The War of Queens

Chapter 64

Ishmael

The final arrangements with Raynor had been made. Peace was imminent, yet Ishmael could not help the inkling feeling he got.

He had visited Lady Helena the day before. She was to die in just a few days, but when he saw her she had been calm as though the news had yet to reach her. It was something she shared with her sister - a calmness, yes, almost indifference in the face of misfortune. The daughters of Adrianne never seemed to cry.

He was finishing the poster that was to be copied and distributed in a week. It was a declaration of peace between the kingdoms of Tibera and Etheron. The borders would be opened for travelers and he had begun planning the journey of his two musicians. The finances of the Crown were not doing too well after the war, but Lord Archibald had managed to conjure up some money for Thomas Irving and William Smith.

Just as the poster had been set aside, a servant entered with a knock. “Lady Mary is here to see you,” he said.

“Ah, send her in.”

Mary wore a moss green dress heavily embroidered with golden thread. Her hood had the same pattern, and her jewelry was golden as well. It seemed strange that she should curtsey so low for him.

“I see you’ve changed for the feast,” Ishmael said.

She rose from her curtsey. “I wanted to look my best. After all, we are celebrating peace. Surely, that is in everyone’s favor.”

He smiled. “Indeed. Please sit.”

“You wanted to talk to me,” she said as she drew out the chair on the other side of the table.

“Yes, I was looking into the myths of your religion,” he began. “I was under the impression that there were three religions in Etheron - well, four, if you count the Yaguar’s - but then there was a reference to the Mere in some of the Solar texts. Is that something you can explain for me?”

She smiled. “Well, if we disregard the Yaguar religion, which I know nothing about, then there is only one religion, but with three varieties of it. In all versions, there are three gods; the god of the Sun, the goddess of the Moon and the goddess of the Sea. All that the three disagree about is which god came first and thus takes the place of the most important god.”

“Ah, I see.” He quickly noted what she had said.

“Each three gods symbolize different things,” she continued. “In the Solar religion, the Sun’s heat and energy made the world grow out of nothing, just like He makes plants and trees grow to this day.” It was an interesting thing to watch her face change as she talked. It grew peaceful and glowed with a fondness from talking about these things. “In the Lunar religion, the goddess of Luna birthed the world through an affair with the Sun. It is known that Luna has powers beyond belief all over the world. Records show how She has given women powers of witchcraft during their bleedings or after a birth or miscarriage. It is from the desire of this power that the word lunacy derives.”

Ishmael remembered a woman named Luna from his own texts - a witch, too, who got her powers when the moon was full. He frowned. “You yourself belong to which religion?”

“That of the Sun,” she said.

“…and what of the final religion?” He looked into his paper to find the name. “The religion of the Mere?”

“Mere is an ancient word for Mother,” she said. “It was with a tidal wave that the world was born, from her waters that plants grew and from the plants came animals and humans. It is well-known that everything living requires water to continue life, and when we cry, our tears are salty like the ocean.”