A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3) - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

The day before we were leaving for East Draulin, Tannix and I went down to the barracks to meet with the knights. Tannix was carrying a sword so elaborately decorated that it couldn't possibly be useful. I had seen it before, hanging from Lord Tandrael's hip at Tannix's Order ceremony. When we stepped out into their courtyard, with Jalor in tow, the men all stopped what they were doing and turned to us. Everyone but Acen looked puzzled.
"They should be back any moment," he said.
I realized the twins were missing, just as they strolled into the courtyard. Joen's wife was walking between them, holding her youngest daughter and chatting with Kor. The older daughter was sitting on Ender's shoulders, looking around with huge eyes. Her face broke into a pretty grin when she saw Joen. Ender dropped to one knee so she could slide off of his back.
Joen crouched just as his daughter launched herself into his arms. He stood, holding her above his head and spinning as she giggled. "Lylah, did you drag mama all the way up here to say goodbye?"
Lylah laughed. "No, papa. Those reflection men came to get us."
Joen lowered Lylah so her feet touched the ground, but he was still holding her tight. "They're called twins, darling."
"But you said that when I saw another me in the shiny metal, she's called a reflection."
The twins exchanged a glance over Joen's wife's head. "You're the reflection," they said, in nearly perfect unison.
Lylah reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a handful of braids. "Papa look! Mama said I should make good luck for everybody." She didn't wait for Joen to comment, but immediately walked across the courtyard to stand in front of Tannix. "Mama said you like blue. So we bought special blue leather for you." She carefully untangled a blue braid from the bundle in her hand, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. Finally, the braid was free from the others and she held it up.
Tannix didn't know the story behind Joen's leather bracelet, but he crouched anyway and offered Lylah his left wrist. "Would you mind tying it on for me?"
Lylah shoved the rest of the bracelets into her pocket and got to work tying the bracelet in place. When it was secure, she stepped back, smiling proudly. "It's going to protect you."
"I feel much safer already." Tannix smiled. "Thank you, Miss Lylah."
Lylah giggled, and she looked over her shoulder towards her parents. "He called me Miss Lylah."
Her mother smiled. "Go on, darling. We don't have much time to visit."
Lylah nodded, her face scrunched up like she was trying to look serious. She stopped in front of me next, and held up the second blue braid. "There was extra blue. This matches your other bracelets," she explained, before rushing off to hand out the rest of her bracelets.
I tied it around my right wrist, tugging the knots tight with my left hand and my teeth. She went to Jalor next, and helped him tie the bracelet around his right wrist. Soon, we were all wearing Lylah's leather bracelets. As she returned to her mother's side, Tannix spoke up.
"Joen, I invited Catia and your daughters here this evening because I thought they should witness your knighting. Yes, normally this would be a bit more elaborate and ceremonial, but we don't have time for that. So, if this is still what you want, we can do it right now."
To my surprise, Joen's immediate response was to look at his wife. She was crying. Joen drew her into his arms. Catia was short and plump, and Joen was so large that she nearly disappeared in his embrace. She was still crying when they pulled apart, but she was also smiling.
"I'm very proud of you." She stretched to stroke his cheek, and Joen caught her hand, holding it against his skin. "This is your chance to become who you always were meant to be."
Joen didn't seem to know what to say. He ducked to give Catia a lingering kiss. Then he planted a kiss on his younger daughter's head, and crouched to hug and kiss Lylah again. When he stood, he took a breath so deep his shoulders shifted. Then, silently, he crossed the courtyard went down on one knee in front of Tannix, head bowed.
The knights and Joen's family moved into a loose circle. Tannix waved at Acen.
"Lord West Draulin." Acen spoke like he was making a report and not standing with his brothers. Maybe Joen's knighting was rushed, but he and Tannix were trying to make it feel like a ceremony, anyway. "May I present to you Joen from East Draulin. Joen has approached his training with dedication and passion. He has proved himself in battle. As his captain, I present him for the honour of being a knight. I would be proud to have him join our ranks, and to continue to serve beside him."
"Joen," Tannix said. "Becoming a knight means you have excelled at your training. It is an honour, but one that is relatively easy to achieve. Joining my guard is a different matter entirely. To be part of the West Draulin Guard, you must be a skilled fighter, because you need to be capable of defending me. You must be loyal and trustworthy, because you will be present during private meetings. You must know how to recognize threats and how to quickly neutralize them. You must work smoothly with the rest of the guard, and you must obey orders from myself and my guard captain. Above all else, you must be willing to lay down your life for mine. Are you willing?"
It was all formality, everyone knew that. Joen already had the tattoo.
