otherwise.”

Jacob had to hand it to Aidan; it seemed the man knew how to play Noreen like a fiddle. Her eyes lit up and she started shaking her head. Without waiting to see if she’d change her mind, Jacob quickly jumped out of the carriage and started for the main gate of the keep. A moment later he heard Noreen fussing behind him, so he slowed to allow them to catch up.

“You see, this is a good idea.”

“We’ll see. I just hope they let us in.”

A few minutes later, Jacob and the others walked up to the entranceway.

“Your name, please.” The man attending the door had watched them walk up and seemed to look down upon them.

“I am Jacob Gerhard and this is my maid and my manservant.” Noreen subtly nodded her head at him, indicating that he had spoke properly; just like she had told him.

“Of course you are.” The man made a show of looking over the list. “And where are you from, again, my lord?”

“Penrith Harbor. Is there a problem?”

“Of course not. I’ll just need to go check with his Lord Lady before I can…”

“Listen here, sir. It took me over a week to get here from home and we traveled hard in order to see my lady cousin wed to his Lord Faryden. I would hate to have to tell dear Christine that we were held up at the gate by someone who didn’t know his place.”

The man appeared physically shaken by the retort. After a moment, he bowed low and waved his hand past the gate.

“Please enter. My apologies, my lord. I wasn’t aware…”

“Thank you, sir.” After they had passed through the gate and were walking up the steps to the keep, Jacob looked back to Noreen. “See, I can act the lord if I wish.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t get us thrown out of the city.” She shook here head and Aidan chuckled as the group entered the keep.

Sometime in the past, someone had decided to attach a temple to the front of the keep. It was thought that King Miccael the Pious had the structure commissioned so that everyone who entered the keep would first be able to cleanse themselves of their transgressions. From a practical standpoint, Jacob thought it was a great idea if you planned to have a large sum of weddings. It considerably shortened the travel distance for the guests.

Even though it was small when compared to Haden Hill’s actual Temple, the structure was still more elaborate in its decorations than the one found in Penrith Harbor. It was built in the old style with grand columns reaching well over thirty feet above the guests, holding a massive vaulted ceiling in place. Six banners each hung on the two walls leading toward the front of the temple, recognizing the Twelve Saints. Upon the far wall, standing tall behind the podium, were two large statues of the Father and the Mother. They flanked the door leading into the keep proper and were imposing in their majesty. Above the door, a wood carving of the Creator’s face hung. Because it was nearing winter, the face was presented as belonging to an old man. Jacob imagined that one became more religious just by walking through that door.

From what he could see, Michael Faryden and Christine Gerhard were already sitting up on the front row of the pews. They were being swarmed by lords and ladies wishing luck and giving their congratulations. Exhaling sharply, Jacob almost felt sorry for them. Surveying the area around him, he spotted an empty pew on the last row. He made a move to sit down on it but Noreen grabbed his arm. She didn’t say anything; she just shook her head and pointed up to where Aidan had already sat down. It wasn’t empty but it wasn’t full of people so Jacob acquiesced. They were sitting down just as the chief priest stood and began his speech.

“Welcome my lords and ladies to this most joyous of occasions. We are here today to give thanks for the joining of these two young persons, whom have decided to become one through holy matrimony.” The priest ruffled through a few sheets of papers and cleared his throat before continuing.

“On this day, it is good for us to recall the foundation of our faith and why it is that marriage is such an important step in our life’s journey. Long ago, in the beginning of all days, the Creator Tynia brought the world into being. He called forth the land and sang the ocean into being. With a wave of His mighty hand, He covered the land in grass and trees and with another, all manner of animal began to walk, crawl, and hop upon the land. For a week, however, He worked and toiled in creating stewards to care for his creation. He created the Mak’ra, who were given control over the land and told to care for it, and the Dragons, who were charged with protecting the land.

“With His creation in place and secure, Tynia began His great work. For an entire year, he meticulously formed into being Elihu and Dareia, the Father and the Mother. They were placed upon the world where they soon fell in love. Their joining brought into being the race of Man. When the time for their passing came, Tynia, who was well pleased, carried them up to the heavens and made them deities beside Him.

“And so we beseech you, Father, we call to you, Mother, and ask that you be with Michael Faryden and Christine Gerhard and aid them in their journey as they strive to become one and to become closer to you. Amen.”

