Drake only managed to keep the shock from his face by digging his fingernails into his own palms. He hadn’t clipped those in two weeks, and they were getting shaggy enough they could draw blood before he regenerated. His mouth had gone dry when she spoke his name, so it took a moment before he could speak in a way that didn’t sound freaked out.
“At the door, you spoke your name,” Haley added patiently, when it became clear he wasn’t going to speak. “You said it was Clint Eastwood.”
“I did.” Drake swallowed. “That is my name.”
“So who is Drake?”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Why are you asking?”
“I was told to expect three visitors today, Sky, Felix, and Drake. You are the third visitor to arrive, but your name is Clint. So, I am a bit confused.”
Where had she heard the name Drake? Had someone put her up to this? Did someone in the capital know he could lie?
“Who told you you’d be having visitors today?” he asked.
“Beyorr, lord. He always greets me when I arrive and tells me who to expect. When I arrived this morning, he said I was to admit three visitors, Sky, Felix, and Drake.”
“Beyorr is your boss?”
“He breathed all blood and flesh into the world,” Haley corrected firmly. “All who walk the world as living give thanks to Beyorr.”
Oh, shit. Was “Beyorr” the name of a literal god? Drake racked his brain for the bits of theology he’d read since he got here, and he had seen a similar name in one of Zuri’s tomes, though it was spelled Boore. He’d been mentally pronouncing it as Bore, not Be-yorr.
“Only manor lords are allowed to visit the Eidolons, and you are the third visitor to arrive today,” Haley continued patiently, as if she were an adult explaining a difficult concept to a child. “Is Drake a name from your past? A nickname, perhaps?”
“My name’s Clint,” he assured her cautiously. “Are you sure you didn’t mishear this... Boore?”
“Oh no, lord. The words of the Eidolons have always been clear to me.”
So the gods spoke to her. This little girl. Or she thought they did. Either way, hearing this was more than a bit terrifying. She knew his real name... or her gods did.
“Orphena also said she was looking forward to meeting Drake,” Haley continued. “She even described a man who looks much like you. So... are you sure your name isn’t Drake?”
Lying to this eerily precognitive twelve-year-old girl felt exceedingly dangerous, but Drake was too deep into this particular lie to risk backing out now. If the noble court found out he could speak words he did not believe, it would prove he attempted to deceive them. That remained an unforgivable crime, and would leave him running alongside Lord Redbow.
“My name’s Clint. Trust me. I think I know my own name.” He struggled valiantly for a lie that made sense. “Though... now that I think about it, when I was little, I had a buddy who used to call me that name. Drake, I mean. I can’t imagine how the gods would know.”
“I see,” Haley said evenly. “Then I shall not keep you any longer, lord.”
“Great. Thanks. So...”
“You need simply proceed down the tunnel. There are no turns along the way, and only one way out.”
“I think I can handle that.” He considered her for a moment, as well as what she might say to others. “So is your whole job to stand there and open the door for people?”
“That great honor falls only to me,” she agreed.
“And they don’t even give you a chair?”
Her eyes widened. “I would not think of slacking in my duties, lord! There is no honor greater than to stand beside the sacred chamber, and the Eidolons are always watching.”
“But you’re just a kid,” Drake said cautiously. “Right?”
“I have seen twelve summers, lord. The Eidolons chose me for this duty at age nine.”
Thank the Gods, the Eidolons, and everything else this little girl was just who she seemed to be. Child labor laws were different here. She certainly was a well-spoken child, but the important question was... would she mention this to anyone else?
“I apologize if I’ve offended you, lord,” Haley added.
“You didn’t,” Drake assured her. “I just didn’t expect someone so young.”
“No one of age is allowed this honor,” Haley assured him... more patiently than he might have in her place. “Only those who are not yet eligible for a blood pact may stand this post. I only have four more years to stand beside the gods, but I will treasure them.”
“I can see that. Thanks. And, uh... great job with the door.” Drake pushed back the chill still creeping up his spine and hurried down the tunnel.
While no one else save his mother knew his true name, the gods of this world obviously did. He hoped the gods wouldn’t blab, and with luck, Haley didn’t speak of her duties to anyone outside the chamber. If she did... he could be in some real trouble. Given he couldn’t do anything about that, he put it from his mind for now.
The tunnel descended for longer than he expected, winding around multiple times, but as Haley had promised, it proceeded without turns or doorways. Wall-mounted torches kept it well-lit, though Drake wondered how often they had to replace them. Ahead, low voices became audible, too indistinct for him to understand any words.
