Melengar. The story told of how this courageous band fought through caves, sailed across underground seas of glowing water, battled hordes of goblins, and slew a Gilarabrywn. It told how three of them fell in battle, but the remainder emerged victorious. According to this story, Sir Hadrian, armed with the Rhelacan, defeated the king of the elves and saved the empire. The tale grew with each passing tinker and new characters were added, including a thief, a sailor, and a master swordsman.
All that really mattered was that the empress was alive and well and that Amilia the Beloved was with her. Not all the news was welcome, however, as edicts declared dwarves and half-elves were to be recognized as full citizens of the empire. This touched off the Spring Riots in Colnora and Vernes, which Sir Breckton squelched with a contingent of imperial troops.
In the north, the realm of Melengar all but vanished. What the imperial invasion had not destroyed, the elves had. The young king Alric, who never married and had no heirs, did not return, nor did his sister. After more than seven hundred years, the line of Essendon ended, and it was Count Mauvin Pickering, now Imperial Governor Pickering, who returned to administrate the province of Melengar. By all accounts, he was a good and just man, and before long rumors of his marriage to Lady Alenda Lanaklin circulated.
The death of Archibald Ballentyne left the province of Chadwick vacant of a lord. The seat was replaced when the empress appointed Degan Gaunt earl. In her announcement speech, she said that the appointment was not only deserved but appropriate.
By Summersrule, heralds were crossing the empire shouting in every village about the news from New Percepliquis. The first buildings were standing on the mount at Amberton Lee, just enough to allow the empress to move her court, and she was using the holiday to celebrate the move and commemorate those who had given their lives to save the empire.
The games where held in the newborn city, which was little more than chalk and string outlines. Thousands came hoping to glimpse Sir Hadrian or Sir Breckton on the field, but neither entered the competition. Sir Renwick won top honors, unhorsing Sir Elgar in the final tilt.
The highlight of the celebration, however, was the marriage of Sir Breckton to Lady Amilia in a moonlight ceremony performed by Patriarch Merton. On the last day of the celebrations, Empress Modina made the startling announcement that she had adopted, as daughter and heir, the half-elf child Allie, henceforth to be known as the imperial crown princess Alliena Novronian.
The celebration lasted a full two weeks, and when it was over, the roads were filled with carts and wagons of soon-to-be-footsore travelers on their long journeys home. The hilltop at Amberton Lee, now officially renamed New Percepliquis, was once more filled with the sounds of hammers, chisels, and saws. Sheep grazed on the southern slope, and milk cows on the north.
As the sun began to set, lights appeared in the windows of the “palace”-a simple thirty-room blockhouse. It was the first of the dwarven constructions and designed to be servants’ quarters for stable hands and groundskeepers. For now it housed the whole of the imperial government.
On the front steps, which were broad and afforded a fine view from the hilltop, a small group gathered to watch the sunset and the approach of the imperial carriage.
“It really is coming along nicely,” Hadrian told the dwarf as he sat with his arm around Arista. He was dressed in a soft tunic and she in a comfortable blue linen dress. “It’s hard to imagine this is where I fought only four months ago.”
The now leveled land revealed tiers where buildings would be constructed partially into the sides of the hill. Huge blocks of stone marked corners that anchored string lines held in place with stakes that designated future walls, roads, and pathways. Most were rectangular, but some were octagonal or completely circular. Still others defied any description, looking haphazard and bewildering from their footprints in string.
“It’s beautiful,” Arista said.
“Bah! You can’t tell a thing yet!” Magnus scoffed. He tapped his temple. “If you could see what’s in here, then you could really appreciate it. This city will make the old one below us an embarrassment.” He looked out across the hill. “But it will take time-years-decades, really-but yes, it will be beautiful.”
The laughter of children blew in with the evening summer breeze as down the slope Allie and Mercy chased fireflies, where a holly tree stood and five boys once spent days in a tent they called the Hovel.
The carriage pulled to a stop, and when the door opened, the white-wigged chancellor Nimbus stepped out. He was dressed in his usual outlandish colors, and on his chest was the massive gold chain of his office. He smiled at Modina and Amilia and greeted them all with a sweep of his hand and a lavish bow.
“It’s about time you arrived,” Modina said, rising to meet him.
“Forgive me, Your Eminence,” he said, dusting himself off. “But there was a great deal to be done before blowing out the last candle in Aquesta.”
“How long will you be staying?” Amilia asked.
“I’m afraid not long. I’ve really only come to see what you’ve started here and to say goodbye.”
“I can’t believe you won’t stay. I don’t know how I will get along without you.”
“Alas, as I told Your Eminence in our correspondence, it really is time for me to move on. You have matters well in hand. New Percepliquis is coming along nicely. When I accepted this chain of office, we both knew it was temporary. I will be leaving in the morning.”
“Really?” Amilia asked. “So soon? I thought we’d have a few days at least.”
“I am afraid so, my lady. I’ve had many farewells and found that they are best kept short.”
“You’ve been wonderful,” Modina told him, squeezing his hand. “This empire wouldn’t have survived without you. Every citizen owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Nimbus addressed Amilia while gesturing toward the empress. “We did all right with her, didn’t we? I think that board really helped.”
“Yes,” Amilia agreed, and raced down the steps and hugged him tight. She kissed his cheek, startling the chancellor. “Thank you-thank you for everything.”
Modina motioned for Nimbus to come closer and briefly whispered in his ear.
“Oh yes, the new couple,” Nimbus said, looking at Hadrian and Arista. “Congratulations on your wedding. What will you do now?”
“Yes,” Modina said. “Now that the honeymoon is over and you’ve been duly knighted, Sir Hadrian, what are your plans?”
“Don’t look at me. Arista is running this show. I thought we’d be back in Medford by now.”
“Oh right.” She rolled her eyes. “I could just see you as king in the royal court, listening to the earls and barons griping about who has the right to water cattle on the north bank of the Galewyr, or settling a dispute with the clergy over their refusal to pay a tax on the vast tracks of church-owned land. No, I know how it would turn out. I would be the one left alone in the throne room sorting through the tangled string of a dozen petitions while you’re off hunting or jousting. I’m sorry but I’ve had more than my share of ruling and it would only make us both miserable. That’s why I gave Melengar to Mauvin. It also made it easier to admit Melengar to the empire, as he didn’t have any problem with accepting a governorship as opposed to a crown.
“Do you know what our good knight here has actually been doing with his time? During our honeymoon?” Arista bumped Hadrian with her shoulder. “Why he was too busy to take part in the joust?”
Everyone looked slightly uneasy, wondering what she might say next.
Arista paused a suitable moment to let their minds wander, then said, “He’s been working as the smithy in Hintindar.”
Magnus chuckled, Modina modestly smiled, but Russell Bothwick roared. He slapped his thigh until his wife, Lena, laid a calming hand on his leg. “You’re a romantic, you are,” he said through laughter-invoked tears. “Stoking a forge instead of-”
“ Russell! ” Lena burst out.
“What?” he asked, looking at his wife, bewildered. “I’m just saying that the man has got his priorities all wrong.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m there all day and night,” Hadrian said, defending himself. “The fact is they don’t have one. Grimbald left over a year ago and they have all this work. They’re desperate. I hate seeing my father’s forge lying cold. It was taking twice as long to till the fields with dull hoes and spades.”
“But it hardly seems the best use of time for the last living Teshlor Knight,” Nimbus remarked. “And you.” He looked at Arista. “The last master of the Art… what have you been doing?”
