“Courage promotes leaders; fear demotes them. Most people who have difficulties climbing up success ladders are fans of fear.” - Israelmore Ayivor
Caith sat at his desk in the tent. After ensuring Aebbé's safety, the soldiers escorted him to King Ferdaid. After a series of arguments, Ferdaid had no choice but to let Caith go, but he had given Caith only two days to hand over to his second-in-command who, fortunately, was Eoghan.
Caith was sparse with showering compliments, but for Eoghan he had praises to spare. He would only be leader until after this war, as decided by Caith and Eoghan a long time ago. He had other more important duties to fulfil. Eoghan was engaged and would marry as soon as he left the order. With his marriage, he would be crowned as king. With Aylissa by his side, he would be formidable indeed. Caith had anyway been sharing the command with Eoghan for years already.
Caith had only one last thing to do. He looked up. Eoghan was in the same tent, also doing paperwork at his desk, but Caith knew it was mostly an excuse to keep an eye on Caith. Eoghan feared he would disappear, leaving this mess behind.
Caith put his pen down, demanding Eoghan's attention. “Prince Eoghan, can you please call Walter? I need to speak to him urgently.”
Eoghan dipped his pen in ink, before slowly and deliberately writing another word prior to answering Caith. “You are too fond of that boy, Caith. From the first day he walked into your office, you gave him more than the others.”
“Eoghan, the night is late, and I have to speak to Walter. You are my only true friend, but I cannot explain myself to you. Tonight I am still in command. From tomorrow on, you can do as you please. I have been the leader of this order for twelve years. Please, friend, do not question me tonight. Trust me this last time, as I have trusted you for many years.”
“Yes, Caith, I will get the boy,” the prince replied with a sigh, scraping his paperwork together before he tied them together neatly with a blue ribbon.
“He was a boy ten years ago. Now he is a man.”
Eoghan left silently. Caith did not want to speak so harshly to the prince, but he had to.
Walter entered only minutes after Eoghan had left. “Sir Caith, I was told to come to your tent.”
“Walter, I am pleased to see you,” he said, and he meant it. The boy always brightened up Caith's day.
“Likewise, sir. You were gone for two weeks sir. Not even the prince knew where you were. Then the next thing we all know, is that you rescued the princess. It was rush - even for you, sir.”
“You know I would not tolerate such words from anyone other than you, Walter.”
“I know,” the boy sighed as he placed his hands on the back of the chair where Eoghan was seated moments before.
“Walter, you have been here for ten years. You have grown from a stuttering boy to a formidable, strong man. You are one of only four, no five, people that I trust. Tomorrow morning, I will announce to my order that I will step out of command. Prince Eoghan will take over. He will choose his own Second-in-command the same day. I know who he will choose. The next person will be in charge right after the war, when the prince steps out.”
“Sir, did the king force you to step down?”
“He did, but I would not do so if it was not the right thing to do. I have been here too long. Now, do not be angry at the king. He did what was right.”
“But he does not have a say in the rule of this order,” Walter says, clenching his hands on the chair.
“Walter, Eoghan will choose you.”
Walter's eyes widened. “Me? Why me? Ten years ago, you told me that I would find a friend in him. He has not treated me like a friend. I do not hate him because of that. He is the prince of the elves. They all competed for his favour. I never stood a chance.”
“He knows that you are trustworthy. You are his friend, even though he does not show it. Friendships between humans and elves are very rare. And you have to remember that elf-politics are too complicated to understand,” Caith explained slowly. It took him many years to understand them. There was no way the boy would be able to grasp their intricacy in a decade.
“I have noticed that.” He gave a short, clear laugh.
Caith was glad to see that the boy had retained his sense of humour over the past decade.
“Eoghan will choose you. You have deserved it, Walter.”
“Thank you, sir. But?”
That caused Caith to smile. “I have a task for you, though. You are free to choose whether or not you will accept.”
“What task can be performed from now until tomorrow morning?”
“Listen to everything that I have to say; then you can ask questions.” Caith knew that Walter would be faced with a difficult choice. He didn't want to put this burden on Walter's shoulders, but in the end, Caith needed one he could trust.
“Yes, sir.”
“If you accept Eoghan’s offer, you will not be able to see your sister again. You have only seen her once this past decade, with my special leave. I know you are very fond of her. She is your twin. You have shared the womb. That is a bond that cannot be broken. She is the rest of you. You are not complete without her. My twin is my darkness and my light - the one who puts everything I am into perspective.”
“Sir?” Walter was confused.