Joen's eyes were trained on the floor as he nodded. "Yes, my lord."
Tannix drew the elaborate sword. He tapped it once on Joen's left shoulder, and once on his right. Then he slipped the sword back into its narrow sheath, and held out his hand. "Joen."
Joen looked up and his eyes landed on Tannix's hand. He took it and seemed like he was about to lean in to kiss Tannix's West Draulin ring. Before he could, Tannix tugged him to his feet.
"You've been part of the guard for months," Tannix said. "You've fought and bled with us. That shows more loyalty than kissing my ring ever could."
"Sir, I'm honoured," Joen finally managed to say, his deep voice shaky.
"I'm honoured to have your loyalty, and your friendship," Tannix said. "It is my pleasure to finally name you, Sir Joen of the West Draulin Guard."
Joen was immediately swarmed by the other knights, who stepped up to clap him on the back or shake his hand. Once they had all had a chance to congratulate him, Tannix spoke again.
"You're all on leave tonight. No, Acen," Tannix said before Acen could say a single word of protest. "This is our last night in West Draulin. Acen, Joen, Kor and Ender, go home." His gaze darted towards Jalor, Evrik and Mandell, who happened to be standing together. "I'm sorry your families are so far away. Take the evening off anyway. Relax however you can."
"I can stay with you," Jalor said. "Someone should."
Tannix shook his head. "No. Finn and I are going to the cathedral. We're going to... to visit father. We'll be perfectly safe there." His left hand settled on the hilt of his fancy sword, and he met Acen's gaze across the circle. "Acen, please."
Acen stared at him. Without a word, without any sort of conversation, they were having a debate. Finally, Acen nodded. "He'll be safe in the church. Jalor, come spend some time with me and Lea. She'll want to see you."
Jalor nodded, somewhat reluctantly. That settled, we all we our separate ways, to attempt to enjoy our last night in West Draulin.
I had been in the Teltish cathedral only once—for Lord Tandrael's funeral and Tannix's ceremony to become Lord West Draulin. That time, I had stood off to the side with Acen and watched the ceremonies from a distance. The cathedral was beautiful, and wholly different from the Navirian temple. It was long, open building, with rows of benches in the middle all facing towards a dais and an enormous painting of the Teltish Goddess.
As far as I could tell, she was always shown the same way, with a flowing white dress and long blond hair topped by a golden crown of sunlight. She looked serene and beautiful and perfect. I found it hard to imagine that one woman could be in control of so many things and still look so calm. Zianesa shared power with her siblings and the other gods and goddesses. It was too much for one deity.
The rest of the cathedral was decorated with tapestries showing scenes that must have meant something to the Telts. There were battles, ships, people with their arms raised, flowers and plants, fire and water. Maybe they were stories like our myths, I didn't know. High above us, near the painted arched ceilings, colourful glass windows depicted similar scenes.
There were plenty of people in the cathedral. Most of them sat scattered around on the benches, heads lowered. Some were quiet, some were whispering. A handful of priests walked between the aisles speaking softly to the worshippers. Tannix bypassed the benches, and aside for a brief nod to a priest near the door, ignored everyone. I thought we were heading straight for the little doorway at the back of the cathedral that led to the catacombs, so I was surprised when Tannix stopped in front of a display of candles.
"You," he lowered his voice to a whisper. "You have so many interesting stories about your gods. We do, too, but it's more complicated to get into. Or at least, it feels more complicated, and I... well, this isn't complicated."
I looked at the candles. There were various colours, lined up in rows that had no discernable order. Letters were carved into each candle, but wax had dripped down making them impossible to make out. Even if I could have read them. Beside the display, there was a little box of siyas and a long box of fresh candles.
"They're called blessing candles," Tannix explained. "The colours represent different blessings. We carve the name of who we're blessing. I lit one for you once, when you were in jail. Green, for health and protection." He took a fresh green candle from the box, and picked up what looked like a sharpened quill nib with a wooden handle. He carved three letters into the wax.
"What does that say?" I asked curiously.
"WDG," Tannix said. "West Draulin Guard. So the candle can bless all of them at once."
"Can I light one?" I looked at the box of candles. "What do the other colours mean?"
"White is for blessing someone who has passed on. Yellow is for wealth or prosperity. Red is for love and health. Blue is sort of for victory. Really, every colour can be interpreted in a few different ways. What you intend it to mean is what's important."
It made sense that most of the candles were blue and green. I picked out a green one from the box. "Can you write Castin on this?"