After another gentle, sloping turn, the tunnel proceeded straight down and ahead. There was a chamber beyond, and Drake quickened his pace. He stepped out of the tunnel into a raised ledge inside a huge underground cavern that looked natural, not manmade. There was a raised stone barrier along the edge, which at least made it less likely he’d fall in.
The ceiling was smooth rock instead of being covered in stalactites, and the walls looked carved rather than built. A sound like the constant pumping of a bellows filled the chamber, which was warm, but comfortable. Drake headed to the barrier, peered over, and gawked at what waited in the open cavern below.
Horses. Giant, six-legged horses, each easily the size of a passenger airliner. There were four of them of varying colors, brown and beige and black and white, and each had settled with its legs folded beneath its body in the center of the massive room in a giant... horse pile. Their wings draped over them like blankets.
He would have called them statues were they not so obviously alive. Even from above he was certain he could see their furry flanks visibly rising and falling, so they were massive animals of some sort. Dragons? Except this world didn’t have dragons. It had enormous six-legged winged horses.
So... there they were. The Eidolons. The horse gods that had supposedly constructed this world and everything in were real, and, judging from the fact that they were all collapsed in a sleeping horse pile, all that creating had tired them out.
“Clint?”
Sky’s voice made him jump. He tore his gaze from the pile of 747-sized horse gods below and found her standing next to the barrier at his left. She wore blue silverweave with a thin white cloak that must be sweltering in here. Her blond braids rested on her shoulders.
“Hey.” Drake’s heart continued hammering, and not in a fun way. “What’s up?”
He felt a distinct desire to sprint out of this chamber and never return... but that wouldn’t have been very lord-like. Sky looked equally concerned and amused by the first impression the Eidolons had left upon them.
He also didn’t miss the tall blond man standing beside her. He was somber-faced and dressed in black silverweave. Felix Proudglade met his gaze with calm.
“Hey Felix,” Drake said. “It’s been a minute.”
Felix didn’t look that different from the day he’d met the man outside Korhaurbauten to force his little brother, Westin, to confess. He wore a dark silverweave tunic and pleated pants that looked to be of the same material, and had his blond hair coiffed into a short and somewhat manly bob. He looked so much like an older Westin that it made Drake uncomfortable.
“Lord Gloomwood.” Felix’s face was as expressionless as a mannequin. “It seems we have more to talk about. Or so Lord Skybreak has suggested.”
Sky leaned back against the raised barrier preventing them from falling into the cavern and crossed her arms. “Felix, Clint. Clint, Felix. I know you’ve met before, but those were less than ideal circumstances. I’m hoping, today, we can have a short and private summit under more pleasant circumstances. I’m willing to mediate if you’re willing to talk.”
“And just what are we to discuss at this summit?” Felix asked coolly.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” Drake said immediately.
Sky shook her head and sighed. “You always do cut straight to business, don’t you?”
Drake imagined that, similar to a manor lord supper, there was supposed to be a lot more small talk prior before the negotiations, but he didn’t have the patience for that today. Having Haley speak his real name and seeing the horse gods had left him unsettled. He couldn’t shake the disturbing feeling that he should leave this chamber immediately.
Felix observed him calmly, blue eyes revealing nothing. “Why would you regret Westin’s execution? He was your enemy and an enemy of your manor. Had you not uncovered his scheme, you would have been executed in his place.”
“I know, and I’m still pissed about that. But if it’d been my call, I would have tossed him in prison and kept him there. I don’t think beheading him served anyone’s best interest.”
“And why not?” Felix didn’t sound angry or offended. He sounded... flat.
So either this man had the emotional depth of a toaster, or Felix was hiding his feelings so he wouldn’t look weak. If he’d loved his little brother, even if he believed what Westin had done to Drake was wrong, those feelings must be rather conflicted right now. Unlike Lord Proudglade, Drake wouldn’t blame Felix if the man secretly hated him.
“Once his rarity was known to everyone, he couldn’t do much more damage with it,” Drake said. “After I forced him to confess, he explained his reasoning to me. The reason he launched his plot was to save my people from the prior lord and bring peace to the realm. So once he was behind bars, he could have been rehabilitated. Maybe even helped people.”
“Yet now, thanks to my brother, our alliance is more fractured than ever,” Felix said calmly. “At a time when we face the greatest threat we have faced in centuries.”
“Well I didn’t say his plan was a good one,” Drake added.