“I need someone that I completely trust to take queen Claira away from Raven’s Peak. Her life is in danger.”
“Oh.”
“Walter, I can only trust you. She is expecting a child.”
The boy's face was all incredulity. “A child? King Friduric’s heir?”
“Yes, Ardam's rightful heir.”
“So, if I were to accept this task, it would not be possible for me to return?”
“Yes.”
“But I could go back to my sister?”
“Yes. There is one more thing. The child should have a father, in order to avoid suspicions.”
“You are suggesting that I marry the queen.”
“That is the only solution. Walter, I can trust only you with this. Claira cannot go to the elves. It would be dangerous to hand them anything that can give them a hold on human history and power. Their future queen is as ruthless as she is cunning. I will take Claira to safety myself, if you should decline the offer.”
“You cannot go, sir. You are needed here. The war is coming to a climax, and you need to be here when it breaks.”
“You are free to choose.”
“I know. I respect you for giving me that freedom. I lied to you, years ago, at my interview. I did not tell you everything that my mother told me. She told me that I would find my father in the Second Order. I always thought that he was in the order. I always thought I would know him when I saw him for the first time. It took me a while to find out what she meant.”
“Walter-,” Caith did not want Walter to proceed down this path.
“Let me finish, sir. I found out a lot about elf-politics. They see me as a half-elf. They despise me for that. They can sense that I am not fully human. I never noticed that I was different from other humans, until my second day in the order. You knew from the first time you saw me, that I was different. You have not aged a day since that day. I put everything together a year after that day. The resemblance is in our eyes.”
“Walter -,” Caith started. He wanted to say something to the boy that stood in front of him, but what could he say? Caith could just imagine the pain this boy had been through while growing up.
“I accept this task.”
“I am sorry. I know I have caused you a lot of pain,” was the only words Caith could think of.
“Your absence caused me pain.” His hands unfolded from the chair he was still clutching, causing colour to flood back into his knuckles.
“I am sorry, Walter.”
Walter dismissed his words with the simple flick of his wrist. “I do not blame you at all. When do I leave with Queen Claira?”
“Now. I will take you to her room. I already discussed everything with her. Then we will go to your farm.”
“But you have to be back by tomorrow morning?”
“Always trust the water. Take my hand.”
Walter's hand hovered in the air, afraid of comitting.
“Trust the water. Trust me,” Caith urged.
Walter took Caith’s hand. The moment they touched, Caith started to travel by water. The trip was very short. A moment later they appeared in queen Claira’s room. She was dressed plainly.
“Queen Claira,” Caith greeted her first.
“Lord Caith, I am only Claira now.”
“This is Sir Walter. He will take care of you from now-on.”
“Thank you, Walter. I owe you my life.”
“It is a pleasure, Queen Claira.” Walter blushed endearingly.
“Lady Claira, please take my hand. We will arrive at your new home soon.” He smiled inwardly at Walter blushing. Claira was beautiful, and had an amiable personality. In short, she was femininity embodied. Caith predicted that it wouldn't be long until Walter was head-over-heels devoted to her.
Claira took Caith’s hand. Walter also took his hand without hesitation or doubt this time.
They arrived at Clearview-Riversmeet after a few seconds. Caith had a rough idea of where Walter’s farm should be.
“Walter, is this the place?”
“Yes, sir. My sister and her husband live some metres to the south.”
“We need a witness for your marriage. Walter, can you please get your sister?”
“Yes, sir,” Walter replied, drawing his cloak up against the chill.
“Claira, I am really sorry about the loss of your husband, and more so of your innocent daughters. I am really sorry that your whole life has been thrown upside down. I know Walter will make you happy. He will take good care of you. He will be an excellent father and husband. I trust him completely.”
Caith saw the burden of loss weighing on her shoulders. In the span of a few days she has lost everything. Her husband, her children, her crown, yet she stood tall and proud, a queen ready to brave the unknown for the last thing she had left: her unborn child.
“Lord Caith, I will call you by this name, because I was not introduced to you by your real name, the future descendants of Ardam and I, are in your debt.”
“By your honour, you are,” was his curt reply.
Walter returned with his sister - beautiful, and bearing Caith's resemblance in both his blue eyes and golden hair.
“Sir, this is my sister, Eunike.”
“I am honoured to meet you, Eunike. Your brother always talks about you. Though, I am sorry to say that he has greatly under-described your beauty.” He took her hand and kissed it.
“You must be our father,” she said, with lifted eyebrows and ice like Pherenike's in her eyes.