Those gathered responded in unison with a hearty amen. Without any further word, the people began to rise and talk as they slowly made their way toward the keep entrance. Jacob was mildly surprised at the length, as he had been expecting something a little longer. Apparently, he decided, they didn’t like wasting time here in the big cities. He, Noreen, and Aidan waited for a few moments for the aisle to clear before standing. Noreen was blatantly ogling some of the ladies in attendance and seemed to constantly smooth her dress.

“What’s wrong with her?” Jacob asked Aidan.

“She’s just worried about her appearance. Women get excited about that sort of thing.”

Jacob shrugged and continued on. He pretended to study the statues of the Mother and Father as they shuffled forward in order to avoid direct eye contact with others. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to be chatting it up with lords and ladies. He suddenly chuckled at the thought of all of these lords and ladies. They took noble titles and they played their noble games and yet there wasn’t a nation to which they belonged or a single king to which they bowed. It was almost as if the Old Empire had ended but the nobility had decided not to notice.

The crowd slowly moved into the main hall of the keep, which was starkly different from the temple. Everything about the structure spoke of strength and age. Even there in the main hall, murder holes looked down upon the entrances and the staircase leading up to the second floor was narrow and split into two staircases halfway up. Jacob assumed that made it easier to hold the staircases in case of a siege. The High Hall, which was attached to the side of the keep in much the same way as the temple, looked markedly different from the others, as well. It looked as if the entire room was made from one large rock. The ceiling was over fifty feet high and had a clear span of over a hundred feet, yet there wasn’t a support column to be seen. The windows were tall and narrow, letting in long shafts of light that crisscrossed the floor.

Jacob had a lot of time to admire the room because the crowd bottlenecked a few yards in from the door. Peeking around people, he realized that the bride and groom were individually greeting every person that entered. He rolled his eyes and glanced back behind him. There were easily five hundred people back there; it was going to take an hour to say hello to all of them. He just felt lucky that he was close to being through.

Ten minutes later, he finally found himself at the front of the line. Straightening quickly, he looked up at Michael Gerhard.

“My lord, let me extend my lord father’s…” His words trailed off as he looked at the man’s face. It was long and tanned and framed by dark hair. His face was a study on surprise. Suddenly Jacob found his voice. “You! You’re the one marrying my cousin? The drunk?!”

“My lord…uh…” Michael seemed to be at a complete loss.

“Michael, what’s this young man speaking of?” Christine asked.

Both Jacob and Michael, however, simply stood there staring at each other. Noreen luckily stepped in to continue the proceedings.

“My lady, this is Jacob Gerhard. He is the son of your father’s brother.”

“Jacob! My father was sure that you’d come. I haven’t seen you since you were only a small babe. How are you?” Her voice was high and she seemed to have a habit of squeaking the last word of each sentence.

Jacob quickly shook his head and looked to Christine. “I am fine, my lady. It’s an honor to be invited. My lord father offers his congratulations and asks that you forgive his absence.”

“Of course, Jacob. We heard of what happened to your father only recently. I hope that he will be well soon.”

“Yes…I’m sure he will be…” It was as if he was living in a dream world. The man who had nagged him in the bar, the man who tricked him into breaking into someone’s house, was the great Michael Faryden. And in a few minutes he would also be a relative. It was more than he could wrap his mind around. It seemed, however, that Michael had recomposed himself.

“Sir, I’m glad that you are able to be here. I…uh, believe we have some things to discuss after the ceremony if you don’t mind.”

“Yes, I think we do.” Jacob’s tone was bordering on anger. He didn’t want to make a scene however – as his father would absolutely hate that – so he quickly excused himself and made his way to a seat. A moment later Aidan and Noreen sat down beside him.

“What was that?” Noreen tried to ask as quietly as possible. “Why are you mad at Michael Faryden?”

“He’s the bloody drunk I was telling you about! They one who-”

“Now’s not the place, Jacob,” said Aidan in his ever-calm tone. “Try and keep your voice down. You will talk with him at the feast, I’m sure.”

Jacob nodded, trying his best to calm down. He had thought about the night they had entered that fat man’s house a lot sense the episode. For an entire day, he had been too afraid to leave the inn. He was sure that at any moment some of the town watch would walk into his room and drag him off to prison. He also thought about how close he was to getting his head mashed in by that guy’s club. He had never really been attacked by someone wishing to do him harm before and it wasn’t an experience he ever wished to repeat.