“And you, Sky?” Felix asked. “My brother sent mercenaries to murder your steward. Do you think he should have been placed in prison?”
“Of course not,” Sky said. “The noble court was right to execute him, and had they not done so, I would have executed him myself. While I understand he started his campaign against the old Lord Gloomwood with good intentions, that does not excuse his actions.” Her gaze softened. “I am, however, very sorry for the pain his execution caused you.”
Felix looked between them. “And you two are allies?”
“Allies don’t always have to agree on everything so long as we agree on most things,” Drake reminded her. “Anyway, I’ve wanted to say that to you for a while now, so... there it is. I had to stop your brother to save my manor, but I took no pleasure in his death. I still don’t.”
“I see,” Felix said. “Though I did not agree with Westin’s actions, I do understand the intention behind them. He was a good man. Your grace despite his actions is appreciated, as were your actions yesterday to protect my father. I assure you, he and I took notice.”
“Great,” Drake agreed. “So... is there anything you wanted to ask me about?”
“After the kromian threat is ended, do you still intend to seek vengeance against my father for his part in the death of your thralls?”
At least Drake wasn’t the only lord to cut right to the heart of matters. “No. I’ve set aside any claim on vengeance so long as your father stops sending assassins after me. We’re at peace until that changes. I don’t believe in holding a grudge through multiple manor lords.”
Felix watched him curiously. “Not all lords would forgive as easily as you have.”
“I’m not all lords,” Drake assured her. “Neither is Sky, in case you didn’t know that.”
“Of that, I am keenly aware. The fact that she spoke strongly of your character is the only reason you and I are speaking so civilly today. I had half a mind to leave when she told me the summit she had arranged without informing me.”
Drake smiled at Sky. “It’s nice to know you care.”
Sky waved him off. “My strong recommendations regarding your character were more selfish than selfless. My life will be easier if you two aren’t at war.”
“That is likely true,” Felix said. “So, in the interest of preventing future conflicts between our manors, I’ll ask you for a favor, Lord Gloomwood.”
That sounded interesting. “What’s that?”
“If I promised it would bring peace between our manors, would you allow me to ask a question of the silverwood?”
Author's Note: Next week, Drake horses around and speculates about fish.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Read Ahead on the Patreon
Chat on the Discord
Drake only managed to keep the shock from his face by digging his fingernails into his own palms. He hadn’t clipped those in two weeks, and they were getting shaggy enough they could draw blood before he regenerated. His mouth had gone dry when she spoke his name, so it took a moment before he could speak in a way that didn’t sound freaked out.
“At the door, you spoke your name,” Haley added patiently, when it became clear he wasn’t going to speak. “You said it was Clint Eastwood.”
“I did.” Drake swallowed. “That is my name.”
“So who is Drake?”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Why are you asking?”
“I was told to expect three visitors today, Sky, Felix, and Drake. You are the third visitor to arrive, but your name is Clint. So, I am a bit confused.”
Where had she heard the name Drake? Had someone put her up to this? Did someone in the capital know he could lie?
“Who told you you’d be having visitors today?” he asked.
“Beyorr, lord. He always greets me when I arrive and tells me who to expect. When I arrived this morning, he said I was to admit three visitors, Sky, Felix, and Drake.”
“Beyorr is your boss?”
“He breathed all blood and flesh into the world,” Haley corrected firmly. “All who walk the world as living give thanks to Beyorr.”
Oh, shit. Was “Beyorr” the name of a literal god? Drake racked his brain for the bits of theology he’d read since he got here, and he had seen a similar name in one of Zuri’s tomes, though it was spelled Boore. He’d been mentally pronouncing it as Bore, not Be-yorr.
“Only manor lords are allowed to visit the Eidolons, and you are the third visitor to arrive today,” Haley continued patiently, as if she were an adult explaining a difficult concept to a child. “Is Drake a name from your past? A nickname, perhaps?”
“My name’s Clint,” he assured her cautiously. “Are you sure you didn’t mishear this... Boore?”
“Oh no, lord. The words of the Eidolons have always been clear to me.”
So the gods spoke to her. This little girl. Or she thought they did. Either way, hearing this was more than a bit terrifying. She knew his real name... or her gods did.
“Orphena also said she was looking forward to meeting Drake,” Haley continued. “She even described a man who looks much like you. So... are you sure your name isn’t Drake?”
Lying to this eerily precognitive twelve-year-old girl felt exceedingly dangerous, but Drake was too deep into this particular lie to risk backing out now. If the noble court found out he could speak words he did not believe, it would prove he attempted to deceive them. That remained an unforgivable crime, and would leave him running alongside Lord Redbow.