“Yes.”
“I never thought I would meet you,” she said after a moment of silence, allowing the ice in her heart to melt for the span of an everlasting moment.
“I never thought you should.”
“Sir, we have to start,” Walter urged.
Caith performed the wedding ceremony quickly, finishing just before the sun rose. Caith, his estranged children, and the lost queen stood in silence as they watched the day break around them.
“Thank you, Walter,” Caith ventured when Eunike and Claira took their leave.
“I did it for lady Claira, and my sister.”
“I know. I am grateful to you. I cannot teach you anymore. I have taught you everything that I know. You would not believe it, but I have given you more of myself than I should have. That I could not be your father, would probably be a regret that will haunt me until the end of my days - if they are finite, which I don't think they are. For ten years, I had the opportunity to be your mentor and friend, and that is all I can ever give you that really matters. Trust the water. But you already know that. If you ever need me, use the water to contact me.”
Caith produced a large bag out of thin air. “Here is a part of the child’s heritage. The child’s descendants must have proof of their lineage. It is not your place to open it. The time will come for them to step up and claim the throne.” Caith took a small bag out of his pocket. “Here is the amount that you will earn until the age that you will retire. It should provide for your new family. I know you want to refuse it, but you are still in service of the Second Order. It is not a gift to bribe you. It is what you deserve. Take it.”
“Thank you, Caith,” he said as he weighed the contents in the palm of his hand.
“Walter, if it means anything at all to you, I am proud of you. Different to what you may believe, I do care for you. When you have lived as long as I have, and have seen humans and elves be born, live and die as often as the sun comes up, you build a wall to prevent any attachment.”
“You really do not have to explain anything to me.”
“Baldemar, I have to.” Caith could see the effect of the name he had just called Walter on his face.
“I know that name, ” Walter replied, confusion evident in his eyes.
“Yes, you do. It is the name I gave to you on the day of your birth. You may not have seen me, but that does not mean that I have not seen you. I give all my children a name from the old language, one they will recognise immediately if they are ever called upon by that name.”
“Only once before has anyone called me by that name,” Walter said, deep in thought.
“It was your eighth birthday.”
“I was angry at my mother because she refused to give me a dagger for my birthday, so I ran out of the house to the river. I threw pebbles into the river, and cried, thinking that a father would have allowed me to have a dagger of my own. Then I saw a man, clad in white, standing on a rock a few metres away from me. The one moment there was no-one, and the next he was there. He called me ‘Baldemar’. I immediately knew that that was my true name. He walked towards me, knelt down on the ground before me and wiped my tears away.”
“He asked you what caused you to cry,” Caith continued.
“I told him about my mother refusing to give me a dagger. And then he told me -.”
“Baldemar, you have to be strong, for yourself, your sister and your mother. You will not always get what you want, and you cannot cry about it. Be strong, Baldemar. And then you told him that it is difficult - being strong.”
“He replied that it most definitely is. Then he told me that on my tenth birthday, exactly two years from now, I would find a dagger of my own on this rock. He kissed my brow and just disappeared. I went back to the river everyday for the next two years, even though I could not remember why. On my tenth birthday I went back, just after dawn, and a beautiful dagger lay on the rock. It had blue gems inlaid at the hilt. I still carry it with me today.” Walter was silent for a while, then: “I have not thought of this memory since my tenth birthday.”
“It is a memory only invoked by your true name, in order to protect you.” Caith replied simply.
“I have never been angry at you, not since I met you, I mean. I cannot say that I approve of the way you live, but I understand.”
“I have to go. They are expecting me back at camp. ”
“Wait-.”
Caith opened his eyes.
“I would be honoured if you would be present to name my first son, if I am fortunate enough to have a son in the future.”
“I would be the one that is honoured.” Caith barely contained the smile threatening to break out on his face. “May the stars and the moon shine brightly on you, Walter,” was Caith’s last words to his son.
“And may the sun rise brightly for you, Father,” Walter said, before he turned away towards the direction that Eunike and Claira had gone in.
“You may call me on my name,” Caith whispered to the dawn.
Caith travelled back to Allesam with a heavy heart. He arrived back in his tent, met by a moody Eoghan.
“I did not think you would leave the tent. Where is Walter?” Eoghan’s tone was as hostile as Caith had ever heard it.
“Eoghan, Walter is gone. I asked you to trust me, and you did. I cannot tell you where he is. If you know, you will be an accomplice,” Caith's hollow voice echoed through the tent.
“What have you done now?”