His mind was reeling by the time the ceremony got underway. He was only moderately paying attention, though he recalled having to stand at least once when the bride’s family was being recognized. The traditional songs were sung and the traditional prayers were given. The Father was asked to be with Michael and help him to be a good husband. The Mother was asked to be with Christine and help her to be a good wife. As the thing continued, Jacob was surprised to find how similar it was to the weddings they had in Penrith Harbor. The ceremony finished with Michael and Christine drinking from the same glass. There was a lot of clapping and cheering as the happy couple left the room. The priest then stood and told everyone to proceed to the Eastern Hall, where they would be fed.

When Jacob and the others finally entered the Eastern Hall, however, he finally found something that was different from home. The hall was ringed with tables, the farthest of which were upon a raised dais so that they could be seen from everywhere within the room. The smells of a thousand different foods wafted through the air and easily fifty smoking, well-cooked turkeys sat cooked upon the tables, as well as large bowls of some sort of soup. When he asked, Jacob was told that this was only to get things started; they were expecting about thirty courses in all. He was utterly amazed.

Once everyone was settled into place, Michael gave a small speech and the feasting commenced. Michael and Christine danced for everyone while a full band played in the corner. They following dance, Jacob asked a beautiful young woman – on Noreen’s request – and they danced for a few songs. Then he finally bumped into Michael again. He didn’t look happy to see Jacob.

“Hello again, Jacob. What did you think of the ceremony?” Apparently small talk wasn’t the Faryden’s strong point.

“It was like all the other weddings I’ve ever been to. Now,” Jacob said, looking around to see who was within earshot. “What were you doing drunk in some second-rate tavern? Aren’t you the holy Michael Faryden?”

It was also apparent that Michael wasn’t used to being insulted and he was taken aback. “I was simply sampling my city’s numerous watering holes. It’s a good way to get a look at the community’s economy.”

“Right. You gain valuable economic information by getting hammered and wandering around the city in the middle of the night.”

“And what were you doing in there, huh?”

“Getting a drink. I’m just the son of a lord, though. I don’t even run one town, let alone two. And I’m not praised by thousands of people who have never met me, so let’s not try to turn this around.”

“Are you calling my character into question, sir?”

“I don’t think there’s any question about it, sir.”

They stood there for a moment, glaring at one another. They were starting to get odd looks from those walking past but they seemed not to notice.

“How old are you, anyway?” asked Michael.

“Twenty, give or take a few days,” Jacob responded. “And you?”

“I’m twenty-three, thank you.” Jacob started laughing at that. “What?”

“You’re only twenty-three? How, then, are you the Savior-Of-All Faryden? Why do these people even like a drunk like you so much?”

“Because I’ve been running Constagra and Haden Hill since I was fifteen! Because, when my father died, I pulled these places out of the dirt and gave them hope again; something my father never could.” He was breathing heavily and his face had turned a deeper shade of red. His volume had also increased and there were now a few people openly watching. Jacob didn’t care, though.

“Then explain the house.”

“I…ugh. To be honest…I thought it would be fun.” He rolled his eyes, realizing how stupid it sounded when he was sober.

“Fun? Have you ever been hit upside the head by a large metal club? No, I don’t think that you have. It isn’t fun, Michael. Let’s just get that clear: it isn’t fun at all.”

They stood staring at one another for a few more minutes, neither of them speaking. Suddenly Michael’s lips cracked into a smile and he slowly started to chuckle. Despite his best efforts, Jacob also started smiling. Within a minute, they were both laughing as though they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Jacob, I’m sorry. But you should have seen the look on your face…”

“Yeah, well I don’t know how you saw it; you sprinted out of there pretty fast.”

“Heh. That’s true. But then, I didn’t want to get hit by that fat guy’s club.” Shaking his head, Michael looked up at the window. “Will you look at that? It’s already dark outside. I should probably spend some time with my wife before they bed us. I’ll talk to you later, alright?”

Jacob also shook his head. “Whatever you say. Oh and congratulations.”

As Michael walked away, Jacob returned to Aidan.

“Where’s Noreen?”

“Off flirting with some lord, no doubt.” He nodded his head in the direction of Michael. “And how did that go?”

“It’s alright. He’s an okay guy. Actually…” Jacob stopped as he cocked his head. Seemingly off in the distance, he thought he heard a low thumping noise. “Do you hear that?”

Sections of the roof suddenly exploded downward, walls started crumbling inward, people started screaming and Aidan didn’t have time to answer.