Lava's book (the stories that make it up)

I don't know, I could change it to say that Easter wasn't completely lost to them. Perhaps I can make him decide on a certain day (like the first sunday in April) to celebrate it. I wrote that late last night.
 
Okay, these next two chapters are from the novella that is going to end my book, they haven't undergone any major editing yet, also they are all I have so far. Please read them with a critical eye and tell me what you think. This Novella is named The End.

The End

Chapter 1: Kidnapping

In recent years, there was born a prince in Iraat who was the crown prince. As he grew, his father noticed that he lacked the hate of Beman that an Irati prince should have. This troubled the King of Iraat so much that he changed the boy’s tutors, punished him severely, and tried to find a way around the law that said that a king’s first-born male child must inherit the thrown. The king was getting pretty desperate as his son began to come of age.

The king knew that the law stated that the day his son married, he also inherited the kingdom. His son was far too smart for the king to employ stratagems that would prevent his son from finding a wife. Drastic measures would have to be taken. It was completely unacceptable for the King of Iraat to be friendly toward the Bemanese; it flew in the face of Irati tradition and threatened the structure of the Irati economy that made much money by preying upon Bemanese shipping lanes.

Drastic measures. The king decided that these would include having his son kidnapped by a crew of mercenaries led by a crooked Bemanese sailor who, more often than not, was under Irati pay. It was to be done shortly before one of the great Bemanese festivals and the prince would be brought through the northern ocean and landed on the west coast of Beman on the day that the Bemanese celebrated their Reconquista that is their independence from Irati rule. The king hoped that this plot by the “Bemanese” would awaken his son’s wrath against the longtime enemy of Iraat. Barring that, the king would be able to stir up trouble among the people that would cause his son problems when he did take over the kingdom.


It was not easy to convince his son to go down to the port on the evening when the kidnapping was to take place. The king was just about to change his plans when one of the prince’s friends sent a message to the prince. The message was announcing the prince of his friend’s arrival back in Iraat. The boy had recently been to Zamboosie and wrote about wishing to tell the prince everything he saw on his trip. He lived near the docks.
Prince Iani therefore lost no time in rushing to the docks. Had his friend known the trouble that they both were about to get into, he would have postponed his message or not sent it at all. As it stood, within minutes of Iani meeting his friend, they were set upon by roughs. The roughs were really Palatial guards in disguise, but it was all part of the kings plan to scare the two boys a little about their fellow citizens.

Both were taken aboard a ship called the Avenger bound hand and foot. The men then left them in the hands of their captors. After the captain had remitted a large sum in Irati drovents, the common currency used in Tiafa, Iraat, the masked roughs left the boat and disappeared into the darkness of the streets. The people who took over their shackles were rather rough with them too but did not actually beat the boys. Iani and Diego were brought down into the hold of the ship until the crew had maneuvered it into open water. For the first few days, in fact, the young men were left in the hold until three days into the voyage and the crew was not friendly toward them at all.

There was a marked change in the crew’s behavior on the fourth day because on the fourth day, the paid mercenaries did as they were wont. They quarreled with and became very dissatisfied with their leader. They actually even refused to follow his orders. The mutinous behavior started with the crew showing kindness toward their captives. They let them have more liberty than they were supposed to and also fed them better food than had been given to Iani and Diego since they were brought aboard. They did all of this against their captain’s wishes.
With his crew against him, the captain did everything that the crew demanded short of abandoning his foolish mission. He became more of a prisoner on the ship that he owned than the two boys who were supposed to be his prisoners.

Iani made the best of it; thus far, he had not been allowed to take many sea voyages and only one had taken him away from the Irati continent. Besides that, the men making up the crew were by no means the cruel, blood-thirsty mercenaries who would just as easily turn and kill their employer in the other side paid better; half were even Irati by birth. The Irati’s on the crew were in the same straight as Iani in some ways, they could not find honorable jobs in Tiafa because they too held the widely unpopular view that the Bemanese were not awful people. They had led the rebellion against the crooked captain. All the others were of varying nationalities; only two, other than the captain were actually Bemanese at all. One was the ships cook and the other was the doctor; they had not known that their new employer was crooked until they got into the port at Tiafa.

One night, the captain got so angry that he marched out of his cabin, grabbed Prince Iani, and started beating him with a bullwhip. The crew heard the young man’s pained cries and came to his rescue. They were perfectly willing to accept payment for the few less than honorable things that Captain Daniel had employed them in before, but they were not going to stand by and let him beat the prince of Iraat to death. In the scuffle that ensued, somehow the captain fell overboard. Though they did search, they were not able to find him in the water. In their opinion, he got off to easily for his crimes; he did not even have to face the Irati courts for his crime against their future king.

With the captain gone, all remaining pretenses of animosity and inequality were completely dropped by both the crew and the boys. It was no secret to Iani that his father had been behind this ridiculous kidnapping; the guards’ disguises had not completely fooled him. He knew his father had been up to something and that was confirmed when Iani recognized at least two members of his father’s personal guard among the “roughs” who brought him and Diego onto this ship. The crew, when they were finally told whom they had kidnapped, was livid. The two Bemanese knew that they had been chosen to work on this boat because they could become scapegoats when the voyage was over. The Irati sailors were still loyal to the land of their birth even if it did not want their loyalty; they would be charged with treason if they ever set foot in Iraat again. It was found that none but the captain and king would have gained anything by this kidnapping.
 