“My name’s Clint. Trust me. I think I know my own name.” He struggled valiantly for a lie that made sense. “Though... now that I think about it, when I was little, I had a buddy who used to call me that name. Drake, I mean. I can’t imagine how the gods would know.”
“I see,” Haley said evenly. “Then I shall not keep you any longer, lord.”
“Great. Thanks. So...”
“You need simply proceed down the tunnel. There are no turns along the way, and only one way out.”
“I think I can handle that.” He considered her for a moment, as well as what she might say to others. “So is your whole job to stand there and open the door for people?”
“That great honor falls only to me,” she agreed.
“And they don’t even give you a chair?”
Her eyes widened. “I would not think of slacking in my duties, lord! There is no honor greater than to stand beside the sacred chamber, and the Eidolons are always watching.”
“But you’re just a kid,” Drake said cautiously. “Right?”
“I have seen twelve summers, lord. The Eidolons chose me for this duty at age nine.”
Thank the Gods, the Eidolons, and everything else this little girl was just who she seemed to be. Child labor laws were different here. She certainly was a well-spoken child, but the important question was... would she mention this to anyone else?
“I apologize if I’ve offended you, lord,” Haley added.
“You didn’t,” Drake assured her. “I just didn’t expect someone so young.”
“No one of age is allowed this honor,” Haley assured him... more patiently than he might have in her place. “Only those who are not yet eligible for a blood pact may stand this post. I only have four more years to stand beside the gods, but I will treasure them.”
“I can see that. Thanks. And, uh... great job with the door.” Drake pushed back the chill still creeping up his spine and hurried down the tunnel.
While no one else save his mother knew his true name, the gods of this world obviously did. He hoped the gods wouldn’t blab, and with luck, Haley didn’t speak of her duties to anyone outside the chamber. If she did... he could be in some real trouble. Given he couldn’t do anything about that, he put it from his mind for now.
The tunnel descended for longer than he expected, winding around multiple times, but as Haley had promised, it proceeded without turns or doorways. Wall-mounted torches kept it well-lit, though Drake wondered how often they had to replace them. Ahead, low voices became audible, too indistinct for him to understand any words.
After another gentle, sloping turn, the tunnel proceeded straight down and ahead. There was a chamber beyond, and Drake quickened his pace. He stepped out of the tunnel into a raised ledge inside a huge underground cavern that looked natural, not manmade. There was a raised stone barrier along the edge, which at least made it less likely he’d fall in.
The ceiling was smooth rock instead of being covered in stalactites, and the walls looked carved rather than built. A sound like the constant pumping of a bellows filled the chamber, which was warm, but comfortable. Drake headed to the barrier, peered over, and gawked at what waited in the open cavern below.
Horses. Giant, six-legged horses, each easily the size of a passenger airliner. There were four of them of varying colors, brown and beige and black and white, and each had settled with its legs folded beneath its body in the center of the massive room in a giant... horse pile. Their wings draped over them like blankets.
He would have called them statues were they not so obviously alive. Even from above he was certain he could see their furry flanks visibly rising and falling, so they were massive animals of some sort. Dragons? Except this world didn’t have dragons. It had enormous six-legged winged horses.
So... there they were. The Eidolons. The horse gods that had supposedly constructed this world and everything in were real, and, judging from the fact that they were all collapsed in a sleeping horse pile, all that creating had tired them out.
“Clint?”
Sky’s voice made him jump. He tore his gaze from the pile of 747-sized horse gods below and found her standing next to the barrier at his left. She wore blue silverweave with a thin white cloak that must be sweltering in here. Her blond braids rested on her shoulders.
“Hey.” Drake’s heart continued hammering, and not in a fun way. “What’s up?”
He felt a distinct desire to sprint out of this chamber and never return... but that wouldn’t have been very lord-like. Sky looked equally concerned and amused by the first impression the Eidolons had left upon them.
He also didn’t miss the tall blond man standing beside her. He was somber-faced and dressed in black silverweave. Felix Proudglade met his gaze with calm.
“Hey Felix,” Drake said. “It’s been a minute.”
Felix didn’t look that different from the day he’d met the man outside Korhaurbauten to force his little brother, Westin, to confess. He wore a dark silverweave tunic and pleated pants that looked to be of the same material, and had his blond hair coiffed into a short and somewhat manly bob. He looked so much like an older Westin that it made Drake uncomfortable.