Tannix lit the candle for the knights and carefully placed it in one of the open spots. He took the second candle from me, and after a moment of thought, carved Castin's name. When he handed it back to be I copied him, lighting it on the large central candle before adding it to the display.
Tannix put the sharpened quill down and dropped a few siyas into the donation box. He turned to walk away, but I wasn't done. I picked out a red candle, and taking the quill in my left hand, carefully carved the six letters Tannix had once shown me. He watched quietly as I lit the candle and placed it beside Castin's. I donated a brass siya from my gambling money, and stepped back.
Wax was already dripping down the knights' candle, obscuring the letters Tannix had written. Soon, the three candles we had lit would join the melted wax that was collecting beneath the display. I still wasn't sure how I felt about the Teltish Goddess, but Zianesa would understand that I wanted to heap as many blessings as possible on the people I loved.
I hesitated a little longer by the candles, then turned to follow Tannix. We crossed to the farthest wall of the cathedral, where the door to the catacombs cut into the wall underneath the painting of the Goddess. The guard posted at the doorway saw us coming and unlocked the metal gate. Without a word, he lit a lantern and offered it to Tannix.
"Thank you." Tannix took the lantern and stepped past the gate. I followed somewhat uneasily. In front of us, a staircase led into darkness so deep it almost looked solid. Tannix started down the steps and I hurried to keep up. Our footsteps seemed muffled by the thick stone walls. The deeper we went, the colder and mustier the air became. I had never minded tight spaces before, but the catacombs were apparently an exception.
The staircase opened into a round room. Tannix took the candle from his lantern to light a candelabra by the doorway, and immediately the room felt less damp and grim. With the extra light, I could see how the walls were carved and decorated, as opposed to the roughly cut rock and dirt I had been imagining. Murals of old, cracked paint added colour to the grey walls. I wandered over to take a closer look. The scenes depicted everyday life—people fencing, sailing, reading, eating and hunting. Some scenes showed their Goddess, the white paint of her dress now a pale grey.
Dark doorways branched off of the room. Above the centre doorway, there was a row of carved letters, too long to just be one word or name. I wasn't sure if talking was appropriate, but I was curious. Tannix was absently looking towards one of the dark doorways. I stared at him until he noticed me, then gestured at the words.
"Find here the descendants of Lord Tandran West Draulin, blessed by the Great Goddess," Tannix said. He spoke quietly, almost a whisper.
I tried to match his tone. "The first Lord West Draulin?"
Tannix nodded. "The first two Lord West Draulins were named Tandran. Tandran the First and his son, Tandran the Second. The third Lord West Draulin was named Tandrin. Tandrin would have been the sixth Lord Tandrin West Draulin."
"Are you the first Tandrix?"
"Yes. Some names repeat every few generations. Since Tandran became our family name, it stopped being a given name. But Tandrin has been very common. My father was the third Lord Tandrael. I'm the only Tandrix in our main family line."
"Why don't you have a more common name?"
"First sons get common names," Tannix said. "Also, I don't think my parents wanted me to share a name with either of my uncles. This way." He started down the passage he had been blindly staring towards.
I followed him down a richly decorated corridor. Every few steps, a little room branched off of the hall. In the flashes of light from Tannix's lantern, I could make out shelves carved into the rock.
"Does everyone get their own room?" I asked, pausing outside of one to tentatively look inside.
"Not usually. A husband and wife will be together, and any unmarried children are usually placed in the same room." Tannix backtracked a few steps to stand beside me, so the lantern would light up the room. I could see two coffins, miraculously dry and intact given that they were underground. Above them, a smaller alcove had been carved and filled with a tiny coffin.
"This is Lady Tassita the First," Tannix said. "She ruled the city from 224 to 233. She died while giving birth to her second son, Tandar."
I eyed the little coffin. The tragedy felt so distant, separately from us by hundreds of years. It was hard to remember that this was Tannix's family. Tannix could trace his family back four hundred years. There was so much history. So many connections. Uncles and aunts, cousins, siblings who were truly related to him. I had none of that. My family went back as far as my mother. I didn't have history.
"Tassita's older son was too young to rule," Tannix continued. "So his father, Lord Drael, ruled the city alone until Lord Tandrin the Fourth was old enough. It's the only time in West Draulin's history that the city was solely ruled by someone who married into the family. And Tandrin the Fourth honoured his father by turning his name into a Tandran name—Tandrael."
"Did you have to learn about all of them?" I asked.
"I had to memorize the names of every Lord and Lady West Draulin. Children and siblings who married into other families weren't as important to remember. But there are some fun stories we loved hearing about."
I kept pace with him as he kept walking. "What kind of stories?"