[cont. from above]
One of the first orders of business was to decide what to do next. Most were for bring the prince and Diego back home. The prince, however, disagreed. He proposed that they continue on with their present journey. They could stop at one of the northern ports and exchange ships so that they were no longer in the ship known to have kidnapped the prince of Iraat. From there, they would take a much wider sweep of the northern ocean and go on to Beman as had been previously planned. This would make the king think that everything had gone according to plans. Therefore when the prince arrived back in Tiafa, none onboard would be in trouble; they would be welcomed as the people who saved Prince Iani from the Bemanese. If all went well, the Iratis would be able to find honorable work again.
This was agreeable to all, especially to the prince. He had high hopes for this trip. It would be his first visit to a place that had held his interest for so long. He also did not wish to confront his conniving father just yet. He was not averse to finding a wife among these foreign lands either. For the first time in his life, Prince Iani felt at peace with one of his decisions.

In the first neutral port they came to, they sold the Avenger and bought another ship with its proceeds and the monies they found in the captain’s cabin. Their new ship was called the Annẻstia. It was slightly larger than the old ship and was built as a passenger ship. They also purchased a better wardrobe for the prince and his friend. They were, after all, headed to the festival. They paid a messenger to go to the King of Iraat with a message that the captain had written before the crew conducted their mutiny. They were rather grateful that he had planned ahead. He even predated it to the right date. He had not wanted to waste time by writing it when he came to port. From there, they all sailed into the northern ocean.

They had to go much further north than they wanted to so that they could avoid the patrols and pirate vessels that frequently prowled the northern ocean. At many times, they were just barely far enough from the edge of the landed half of the world to stay out of the powerful current that frequently drew ships over the edge. Not many had ever sailed this close and even fewer had lived to tell of it. There the current eddied so that even a large ship could get tossed about like a kayak in river rapids. This time was different from all the other accounts though.

The currents were as they always were, but the winds that generally made the journey more perilous were steady but coming from a different direction; instead driving them toward the currents, they drove them further from the edge and to the west. Then night fell. All around them were thousands of shooting stars, the largest meteor shower ever seen in Razettia. It was magnificent; the Bemanese doctor on board said that it looked like a massive fairy dance was going on above the clouds. The trails left did look rather like the trail of pixie dust left in the wake of dancing fairies. This went on every night while they were near the edge; they almost did not wish to leave.
However, they all knew that the prince had to return to his home someday soon. If he was thought to be dead his father could have his younger brother marry quickly and take the thrown. If the Crown Prince returned, married, within two months of this marriage, the two “kings” could be sent away for treason against the crown. Those on the ship did not wish to leave, but they did.

It was agreed among them all that none should talk of what they saw until the day when Prince Iani could establish a peace between the nations. Then, and only then, would they call a Council of Nations where they would tell the full story. Before that time, all would do their part to forward a true peace. From the Edge, they sailed on toward the west coast of Beman.
It must be said that it must have been more than just a little alarming to the Bemanese to see an unknown ship pulling into the harbor on the day that they started their celebration. It was even more alarming to find that that ship carried the Irati crown prince. Those celebrating the Reconquista Festival in the port city that they entered, however, did not become hostile as Iani’s father had hoped they would. The Bemanese welcomed all of the people on the Annẻstia as their honored guests.
 
Chapter 2: It Backfired

Not only did they welcome them, but they also allowed them to join in with the festivities. They were pleasantly surprised when Prince Iani threw himself into the fun with a willing and happy attitude, despite the fact that he was celebrating the defeat of his country. He was so unlike any of the other Irati officials who had ever visited; they had all made no attempt to be civil or, for that matter, to conceal their hatred. Iani and his companions took every opportunity to make new friends. Had the Bemanese not known that he was really Prince Iani (he even had trouble speaking the Bemanese language), they would have thought that he came from one of their allied nations, not their sworn enemy. None of the Iratis in his crew were the typical cruel, proud, arrogant, and haughty people that even Irati sailors tended to be. They were all happy, kind people who were always bringing fun wherever they went.

As for Iani, he was having the time of his life. He and Diego were so excited by the Bemanese version of parties. They were not based on anger or the celebration of cruel deeds; they were actually about joyous occasions and acts of valor. The parties solemnly commemorated the Reconquista, they did not lord their victory over the guests. Also, the Bemanese girls were pretty. They did not treat the two young Iratis like outcasts like the girls at home did; not all even all of Iani’s royal eminence could allay the disgust for his political views with the girls at home. This is why he and Diego had such high hopes about finding love here in a foreign land.

The festival lasted eight days. The boys had eight days to affirm their opinions of Beman. They had eight days to convince the Bemanese that they were sincere about trying to patch up the difficulties that lay between the two nations. The boys decided that after eight days, if they had not found girls that they liked well enough and who liked them in return, they would have to give up trying to find wives among the Bemanese.

However, luck, or maybe it was something better than luck, was with them. On the fourth day, twin girls who they had met on their first day there willingly consented to go with them to the Half-night Festival. The two were not royalty but they were beautiful and kind; the way they carried themselves made the boys think that they were fitting for queens. The two girls found the prince and his friend attractive; they also liked their manners. The prince and Diego found no flaws in the girls. From that first “date” on, they became exclusive dancing partners; they also spent the rest of the festival together. That is how much the Half-night Festival was enjoyed. Iani’s girl was named Isa while the twin that preferred Diego was named Aranel; she liked to be called Nellie.