“Lord Gloomwood.” Felix’s face was as expressionless as a mannequin. “It seems we have more to talk about. Or so Lord Skybreak has suggested.”
Sky leaned back against the raised barrier preventing them from falling into the cavern and crossed her arms. “Felix, Clint. Clint, Felix. I know you’ve met before, but those were less than ideal circumstances. I’m hoping, today, we can have a short and private summit under more pleasant circumstances. I’m willing to mediate if you’re willing to talk.”
“And just what are we to discuss at this summit?” Felix asked coolly.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” Drake said immediately.
Sky shook her head and sighed. “You always do cut straight to business, don’t you?”
Drake imagined that, similar to a manor lord supper, there was supposed to be a lot more small talk prior before the negotiations, but he didn’t have the patience for that today. Having Haley speak his real name and seeing the horse gods had left him unsettled. He couldn’t shake the disturbing feeling that he should leave this chamber immediately.
Felix observed him calmly, blue eyes revealing nothing. “Why would you regret Westin’s execution? He was your enemy and an enemy of your manor. Had you not uncovered his scheme, you would have been executed in his place.”
“I know, and I’m still pissed about that. But if it’d been my call, I would have tossed him in prison and kept him there. I don’t think beheading him served anyone’s best interest.”
“And why not?” Felix didn’t sound angry or offended. He sounded... flat.
So either this man had the emotional depth of a toaster, or Felix was hiding his feelings so he wouldn’t look weak. If he’d loved his little brother, even if he believed what Westin had done to Drake was wrong, those feelings must be rather conflicted right now. Unlike Lord Proudglade, Drake wouldn’t blame Felix if the man secretly hated him.
“Once his rarity was known to everyone, he couldn’t do much more damage with it,” Drake said. “After I forced him to confess, he explained his reasoning to me. The reason he launched his plot was to save my people from the prior lord and bring peace to the realm. So once he was behind bars, he could have been rehabilitated. Maybe even helped people.”
“Yet now, thanks to my brother, our alliance is more fractured than ever,” Felix said calmly. “At a time when we face the greatest threat we have faced in centuries.”
“Well I didn’t say his plan was a good one,” Drake added.
“And you, Sky?” Felix asked. “My brother sent mercenaries to murder your steward. Do you think he should have been placed in prison?”
“Of course not,” Sky said. “The noble court was right to execute him, and had they not done so, I would have executed him myself. While I understand he started his campaign against the old Lord Gloomwood with good intentions, that does not excuse his actions.” Her gaze softened. “I am, however, very sorry for the pain his execution caused you.”
Felix looked between them. “And you two are allies?”
“Allies don’t always have to agree on everything so long as we agree on most things,” Drake reminded her. “Anyway, I’ve wanted to say that to you for a while now, so... there it is. I had to stop your brother to save my manor, but I took no pleasure in his death. I still don’t.”
“I see,” Felix said. “Though I did not agree with Westin’s actions, I do understand the intention behind them. He was a good man. Your grace despite his actions is appreciated, as were your actions yesterday to protect my father. I assure you, he and I took notice.”
“Great,” Drake agreed. “So... is there anything you wanted to ask me about?”
“After the kromian threat is ended, do you still intend to seek vengeance against my father for his part in the death of your thralls?”
At least Drake wasn’t the only lord to cut right to the heart of matters. “No. I’ve set aside any claim on vengeance so long as your father stops sending assassins after me. We’re at peace until that changes. I don’t believe in holding a grudge through multiple manor lords.”
Felix watched him curiously. “Not all lords would forgive as easily as you have.”
“I’m not all lords,” Drake assured her. “Neither is Sky, in case you didn’t know that.”
“Of that, I am keenly aware. The fact that she spoke strongly of your character is the only reason you and I are speaking so civilly today. I had half a mind to leave when she told me the summit she had arranged without informing me.”
Drake smiled at Sky. “It’s nice to know you care.”
Sky waved him off. “My strong recommendations regarding your character were more selfish than selfless. My life will be easier if you two aren’t at war.”
“That is likely true,” Felix said. “So, in the interest of preventing future conflicts between our manors, I’ll ask you for a favor, Lord Gloomwood.”
That sounded interesting. “What’s that?”
“If I promised it would bring peace between our manors, would you allow me to ask a question of the silverwood?”
Author's Note: Next week, Drake horses around and speculates about fish.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Read Ahead on the Patreon
Chat on the Discord
