an army of over thirty thousand men. All in the span of less than two years, does none of this cause you to question the nature of your existence?”
I hadn’t really considered it, though to be fair I hadn’t had her perspective. As a young man without any external guidance I had no way to judge the merits of what I had done. Moira had the benefit of a viewpoint based on the height of mankind’s civilization, over a thousand years gone. “I am what I am,” I replied. “Now that you have pointed it out it does seem odd, but how should I have questioned the gifts I was born with? They all seemed natural to me. What are you suggesting?”
She was silent for some time before she replied, “I don’t know, but I think you should be aware that you are far beyond the pale, even for my time. I cannot help but see the hand of some agency at work in this and that should make you cautious.”
I snorted, “I already have half the world and all of the heavens for my enemies. How can I be any more cautious?”
Moira bowed her head, looking at the floor, and then she returned her gaze to mine. “Just keep this thought in your mind and be watchful. Whatever has set this course for you has been moving along this path for over a thousand years. Until you have discovered whether its intentions are malign or not you should be watchful lest you are maneuvered into doing something you might not wish.”
“Illeniel’s doom,” I muttered.
“That may well have something to do with it,” she agreed.
“And you know nothing of it?” I asked again.
She shook her head regretfully. “Unfortunately I do not. You will have to discover that on your own.”
I was sick of mysteries and conspiracies and I decided to change the subject to something more practical. “I have another question for you then,” I began.
She didn’t respond except to give me her full attention.
“Will you teach me to create the bond between a mortal and the earth? Will you show me how to make my own targoth cherek?”
“I will,” she answered, “on one condition.”
“And that is?”
“You must promise never to deliberately leave one to his fate as I did with Magnus,” she said.
I could understand her reasons but experience had taught me some hard lessons already. “I cannot agree to that,” I told her.
Her stony eyes widened, “Why not?”
“Life has shown me its dark side already. I will not gainsay my ability to make choices in the future, even bad ones. Just as you had to choose between your lover and your guardian’s welfare, so I may have to make hard choices. If you will teach me this, do so freely and I will promise to exercise my best conscience in how I choose to use that knowledge.” I stared evenly into her eyes.
“You have grown in wisdom at least,” she said at last. “Very well, I will teach you and the consequences of your actions will be on your own head.”
“I appreciate your trust.”
“The first thing you must understand is that you can only bind a certain amount of the earth’s power to one person. The greater the amount the faster they will inevitably turn into a part of the earth themselves,” she said, starting upon the topic already.
I nodded, “You implied that during our last discussion.”
“You also are restricted as to how much of the earth’s power you may bind to others. The limit is set by how much you can control yourself without losing your own humanity. Though you can create more than one targoth cherek the sum of the power you bind to them cannot exceed your own limit. Is that clear?” she asked.
It seemed straightforward. “So I can only bind a certain amount and I can choose to divide that among more than one person, so long as the total is no more than my own limit?”
“Yes, a little among many or a great deal to a few, ideally you should bind as little as possible to achieve your goal. This will extend the time your targoth cherek can retain his humanity. If you are sensible they can survive for decades before they begin to suffer. You must also caution them to exercise prudence in how they use the power. If they continually draw upon it they will turn more quickly.”
It was late that evening before I finally retired, but I felt more hope for the future than I had in a while when I did. I might not understand all the forces moving around me yet, but the more I learned the better armed I would be in the future.
Penny growled at me as I tried to reclaim some of the bed sheets to cover myself. “Blankets are reserved for husbands that come to bed at a reasonable hour.”
“Husbands?” I chuckled. “How many are there?” I eased up against her backside for warmth.
“There’s going to be one fewer if you keep skipping dinner and leaving me to go to bed alone like some spinster,” she replied grumpily.
Chapter 15
My dreams were filled with the sound of drums. Men marched and fire fell from the sky while through it all the drummers kept up their hellish rhythm, and then I woke up. The deep booming drums were replaced by the sound of someone beating on the door, which alarmed me in and of itself. Then I remembered the guards and my extra senses confirmed that they were still there.
Penny was nowhere to be found and the windows were still dark, dawn had yet to arrive. How does she wake up so early? I wondered as I stomped toward my door. Probably her unhealthy bedtimes. I threw the door open to glare at Dorian standing outside. “I hope you have a damn good reason for this,” I growled.
He had his characteristically cheerful morning face on. “Good morning sunshine!” he proclaimed.
That was enough for me; I slammed the door shut and stalked back toward the bed. “There’s no sunshine yet you sadistic bastard!” I yelled at the door behind me.
“Tell that to Harold,” he replied through the heavy wood.
I stopped halfway across the room while my muddled brain worked through that statement. I had told Harold Simmons to prepare his vigil, which meant he had spent the night awake, meditating before his dubbing this morning. I grinned evilly to myself. Well at least one person will have had less sleep than me, I thought. Then I remembered the ceremony was to be held at dawn, with the rising of the sun. For an instant my selfish side warred with my better half, telling me to postpone the dubbing until noon at least, but I knew that would be disrespectful.
Despite the perception many people have of nobility, it isn’t all parades and roses. Perhaps some lords wouldn’t have been concerned, but I didn’t intend to show so little care for the people that served me. Unlike the Baron of Arundel, I thought. I went back to the door and opened it. “I hate you sometimes,” I said to my dear friend. He was still smiling… the bastard.
“Just be glad it was me,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“Penny wanted to have a bucket of water thrown on you for coming to bed so late,” he said chuckling.
“And you decided you’d rather have the pleasure of waking me up?” I asked.
“No I was worried you might hurt the servant if you were startled awake so suddenly,” he replied.
“Ahh Dorian, you always have my best interests at heart don’t you. I’m still going to kill you slowly after breakfast, but it can wait till Harold’s dubbing is over. I wouldn’t want to spoil the occasion,” I said in mock seriousness.
“The accolade is first then breakfast,” Dorian corrected. “Harold can’t eat till after it is done.”
A barbaric damn custom if you asked me, but then no one had. “Help me dress, the sooner I get down there the sooner we can all feed ourselves,” I said callously. Dorian did the honors since I still didn’t have a proper manservant and Penny had gone on strike. I woke up more thoroughly as I got ready and by the time I was presentable I felt a slight bit of guilt over my poor temper. Not that I told Dorian. He deserved to learn prudence, but I did want to do right by Harold.