A couple of days after the festival came to a close, news arrived in Beman that the King of Iraat had indeed declared his eldest son dead. He was currently looking for a wife for his next eldest. This made Iani and Diego quite desperate to marry their loves within the month. If they failed in this, they would not ever return to Iraat again. Iani’s return to his kingdom would probably endanger his life when his brother was king unless he returned with a wife less than two months after his brother’s wedding.

It seems that Iani’s father knew something was wrong when he only heard from the man that he hired once. He waited to until he was certain that nothing had happened to push them off course, and then he declared Iani dead. He knew that it was highly likely that Iani was actually dead since the crooked man was supposed to get Iani permanently out of the way if things went wrong.

The shortest approved courting period in Beman was eighteen days; it was for special circumstances. When Iani explained to Isa what was happening in Iraat she told them that they needed to hurry and decide whether or not they were meant to marry each other. They would also have to convince her father and the town that they were worthy couples for the abbreviated courting period.

Iani had the people not send word back to Iraat about him still being very much alive. He did not want his father to have the power to declare war on his new friends. Meanwhile, they started working on trying to convince the girls’ father to let them marry Iani and Diego.

He was not easy to convince either. He questioned the sincerity and integrity of the two foreign suitors. Isa and Nellie’s father worried that the pleasant wooing prince would turn into a tyrant as soon as he got onto the boat. Their father thought that they were rushing things, though he knew that the prince would have to return to Iraat very soon. Above all, he did not trust the fact that the two boys were Irati. Iani and Diego had to make many promises to get him to even consent to the abbreviated courting. When it came time for them to make the final wedding commitments and propose to the girls, Iani and Diego had to enlist three powerful allies: the two girls themselves and also their mother. Their mother rather liked the two polite gentlemen who were courting her two oldest daughters; also, she rather liked the fact that one of her daughters was going to be queen when she married.

Eventually, they gained all of the permission that they needed, both from the girls’ father and from the town. The wedding was, of course, a double wedding, but it was rather simple. The only attendees were the ship’s crew and the girls’ family. A couple of days later, the Annẻstia was readied to sail again. The boys, with their brides in tow, boarded the ship with an air of satisfaction. They had gotten so much more out the trip than the king had anticipated when he sent them on their forced voyage.

He had not anticipated that they were going to have a pleasant journey or the magnificent secret that all of the crew now held together. Nor had he envisioned his son actually enjoying his first (but definitely not last) trip to Beman. He had had much more fun than his father could have expected. Least of all, he did not expect that his son would chose to depose him (or his brother for that matter) by marrying a Bemanese Commoner. It was going to be a repugnant shock to Iani’s father when King Iani came back to Iraat.

While in Beman, the crew had had a flag with the Irati Royal Standard fixed upon it. As they were now travelling with the legitimate and only Irati king, it was appropriate for their ship to carry the royal coat of arms. Even though they were convinced that no one would harass them while flying the Irati flag, at least until they reached Irati water, they decided to take the route that would again take them toward the edge of the known world. This way, King Iani and his trusted advisor and brother-in-law, Diego, were able to show their wives the fairy dance in the skies. It was under those star-lit skies that the two Iratis took a solemn oath stating that they would bring peace to Razettia or die trying; their wives and crew were the sole human witnesses of that oath.
 
[cont. from above]

As they came into Irati waters, ships and other vessels hailed the Annẻstia. This was not the royal packet or any ship known to carry the royal family and yet it bore the King’s standard. They were determined to find out the meaning of this and so told the ship to stand by. When the other captains boarded the Annẻstia, King Iani made a show of being angry at being harassed in his own dominion. The captains were rather shocked that Iani was not dead; they also were surprised to find that he was married and therefore he was their king. The faster ships who met the Annẻstia rushed back to Tiafa to herald the return of the Crown Prince; they were not to tell of his marriage unless they wished to face severe punishment when the king actually landed. The others formed a convoy for the king’s ship. As he neared Tiafa, he marked the end of the second month of his journey. His brother had been forced to marry after their father decided that Iani must be dead; he would have one of the shortest reigns ever enjoyed by a king of Iraat.

Iani’s brother had married a little over a month after their disappearance. Iani was in time to prevent his brother from keeping him off of the Irati thrown. The Iratis knew that he was on his way back, those ships who came ahead of them made sure of that. When they found out their real king was actually alive, the captains of those ships knew that the old king had been involved in the whole thing. It disgusted them that he had stooped to such chicanery and, therefore, they more than willingly obeyed Iani’s wishes to keep his marriage secret. They saw to it that the old king knew his son was returning home and gave a good estimate as to when he would arrive.

As a method to try to allay the overwhelming accusations of guilt that some of his subjects were charging him with, King Endast was at the wharf within minutes of hearing that his son’s ship had been sighted. The king was expect to find his son grateful to be home but disappointed that he would never have the thrown. He expected that Iani would hold at least some bitterness against the Bemanese for kidnapping him. He was almost sorry for having been so hasty in declaring the boy dead. He was thinking this as his eldest son’s ship was being docked.

