Mantle: The Return of the Sha (6 page)

The King’s Redemption

KING ZANDER’S TIME in Maske had proved to be very productive. He had been granted a tour of the Forie Mines, had inspected the Maske vaults where the inventory of precious stones were kept, and had conversed with many residents of the village one-on-one.

It was during his private meeting with Balki Touro that he was solicited for a position at Obengaard. Balki had been on the king’s mind for the duration of his stay because of Balki’s cloaking ability, and now he was inclined to grant him a position almost immediately. And he would have at that very moment, but King Zander was a levelheaded man who didn’t rush to decisions lightly. This was a trait he had learned from his father, King Alexo. But it had been his error in upsetting the Sovereign Trees that had prompted him to examine his decisions from all angles before taking action. So, to Balki’s dismay, the king offered Balki the right to travel with him and his men for the remainder of the tour, and then on to Obengaard. There was only one stop left in the king’s travels before heading home, but Zander decided that this would give him time to get to understand Balki’s qualifications and determine the appropriate position to offer.

Balki accepted, of course, and made arrangements to leave with the king. His father was thrilled. Balki would be following in his footsteps as a public servant. His mother, Doalie Touro, though, was not so excited for her son to leave. She had to face the grim reality that it was her son’s presence that had held her and Tate’s marriage together for the past twenty years and, now with his departure, she could see how they might drift in their relationship once again as they had so many years ago. But she kept those thoughts to herself and wished him luck as she prepared his things for travel.

****

“Majesty, thank you for allowing me to make an impression on you during your travels,” Balki said with a genuine smile.

“Balki, I am considering you for a position at Obengaard, and I do not make decisions lightly. I would like to know you better, and what better way than to share the remainder of my travels,” responded Zander as they rode in the king’s coach.

The road they traveled was brutal in its appearance, riddled with holes and crevasses and covered in mildly large stones. The carriage, however, had been constructed of Sovereign wood and was so enchanted that, from the inside, it felt as smooth as gliding across still water.

“Majesty, anything that I can do or say that will assist you with your decision, I gladly offer,” Balki said.

“Tell me, young Balki, of your experience with the Spiers. After all, you have lived in their company for the whole of your life, and I would very much like to know your thoughts on the arrangement managed between the Maskes and your neighbors dwelling in the mines.”

Balki had very strong feelings
against
the arrangement with the Spiers. He personally felt as though the riches of the Spiers could be taken without any arrangement, and would quickly demote the Spiers to lower-class citizens of Forris, if he had his way. But he knew that this was not the response that the king was hoping for, so he would put on a performance that would offer up explanations nearly the opposite of his true thoughts. If he needed to cloak to make his statements believable, then he would.

“Majesty, I believe that the arrangement with the Spiers is a good one and might even be improved if they are allowed to receive even more of our gifts in exchange for their wealth. They have no sense for the value of the riches of the mines and would gladly trade more if offered.”

“I see,” Zander said. “There has been talk of allowing the Spiers to appoint their own ambassador to Obengaard, so that their interests might be properly represented. What would you make of such a bold move?”

“I would consider any decision on your part to be a wise one, Majesty. Offering a position to the Spiers that would give them a voice in matters of state would be a noticeable shift away from the long-held policies of the kingdom. Given that the only members of your advisory council have been Fories up to this point, would you be willing to also make ambassadorships available to
all
of the inhabitants within Forris?”

The king paused for several moments as he pondered the question presented by Balki. As he did, Balki continued, “Sir, surely you would not grant appointments to the Spiers without including representation by the others. The fairies would likely balk at the thought of being left out, as would the mountains and the simpler animals. There are roughly a dozen inhabitants within the kingdom that currently enjoy their own form of local government. Would you consider all of them for appointments?”

Balki had a strong opinion that
none
of the Forris inhabitants should be given the right to voice their opinions at Obengaard, but he presented it in such a way that the king would arrive at the decision as his own.

“You make a strong point, Balki. You are already proving to be a valuable adviser with such an insight. Tell me, what are your thoughts of my upcoming summit with Bore and Tongar?”

“I believe that open communication with the other kingdoms of Mantle can be nothing but positive. The leadership of Forris under your rule is invaluable to the ongoing peace among the kingdoms of Mantle. Forris, as you well know, is the richest and most powerful of the three kingdoms, and your ability to keep the kingdoms of Bore and Tongar in peace is vital to our continued success.”

Balki believed none of what he was saying. He secretly felt that all of Mantle should bow down to the Fories; that the Fories were in a position to dictate to the others, and should not be bound to what he considered to be silly treaties and truces that had been drawn up centuries ago. He was hungry for war and would slowly position himself to create it.

And although there appeared to be only two passengers in the king’s coach that day, the inflock was listening as well—learning the nature of both Zander and Balki as they spoke, and patiently calculating its own plan. The inflock, however, wasn’t interested in bringing Forris to the ruling forefront by way of war. Its goal was chaos and evil, suffering and destruction. It had no interest in the politics between the kingdoms of Mantle, only the return of Menagraff to rule with an iron and brutal fist. So it listened and it learned.

“I agree, Balki. It was my father who taught me, at an early age, that for one man to be truly happy and content, he must always and forever consider the happiness and contentment of the man standing beside him. No person can be free of suffering if he knows that another is suffering.”