“You will know one day. Now, let’s go outside. I assume they are all waiting outside?” Caith enquired, without changing his tone.
“Yes, they have been there since sunrise. We have all, once again, been waiting for you. ”
“Thank you for trusting me.” Caith exited his tent, and was greeted by his men.
“Servants of the Second Order, I have served you loyally for close to fifteen years. I know that many of you have resented my authority for the past twelve years, yet I hope that my person has never done anything to insult yours. Nine days ago I went away without leave. We are all familiar with the rules that have been drawn up for this order. Not being above them, I violated some of those rules in the past nine days. We are all also familiar with the punishments one who broke them must face. Thus, today I hand over my command of the Order of the Water and the Sun to my second-in-command and heir, prince Eoghan Darkwood, son of Faolan Darkwood of the family Dubhan Darkwood.”
The elves clapped their hands enthusiastically. They have been waiting for this day since the day that Caith gained command over the order.
Caith continued when they quietened down: “I give myself wholly over to Eoghan Darkwood, to punish me as he sees fit, befitting of my crimes. May Khairrim Cadeyrn look upon him and smile, and may he not betray the trust of the order, as I have betrayed it.” Caith nodded to Eoghan.
Eoghan moved closer to Caith. Caith bowed before him and handed him the golden brooch that signified the command of the Second Order.
Eoghan took it. “I accept the command over the Order of the Water and the Sun.”
The elves clapped again.
“As is customary, I will choose my second-in-command as well today. But first I have to handle the task of the criminal Caith No-Name.”
Caith flinched. That was harsh, but not uncalled for.
“The Law of the Order states that a deserter must be beheaded after giving him a fair chance to voice his reasons and to see his family, if he has one, for a last time. Our history has been blessed with very few traitors, and Caith No-Name is the first ever to abuse a position of power. Caith No-Name did not abuse his position for personal reasons. As you have heard, he rescued the princess Ardam and returned her to her family. Thus I have a difficult decision to make: do I execute one who has betrayed our Order and our rules, but has led us fearlessly the past twelve years and saved the Ardam princess?”
The elves and men were restless as Eoghan continued: “I do not believe it would be moral to proceed down that path. I gave this anomaly much thought the past few days, even before Caith No-Name returned with the princess Ardam. Then he returned, and King Ferdaid is in his debt. Caith No-Name has been my friend, and I have learned many invaluable things from him. Disregarding my friendship, I have to be fair and just in his punishment. He has been stripped from command, and as of now, he is nothing more than the newest recruit to the Order. Caith No-Name will receive twenty two lashes to his back daily for the next two months and two days from a whip made of volcano-bush, gold and bull leather.”
Caith heard a few gasps in the crowd. Caith had trouble hiding his own astonishment. He had thought that he would be banished from the Order. Hell, he had bargained on that. It would have excused him from this mess he is making. Caith could not be seriously injured by things that would inflict serious harm on elves or humans. But the weapon Eoghan had just mentioned would definitely be inconvenient.
“I will choose a handful of people to carry out this punishment. It will not happen publicly. However, in order to prove to you that I am keeping my word, at sunrise every seventh day Caith No-Name will show his back to two members of the order that have requested proof. In order to qualify for this favour, you have to speak to me and my second-and-third in commands. I have been just.”
“Now to address another important matter at hand: Walter deserted our Order last night. I could not find him this morning, but he left a note explaining his actions. I declare Walter No-Name a traitor. If found, he will be executed according to the guidelines.”
Eoghan looked at all his men. “And finally I can announce my successor. I call forward Ludel Strongwind of the family Strongwind to take up his place as my Second-in-command, and my future successor.”
The elves clapped, but the men were not very happy about this decision. Strongwind acted hostile towards the men, but he came from one of the most powerful elf families. The Strongwinds have been trying to gain the Darkwood throne for millennia, so Eoghan had made a politically wise decision in appointing Ludel Strongwind as his successor. Even if Walter had been appointed as his successor, Walter would know that he had to choose Strongwind as his successor, in order to stabilise relationships in the Order. So in short, Strongwind has just risen to power years before he was meant to.
Strongwind barely hid his smile. He joined Caith and Eoghan in front. Eoghan gave Ludel a kiss on his brow, and handed him a small white pebble. Ludel took the pebble, gave it a quick glance and pocketed it. In time, he would hand the pebble to his own chosen successor.
The rest of the day was filled with the necessary formalities, yet Caith remained as he always was: an onlooker, never belonging to his current circumstance.