When the boy emerged from the ship, the happiness drained out of Endast’s face. His son was not alone; by Iani’s side was, of course, Isa. She was rather beautiful to behold, but one could tell just by looking at her that she came from Beman. Iani ran up to his father’s side and embraced him, whispering in his ear as they hugged, “Father, did you honestly think that I would not see through this deception? Had I not always seen through your stratagems?” Then pulling away from his father’s arms he said to the whole crowd assembled, “My people, I am glad that you have come to greet your true king. Despite the sorrow that my kidnapping has caused me and you, I have made the best of it. I present to you the Queen of Iraat, my dearest wife, Isa. I care not what you may think of the country of her birth; she is your Queen and my royal wife and will have the respect due to a queen of Iraat. It is my business from wince I chose my wife. Other kings have brought wives here from places who do not call us allies before; you accepted their wives and I expect the same for mine.”

Upon making this speech, King Iani said to his father, “Father, I expect that you and my brother will stop interfering with a job that is now mine and only mine by the right of my birth under Irati law. If this does not happen, I will be forced to exile you. Your plans did not work out the way you wanted them to, did they?” Iani then headed to the palace to claim his thrown from his brother.
 
It's nice that the mercenaries proved so sympathetic, and also nice that the Prince and Diego were both able to find suitable brides. I do hope that for the final edition, you will expand this whole narrative, giving yourself more space for description of particular scenes, so that the readers will feel themselves more "inside" the action.

The disguised-as-Bemans plot device allows one to reflect on what the Devil, Jesus rebuke him, does against the Body of Christ: uses FAKE Christians to try to discredit the gospel.
 
So you want more detail about the whole voyage? I have four more chapters intended for this specific episode in Razettian history but I suppose I could expound upon the action a little more and abbreviate some of the more slow parts of the story (I haven't written them yet or else I would have posted them). The next chapter will deal with the struggle to convince all the Iratis to make peace and the struggle to get people outside of Iraat to believe that this not just another plot to take over Beman (I haven't written the middle novella which deals with the first plot, it explains the festival that the Bemanese are celebrating in this one). I suppose that I could combine two of the other chapters and lengthen out the stories in these two.
 
A story that starts with "The End?" Awesome!! I will read it but I want to start from the first story in the first post. I will comment on them later, ok?
 
I have yet to look into lengthening out the journey but I do have drafts of the other three chapters. I also decided to add some backstory to Iani's character, specifically his parents by adding a short story that will fall in front of the novella. I am going to post the novella chapters first. I would like to note that the coherancy of "I Close" may be poor; I wrote it inbetween 3-5Am last night while I was at work. I also changed the name of Iani's father.

Chapter 3: It is Not Easy to Conquer Millennia of Hate

Putting to right the kingship of Iraat was the easy task that King Iani had. Once he had claimed his throne, Iani started weeding out the corrupt members of his government, starting with the security guards that had beaten him and his friend at the request of his father. These things were only objectionable to the people who were being expulsed. The rest of the population had suffered under a corrupt government who showed less care for the good of its people than it did for the good of Bemanese sailors for over 50 years. Both Iani’s father and his grandfather had not been honest kings even by Irati standards. The first couple of months of Iani’s reign were interesting for the people; they were almost glad to have the new controversial king. He certainly had been a relief after the past two regimes.

The people were willingly accepting the changes he had made so far, so Iani went for the first big change of his rule. He outlawed piracy. This was bold because an eighth of the Irati economy was based off of piracy. At that moment, the novelty of Iani’s rule seemed to wear off. Until he outlawed piracy, the changes he had made had little or no impact on the people as a whole; the little that had changed in their lives was for the better. The people were outraged at this move. How were the people who sold the pirated good to get the same goods for so cheap? What were the pirates supposed to do for a living? The Iratis thought that they were going to have problems with their entire economy because this move.

It only took a few months for the economic impact of this new law to become negligible; it took several years for the people to forgive their king. In the interim, every little thing done by Iani caused rioting. Even lowering the taxes of the people did not help. The Irati people were so set in their hate of Beman and so set in their ways that they gave Iani and his advisor no end of trouble. They blamed Isa. They refused to rejoice when Iani’s first child, a little boy named James, was born about a year after Iani took the thrown. There were some who were violent and there were some that refused to work.

Iani’s father did not help matters. He insisted that Iani’s kingship was illegitimate and that his brother ought to take the thrown. The people were not so blind as to follow attempts at a coup (Iani’s father certainly tried during the first few months). The unrest that his father caused forced Iani to banish his father to an island named Kiaf. Others were also sent there. Still others moved there of their own accord.

Iani’s brother was not part of the problem, nor was he part of the solution. He was all too happy to retreat from public life all together. He had no interest in politics. This is part of the reason that the people had no will to replace Iani with his brother.

Eventually, the fights got less and less as the people began to realize that the piracy had actually been part of the problem with the high prices in the first place. The Bemanese were able to relax their guard for much of their shipping lanes due to the ban on piracy. This meant less man-power needed and so the prices were able to come down. The pirates found that they could make a living just as easily in legal trading as they could in stealing things. It took years but slowly the political tenor was turning back in Iani’s favor. Sure, people still questioned everything he did, but there was not the rioting that paralyzed Tiafa every time that Iani decided to do anything. Iani thought the first hurdle against peace had been removed.


It was 6 years into his reign and his wife was expecting again. Iani’s father, though no longer in Iraat proper, was still causing troubles. He was very powerful in the administration of Kiaf and he was trying to get them to secede from Iraat. The people were settling into the new ways of life mandated by Iani’s laws and edicts. Iani was not the most liked king but the people saw his worth, so despite the problems, things were looking up in Iraat. Even those from foreign nations were beginning to think that Iani’s word might have merit.