Inside himself, Balki was scoffing at the notion that each man is bound to the happiness of others. He felt that the equality of all men was a ridiculous goal—for the ruler of
any
kingdom to have. But he continued with his acting.

“Yes, your father was a wise man. He recognized that peace and harmony should be as equally distributed as possible in order to maintain a noble position in the world. I applaud your efforts to continue his legacy.”

“Yes, well my desire to maintain the happiness of my people is challenging, given my circumstances. By my mere reflection of unhappiness, it has been difficult for me to continue in my father’s footsteps. You obviously know of my affliction and the reason for my bitter appearance. Do you have any doubt in my ability to rule in such a state as this?”

Balki knew why the king held his unhappy expression. Everyone knew, but no one would dare to bring up the subject directly to the king himself, so he would tread lightly on the subject.

“Majesty, I believe that your ability to rule is not decided by any affliction that you might have,” Balki replied. He thought that his response was one of a diplomatic nature without any hint of dispute, and without addressing the question directly.

“I notice that you are avoiding the topic, young Balki. I assure you that I am not made of glass and will not break so easily. Tell me what you think on the matter,” Zander replied, brows raised.

Balki, realizing that the king would require a more direct answer, was determined to proceed with caution. “Sir, in my opinion, the only person who might accurately answer that question is
you
. The question is whether or not
you
are content; whether you are happy. With that answered, the affliction will become secondary.” Again, another diplomatic and indirect answer.

“I see, young Balki, that you intend to avoid the subject altogether. I was hoping that you might have some insight as to the mood among my subjects when they look upon me. It’s no bother however, as I understand that my personal battle to regain my true expression is not likely to be understood by others. It is my own fight to win, and fortunately, I have it on good authority that my battle may soon be won. I only hope that I recognize my prize when I see it.”

Balki realized that the king had been counseled at some point that he might regain his smile soon. This was not the news that Balki wanted to hear. He would prefer that the king continue with his curse indefinitely, making Balki’s craving for power that much easier to satisfy.

The inflock was equally distressed by the notion that Zander might regain his expression. It would mean that the king’s outlook would be all the more positive and the king all the more powerful. A smile is such a simple thing, but it carries with it an incredible power that can affect all of those around him. The inflock, now more awakened, would do its best to guide Balki to prevent such a change in the king.

They stopped along the way only once to sleep, and Balki was convinced that he had satisfied any possible concerns that the king might have about his motives. He put on quite a show for the king, acting as though his primary concern was for the welfare of the Fories, and convincing him that diplomatic and peaceful solutions could be found for any potential problems facing the three kingdoms of Mantle. He was quite proud of himself.

****

As they rode into the village of Terra, there were loud cheers from the crowds lining the streets that led to the main square. Everyone had shown up for the king’s arrival that day. After all, he hadn’t been to Terra in years, so for many this was their first glimpse of the young king.

Unlike most of the other villages of Forris, Terra did not lay claim to anything as elaborate as fairies, precious stones, or glass. The magic of Terra was interspersed among its inhabitants and varied greatly. If any claim to fame could be made by the Terrans, it was the produce that was grown to taste more magnificent than any other in the kingdom. Its livestock also had powers to produce tools and affect the weather and climate of the surrounding area. But even though nearly everything and everyone in the village was touched by magic in some way, there were no structures built of gold, no roads paved in glass, and no jewel-encrusted robes draping the backs of its residents. The streets were lined with simple wooden structures, painted in a wide variety of colors, and the surrounding hills were peppered with cottages and farms with rows of crops embedded into the sides of the hills. Farther outside of the town center, the land became flat with large fields of crops that could be seen for miles in every direction.

When the king stepped off his coach with Balki following behind, he was met once again by the mayorgovern of Terra. He was,
of course
, a short stocky man, and the king gave a brief and silent chuckle at the sight of him.

When Balki stepped off the coach, however, he was overcome with a sense of dread. The inflock had sensed a dangerous presence on the land, something in complete contradiction of its own evil existence. Balki became flush and nearly collapsed after only a moment.

“Majesty,” said the mayorgovern, “may I have the honor of welcoming you to our humble village?”

“Thank you, Mayorgovern; it seems we have saved the most enthusiastic for last. It has been a long journey and it appears that my traveling companion, who has just joined us from Maske, seems to be a bit ill. Could you please assist young Balki Touro with a drink?”

“Yes, right away, sir.”

The mayorgovern brought a simple glass filled with water and handed it to Balki, who quickly drank it to the end. It appeared to be simple water; however, it rejuvenated him to full strength immediately. He suspected that it had been enchanted as a remedy of some kind, but he voiced no complaint. The inflock, however, did not appreciate the magic of Terra being used so deliberately and openly without warning. What could it do, though? Balki was certain to use any remedy available to cure his physical discomfort. That was a basic need that the inflock would not have control over—at least for now.

Terra had constructed a stage, just as all of the other villages had. It was a simple design made of wood, but it had been painted a color of white that seemed to reflect the rays of the sun as if it were made of pearl. It wasn’t, since Forris had no seas, but the illusion was there all the same.

As the king stepped onto the stage, he looked out over the crowd. He estimated that there were nearly a thousand Terrans standing about waiting for him to speak. Zander, looking over the crowd, wondered if the person or thing that would lift his curse was somewhere near. He choked up at the thought that his curse might not be lifted and nearly shed a tear at the thought of it.