"Well, Tairia adored the story of Lady Troya. She was the third child, so Tairia related. But the most interesting thing was the rumours that she ran off with a Crelan lover."
"And did what?"
"Nobody knows. This was around 100, the records aren't very good. The Crelan Rebellion was taking place at the same time, so it's possible she was killed. Here." He stopped abruptly outside of one of the rooms. "This is my uncle, Sir Lord Tandar. He was a guard for King Edarius. He wouldn't be here, except that his wife isn't from a particularly big family. So my cousin Tilana is still considered a Tandran. Just sort of adjacent to the main family line. My aunt and Tilana live in Lothin."
"Will your aunt be buried here?"
"Probably. If she doesn't remarry. Tilana will be buried with her husband's family, though."
I wondered if it was comforting somehow, to know where one would be buried. Native Zians didn't have traditions like this, even wealthier ones. "What about your other uncle?"
Very briefly, Tannix smiled. "Uncle Tanden is an eccentric ship captain that we haven't seen in years. He isn't married, so traditionally he would be buried here, with my grandparents. But I wouldn't be shocked to hear he has other plans." The smiled faded and he turned around, to face the opening opposite Lord Tandar's. "This is father's. That one—" he pointed at the next doorway, "—should have been Tandrin's. Now it's mine."
I felt an immediate need to put distance between us and the black hole. My hand found his before I had even realized I was reaching for it.
Tannix squeezed my hand. "What do Native Zians do? I've never seen a graveyard."
I tore my gaze from the shadowy doorway. The unusual claustrophobia was clouding my mind, even more so than it had in the staircase. "I... cremated," I managed to say. "Volava is the Goddess of the underworld and fire. Siour gathers our souls, but our bodies can't reach Volava unless they're burned. Tannix..." I tugged on his hand. "Please don't go over there."
"I'm in no rush," he muttered. He took a deep breath, then stepped into his father's room, pulling me along with him.
Lord Tandrael's coffin still looked new. The wood was polished and decorated with gold. Above his coffin was the empty shelf that would one day hold Lady Clairia. The walls of the room were painted with fresh, bright murals showing what I assumed was Lord Tandrael's life. They were nicer to look at than the coffin itself.
"So... who decides what gets painted on the walls?" I asked, peering at what looked like a wedding scene.
"We did. Mother, Tairia and I. Tandrin would have helped had he been here. We wanted to include a lot of family scenes. Father with his parents and brothers, with mother, with us as children. We included this." He pointed at a ship, with a small figure dressed in black standing at the helm. "For Roland. He was father's oldest friend. Some of the paintings are for things that happened. The Great Port Fire, the New Teltar drought. Other people who were important to him, like his knights. It's a way to remember the best parts of his life. People and things he loved, his achievements, his..." Tannix sighed and turned to the coffin. "I miss him. I threw myself into this war because at least war is something I can understand. But the rest of it, politics and money, keeping people happy and safe... I don't know how to do any of it. Not to mention my indirect responsibility for the rest of the island. I don't blame Tandrin anymore, but I wish father had been around to teach me. I can't live up to him."
"You don't have to. You're a different person facing different challenges."
"Different challenges. A war." Tannix hung the lantern from a hook on the wall, then sat down, facing his father's coffin. Tentatively, I sat beside him.
"It's so... fragile," Tannix said quietly. "Life. My uncle Tandar was the strongest man I ever knew. He was the best swordfighter to graduate from the Order in decades. And still, one tiny infected wound killed him. People think about war and they think about dying heroically. They don't think about infected wounds. Or lying on the sand, slowly bleeding out. Or losing limbs. They think that if they die, it'll be quick and painless. Some people will be lucky enough to meet that kind of end, but for a lot of people it'll be lingering and painful and awful."
I reached for his hand. "Tan—"
He pulled away from me. "I'm scared, Finn. I don't want to... I don't want to be down here. But what's worst is knowing that if... if they can't find me, they can't bury me. I'll be lost somewhere in the Deorun desert."
I couldn't let myself think about what he was saying. I had tried so hard to not think about it since the war was declared. I reached for his hand again, but this time when he moved away it was to bury his face in his hands. And I realized he was crying.
Tannix was so good at controlling his emotions. He turned fear into anger, sadness into action. But he was grieving, and he was scared. And maybe part of him was grieving for what hadn't happened yet. The lives that would be lost. His brother. His knights. Himself. Our future.
And there was nothing I could say to change any of that.
So I tentatively reached for his shoulder, and when he didn't turn away I shuffled closer and pulled him into my arms. He buried his face against my shoulder and cried, and all I could do was hold him.