There was still a little that was found to be wanting with the peace efforts. Iani was still hitting a brick wall when it came to public support for his more radical changes. It was beginning to look like James was going to be the one who would have to finish the peace. The five-year-old was already much more accepted than Iani ever hoped to be. He was his father’s son to the last, but he was gentle and loved everyone. In his five-year-old wisdom, he felt that everyone he saw needed a hug. In this manner, he touched the hearts of even Iani’s worst critics. All liked the child immensely.

One day, James escaped the care of his nurse while they were out at a market and, attracted by something out in the middle of the road, ran out in front of a fast carriage. The carriage driver had no time to stop or even swerve to miss the youngster. To the horror of all who watched, the great horses that pulled the carriage plowed into and over the prince. The wheels just barely missed him. There he lay in street motionless.

Everyone was up from their booths the minute that the horses cleared. People began directing other coaches around the spot; others tried to revive the little boy that everyone loved. Still others ran either to the castle or to the nearest apothecary. The whole of the large city of Tiafa ground to a halt in just a few short minutes. No one, not even the rioters who had caused the father such trouble, wished that that little boy would get hurt or die. It was just too awful for words to see him lying there with people frantically trying to save his life.

There was no official bodyguard to accompany Iani and Isa to the scene of the accident; they didn’t have the time to call one. No one harassed the king and queen as they ran out to find their little boy, in fact, most moved to let them through. Apothecaries also caused the crowd to part. Shortly after his parents arrived, James awakened in the arms of his parents. He was awake long enough to say “Mommy, Daddy, you came for me. I don’t feel good,” and then he closed his eyes forever.

The crowd got to see a very human side of the royal family that day; it was one that protocol demanded royalty not to show. There was no effort to hide the sorrow caused by their son’s death; for the moment, they were not King Iani and the foreign Queen, Isa, they were just two parents dealing with the tragic loss of their young son. It was a touching sight, and all present could not help succumbing to the somber mood that flooded the streets of Tiafa.

Two days later a state funeral was held for the crown prince. Everyone in Tiafa and all those who could attend from the surrounding area came out to say goodbye to the little boy. Iani was the person who said the eulogy. He talked about how James did not know a stranger, how he had always sought to keep the peace in his family, and tried to heal those who were hurting. He talked about how James was so excited that he was going to have a younger sibling and so upset that he had to wait to see it. Iani could not help crying as he described the short years that he had spent with his exceptional young son and how sad that they had been so short and that he had not been able to show him much of their world. Little James was not buried in the royal vault as was the custom. Iani and his wife thought that James would not have wanted to be buried in that “scary place” as he had called it before and so they buried him just outside of town in a meadow that James was rather fond of.

The sympathy for the royal family brought a lot more acceptance for what Iani wanted to do to bring the country of Iraat into closer ties with all the other nations of the world. It seemed that only the love and the loss of something dear, like James, was able to vanquish the hatred that so many people had held toward Beman. After all, the loved prince had been half Bemanese.
 
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Chapter Three Continued:

When Isa had her next two children (they were twins), there was rejoicing. The whole of Iraat was genuinely happy when their queen gave birth to both a male and a female child two months after James died. It had not been expected; in fact, the populace had been rather worried about whether the “baby” would be healthy considering the stress and heartache that the mother had been through. The boy was born first and his name was Isaac, after Iani’s grandfather on his mother’s side. The girl was named after Isa’s mother, Claire. It was easier for the both to name her after the known grandmother than it was to name her after Iani’s mother because they both knew Isa’s mother and neither knew Iani’s.

After the twins’ birth, Iani found it even easier to work toward peace. James’ death had cleared the way for Iani’s work and the twins had cemented the idea that Beman may not be as bad as they had all thought. As they aged, they were found to have a similar personality to that of James. The marriage between an Irati king and a Bemanese girl had produced the most loved princess and princes that Iraat had ever had. The Irati people were more willing to accept the parents because of it.

With the hatred all but conquered on the Irati mainland, Iani called an open forum council meeting of the Provincial Governors in the mainland provinces to try to figure out what to do with Kiaf and his father. After some debate, the Council decided that the best course of action was to let Kiaf secede if they so decided. As long as King Dánni thought he could hold the potential to secede over his son’s head, the Council figured that he would continue to cause problems.

Kiaf seceded from Iraat two weeks later to join the neighboring country, Tineen.
 
Chapter 4: The Council of Nations

With things calmed on the home front and foreign nations beginning to open positive diplomatic relations with Iraat, Iani decided to make a diplomatic tour the nations of Razettia. He left the government in the capable hands of his friend, Diego, and took his family in the Annẻstia to visit Beman, Ava, Zamboosie, Ralant, Aytha, Dirmayd, Alwin, and all of the smaller islands. Kiaf, Tineen, and Lanis were not part of the tour because they had all made it clear that Iani (or anyone else from Iraat) was not welcome anymore.

While visiting, Iani tried to sure up relations and made a call for an international council meeting to discuss the state of the world. Iani had supporters in five of the other countries because his shipmates hailed from them. At the same time, Diego was telling the Irati people of a need for the same council. Though they did not go into great detail, all of original ship’s crew hinted that they had a great wonder to describe at the council. While heading from Ralant to Beman, Iani again sailed far to the north and to his delight, the fairy dance continued and may have even intensified in the past nine years.

Eventually, he reached all of the friendly countries and they were able to find a date to have the council meet. Of course, as was tradition, the council would meet in the center of Zamboosie’s capitol, Zamboosie City, under the Great Tree. The council was to happen during the New Year celebration of the upcoming year. That would give everyone involved ten months to prepare.

In the meantime, Iani continued to try to strengthen international bonds and keep moving Iraat toward respectability. His people were enjoying the benefits of the transparency of Iani’s government and peace that his policies had brought. Piracy had not been legal in Iraat in over eight years and the prices of things were lower than they had ever been during the peak of the piracy years. For the people of Iraat, the next ten months passed quickly with nothing out of the ordinary.


When the time finally came for the Second Great Council to convene, King Iani and his Annẻstia crew went into the meeting with joyful hearts. Ten years to keep a secret like theirs was hard; the interim had been busy but they all felt like a weight was lifting from their shoulders. They were so close to accomplishing the oath that they had sworn on that starlit night at the edge of their world.

At first the Council only dealt with matters of state. They discussed international trade (all of the nations recognized and thanked Iani for the ban on piracy) and they talked about Tineen and its allies. They discussed whether they needed to keep some of the patrols and extra protection for their supply lines with Kiaf, Lanis, and Tineen still committing some acts of piracy. Upon deciding that some protection was still needed, they discussed what nations would patrol which part of the ocean. They passed the first two days working out these details.

Finally, it came time for Iani to tell his story:
“As many of you know, ten years ago my father had corrupt people kidnap me. His plans did not work the way he wanted because my friends here overpowered the Captain of the ship and saved me and my friend, Diego. Because we did not want my father to find that his plans had failed, we decided to change ships and sail along the Northern Edge to Beman. The trip is generally very dangerous but we found the Edge changed. The wind was blowing from the north not the south as normal. On top of that, we witnessed a massive meteor shower that reminded people of a Fairy Dance. I have only seen the like twice since, both were at the Northern Edge. The night sky was so magnificent that neither I nor any of my crew ever wanted to leave it. It had a fatal beauty that is hard to describe with words. Literally, there were thousands of shooting stars happening all at the same time. Twice I have been back to the Northern Edge since those wonderful nights, once a month later as I was sailing back to Tiafa with my new wife and the other ten months ago. Both times the sky was the same but this past time there was only enough wind to keep the ship moving. The second time, before my wife and my crew I swore that I would establish peace in Razettia and then I would tell the story at a Great Council. We wish that you would join us in seeing this marvel the next time we go.”

When Iani stopped speaking, there was still some doubt. The rest of the crew said their peace on the phenomenon. It took everyone speaking in excited tones to lay aside the skepticism of their hearers.

All present were amazed at what they heard. However, just as the others quit speaking, the delegates from Ralant (the country that was the furthest north) stood up to report that though they had not seen the Fairy Dance of the Skies, as the Annẻstia crew called it, they had seen an increase in shooting stars. Some sailors present reported the same. None but Iani and the Annẻstia crew had ever been far enough north to see the Dance but they all seemed to think they had seen more shooting stars than normal.

The stir caused by the announcement was great. A lot of people were very concerned about trying to navigate the North Sea. Others wanted to set out straight from the council. Iani struggled to bring order back to the council.

When order was restored, Iani got up to speak again. He told everyone that he thought that everyone ought to return to their countries and tell everyone. In two months, they would all meet again with whoever would come with them at the Northern Edge. All agreed. At the end of the meeting, a centaur from Dirmayd summed up what everyone was feeling by saying “It Must Be Seen.”


All rushed home to their respective countries. They told of the wonders they had heard. After much discussion, people came to believe the emissaries. Some were concerned but thought they would still like to see it. The elves and centaurs were excited talking about ancient, forgotten prophesies that dealt with the star (they did not know what they were but knew that they dealt with the stars). At any rate, people started preparing ships.

In the two months that followed, people kept wavering back and forth as to whether or not they were going. At one point, all the people of Beman, Ava, Zamboosie, and Aytha had decided not to go. That only lasted long enough that a ship got blow off course (too far north) and they were able to report that the Fairy Dance was not only as beautiful as everyone had said, but also spreading further south. That news had people clamoring to the boats again.

In the end, the streets of all of the countries in the world became like ghost towns. Only three countries refused to come watch the Fairy Dance of the Skies: Lanis, Tineen, and Kiaf. Lanis went so far as to tell people not to put in at any of their ports lest they confiscate the vessels. Everyone else left their homes to see the Dance.

When the boats neared the North Sea, they met with a large north wind that pushed the more timid people further north than they liked. They proceeded toward the Northern Edge with care because no one wanted to be drawn off the edge. Thousands of boats put down anchor near the Edge.
 
Chapter 5: I Close

We are now 4 months out from the Second Great Council. There thousands of ships sitting becalmed at the Northern Edge. Practically our whole world sits on the cusp between the landed part of Razettia and the unknown domain of the mer-people. The current is non-existent; the wind is too. The Fairy Dance of the Skies is now visible both night and day. All here feel like we are the verge of something spectacular. Life is not proceeding in normal order.

Our crew aboard the Annẻstia, for, indeed, that is the ship I am on, is just as shocked as we were the first time we saw this spectacle. We did not expect for the deathly beauty of our Fairy Dance to become even more stunning with the passage of the years. Hundreds of thousands of star cross the sky; they far outshine our north sun, the only one visible here. The water is as still as glass so the scene appears both above and below our boats. Other than the people moving and boats being rowed back and forth, our world is still. There is not a lick of wind. The sails lie dead. Mer-people are the only ones that make the water stir from below. They too spend much of their time with their upper body out of the water watching the skies. It is a shame that those from the three countries did come. Indeed, it feels as though this is the end of it all.

Every man, woman, and child came, even the elderly and the babes-in-arms. If ever Kiaf, Lanis, and Tineen wanted to loot the other countries, this would be the time. I doubt they would because right now they feel superior to us. Their governments call us fools and have put out statements saying that it is just as well if we all lose our lives on this foolish mission; they do not need the fools or any of our goods anymore. That is not to say that some boats from those countries have not straggled in; their curiosity has gotten the best of them and they do not mind being ostracized from their homelands because they associate with the Great Fools. They are glad they came.
We feel that we only have enough supplies to stay here another couple of weeks before we have to leave. Some have said they would rather run out of food than leave; others have decided that if it came to that point they would leave and bring back supplies to those people. Iani thinks that if we have to go back, we will just restock our boat and then sail back here and go over the edge to try to explore the other side.

People are getting uneasy though and it is not because of supply shortages.
The north sun is either dimmer or the stars are so bright that they must be closer to us. If the sun is dimming it may throw of the delicate balance of our world. There are also stories from the old world of supernovas that were the death of stars. They dimmed and then exploded (or at least that is how the story goes). The elves think that might be what the old forgotten prophesy was about. If our north sun dies, the upper half of our landed world will go dark and we will have nowhere to grow food. People have a legitimate reason to fear; the north is our bread basket.

I was surprised when I found Iani this afternoon; he was looking at one of the ancient texts (he was looking up supernova). The Irati have a couple of the texts from the original Bemanese people because back when the Irati captured Beman, they took some of the texts. We also have a translation guide from Bemanese to English (a dead language) on board. Some of the words are the same but not much. I am just now finishing up my life’s work, an anthology of Bemanese history. I also have one more ancient text with me: The Journal of Brian Goggers, the first human leader in Razettia. I just finished translating it and writing down some of the legends (particularly the one of how the world began).


A couple of days ago I talked about fears of our sun going dim. I doubt that we will be around to see that happen. Something is happening; there is not current or wind, I have already said that. The ocean is calm and yet the ships are moving a little; the stranger thing is that the water is still undisturbed. It does not even ripple when people paddle. Only the sky is moving. Nothing is behaving as it ought.

Maniel, the original carpenter and the only other true Bemanese on the crew of the Avenger (Captain Daniel is not counted), just gave me a beautiful box made from the wood of a fallen limb of the Calendar Tree (she is dying). She has been around since the beginning and is the last of the Nathîel trees (the others died several hundred years ago from a plague) in our world. Her wood is the most valued in the world but unless a limb falls no one would dare touch it. She told him to make the box. Nathîel wood is water and bug resistant and he wants me to put the old texts into it to keep them safe. Incidentally, the Annẻstia is so old that some of her boats are made of Nathîel wood. I think the Calendar Tree would feel honored for her box to hold these books.


I have something new to report, we just had the first breath of wind that we have had in two months. It was brief but enough to make me want to finish up. I say goodbye. Something is about to happen and I do not know what. It has been building for ten and a half years and we are at an end. Once I finish writing, I will wrap these and a couple of other treasures that people from other ships have given me in Jessia skins and put them in the box (the journal will go in the false bottom).

The wind is picking up again. I am going to finish this paragraph and put the box in one of the Nathîel dingys and set it a float. I do not know what is about to happen but with every breath of wind we draw closer to edge and I figure that if we get pushed over, the dingy has no sail and it may find its way to someone else. The wind is stronger now and the current is forming again. Here we go. I must close.
 
Revelations: A Mother’s Story

This is the short story I wrote that goes in front of "The End," it gives some backstory about Iani's family; however, nobody in "The End" would really know this story. It gives insight into the type of man his father was.

Revelations: A Mother's Story

What is well known in this story is that I came home with the new Irati king and we were married somewhere else. Also, they know that you, my little son, were born in the same place. There is more to this story than has come to the public’s eyes, nor does your father know the full truth. I rather doubt that I will tell the full truth to anyone but you, my darling baby. You will probably never remember it as I will only tell you once. It is highly likely that you will never remember me, Iani, because the royal apothecaries tell me that I am very sick. They wonder if I will live through this pregnancy.

Truth be told, when I first met your father, I did not even know that he was a prince. He certainly had a stately manner; he looked down his nose at all the people in my little village but me. He decided from almost the moment we met to court my favor. I willingly accepted the courtship; I had no family left. They all left died two years before your father came. I was more than happy to accept his hand when he offered it. Perhaps if I had had family to consult, they would not have let me marry him, but the island where I lived was not my homeland so any living relatives were not there to stop me. I doubt I would have listened to them anyways. I love your father and you so much that it does not matter

He and I spent the year and a half after our marriage on an island close to Zamboosie. As if by mutual agreement, I did not tell him my origin and he did not tell his either. He only told me that he was an only child and that his father was too over-bearing and so he had run away. He told me that he wished that he were as free of attachment as I was. From what he knew of me, I had neither family nor country and was little known in the land where I lived. This was not entirely true; I had a country but did not disclose it because I knew that he was from Iraat. I am not Bemanese; I was born in Aytha of Aythan parents. However, we lived on the Bemanese border, and I was rather fond of Beman. I knew that if I told him that, he would never speak to me again. Therefore, I did not.

After our marriage, he moved into a little house where I had been living since I had moved to the island. Several months later, we found out that I was pregnant. We still did not tell each other where we had come from; it was not important. Our little family was what we wanted, it did not seem to matter what was in each other’s past. We were able to grow a good garden and had some livestock so we rarely went into town.
There were occasions when I had heard rumors of a missing Irati prince but I laughed them off. At the time, all I could think of was that my Dánni was not Irati royalty. Iani, your father acted concerned about the fact that his “ruler” had gone missing; he never let on that he was the missing ruler. We would have continued on with our lives as unobtrusive citizens of the small island colony for as long as we lived, but fate would not have it that way.

You were three months old when we first took you into town. It was a special to-do for us and we just had to show you everywhere in town. Unfortunately, everywhere in town there were Irati sailors who had just come into port after a treacherous trip down the Eligog Isthmus. It kind of shocked me to see Dánni shy away from his fellow country-men, but it did make sense a little bit because of the fact that he had married a foreign girl and that is not well looked upon in Tiafa, the city that he had told me he was from. Finally, the inevitable happened, your father ran into someone who recognized him.

That someone came up to grab him and tell him that his father had people searching for him. The man had just grabbed a hold of his sleeve when your father smacked his hand away. What came forth from your father’s mouth is something that neither I nor anyone there will easily forget. He said “Unhand us, you dog. How dare you try to strike your king?” as easily as if he was telling me that he loved me. A shocked silence fell, starting with the Irati sailors. I was not able to say a word either. Then he motioned to me and told me to come over to him with you in my arms, my darling.

He took you into his arms and kissed my cheek saying to me in a whisper, “Anya, my dear, it looks like the past that I have been running from for two years has caught up to me. I am afraid that we will have to leave here and I will have to take my place on my father’s throne. I did not want to, but this man here leaves me no choice. Now that my location is known, my father will stop at nothing to come and bring me back to Tiafa. It is better for us to go willingly and together than for you to be ripped from me by people who do not know I am married.” Then to the man who had recognized him, your father said, “Since you have found us, you will now have the honor of escorting us, our queen, and the prince back Iraat. We would suggest that you fit your ship so that we may travel in comfort.”
While the captain was making his ship into something that would be fit for transporting monarchy, Dánni had some of the other sailors pack our belongings to bring aboard. He told me that he would have told me about his family but for the fact that he wanted to escape that life and he was worried that I would not let him continue to shirk his duties. While I was not pleased with the thought of having to move to Iraat and would have never recommended doing so, I tried not to be angry at him for keeping his secret. After all, I was not much better for having mine.

We set sail two weeks later and went further east than I had ever been in my life. Though the vessel was generally a looting vessel, it stayed clear of the main shipping lanes on this trip. The cargo that was carried on board, all of us was too important to bother with the thought that a Bemanese frigate might get a little jumpy and try to engage us. The captain did not want any of his fellows to plunder his ship and take the honor that was now his either. The trip was peaceful. One of the men who waited on us was actually Bemanese, a Private Daniel. He told us that he was originally a captive on this vessel but had been given a spot on the lower crew after proving his merit in battle. I was not fond of him but your father liked him.

We reached Tiafa’s port on the day that you turned three months old. A message had been sent to the old king before we left the last country on our way to Iraat. He was waiting there to receive his son. It appeared that all was forgiven the moment your grandfather first held you in his arms. He did not care what nationality I was, nor did your father. You were an heir. You were now the crown prince. You were going to have the best tutors that Iraat had to offer.

I was a little surprised at how fast your father started taking his father’s advice. It was also very weird to suddenly have to be called queen and have an entourage. Dánni separated his family life from that of his rule; you and I rarely see him during the day because of it. While he is still the same man I married, I do not like some of his policy decisions. Also, Tiafa has not been good to me; the climate is very different from what I am used to and I have not been in full health since I came here.

Iani, my son, I brought you out to this field without anyone so that I could tell you now. I highly doubt that I will be able tell you later. I want you to hear it from me; I want you to hear the full truth. I want you to now forget everything I have said to you. It is enough to know that you have heard it even if your upbringing will not make this knowledge easy for you. That is why I brought you out here before you could talk; I do not want you to remember it. I do not want this knowledge to cause you pain or heartache later. Now we can go back and take a nap.
 
Right Now, this thread should contain these stories from my book:

Prelude: A Discovery

I. Poetry

II. The Whisperings of an Ancient Tree

III. How Humans Come to Beman

1. How Humans came to Razettia
2. On Ava
3. On Zamboosie
4. The Trip to Beman
5. Founding Beman
6. Life, a Wrap Up

V. Foiled Plots

X. Revelations: A Mother’s Story

XI. The End

1. Kidnapping
2. It Backfired
3. Peace-making Is Not Easy
4. The Council of Nations
5. I Close



I have yet to write These:

IV. A Bemanese Dynasty

VI. The Province: Aytha

VII. A Desperate Point in History

1. The Attack
2. Reuniting a Family Torn Asunder
3. Prepartions
4. The Coup
5. The Aftermath
6. The Death of a Great King and Assuming the Throne

VIII. Trinkets

IX. Christmastide
 
There is SO much room for growth here, for fleshing out. Just what is outlined in Post #30, for instance, could make whole books, as you would narrate _particular_ events experienced by _individual_ characters in the course of the king's reform efforts.
 
Since Posting this thread I have rewritten and written a whole bunch of these stories. I still plan to rewrite the rest.
 
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