The Belromanticum

Chapter 56

One day, almost a decade after Strombella Stoneborn took her place on my Council, I received a visitor. He was a young man with the strangest eyes, a shade of red-brown I had never encountered before. My Master of Keys brought him into my throne room. Much to the consternation of my advisors, I set aside a portion of every day to meet with any who would speak with me, and thus could the people speak to their monarch. I believe this is partly what made my rule so stable.

"Your Majesty, I present Gonril Atoff of Freeport." I looked at the lad, unable to shake the feeling that I knew him.

"Belromanazar of Thunderhead?" Gonril asked.

I smiled at the mode of address. "I have been known thus."

"I am the grandson of Malycent Tazo."

I knew immediately what terrible news he brought. I invited the lad into my home and made him tell me stories of his grandmother. Malycent had returned to Zuunkhorun now and again, though never as much as I would have liked. She lived a full life of high adventure and eventually retired and bore children. Those children had children, and now one had made his sad errand to me.

I sent word to Faustan in Castellandria, for he had always been fond of his sister, and he swiftly joined me thanks to the standing stones I had recently prepared in the capital. He arrived with his wives, a brassy darkling woman and a modest Svarl who carried the first of his children.

Gonril shared every tale he could recall of his beloved grandmother, who had a thousand stories of her time as a pirate, her time as a freeblade, her time as an adventurer. She had sucked the marrow from life and I felt honored to have known her.

We celebrated Malycent's life and mourned her death. For a time, I did not think overmuch of the war.

***

A few years later, the Stoneborn sisters wed a wealthy rug merchant from Uraraoi. Sadly, this meant their time in my bed was over, but I was pleased they'd found a good match.

Despite the aid the Khaltóg people had rendered, the war continued. The town the Heacharids built that had once been a camp had only grown, becoming the mustering place for their troops. Roads radiated from it like lines of a festering wound. They'd even had the audacity to name it Victory, the bastards.

Its proximity meant the Heacharids could apply relentless pressure to the Arkohnum Gate. Even with the dwarves maintaining our defenses, we could not endure it forever. We needed to break the siege. I was not even thinking of attacking Victory, but perhaps I should have. I only wanted them off Zuunese walls long enough to allow us to regroup. I was deep in thought trying to unravel this knot when a white ship arrived in Uraraoi.

We received a pigeon from the harbor, the tiny scroll secured to its leg relating the ship's presence. I knew the vessel's significance immediately and wasted no time riding to the port. When I arrived, I found the ship moored and watched closely by the local guards. The harbormaster fell to his knee when he saw me approach.

"Your Majesty..."

"Rise, my friend. I believe I know who has come to our shores."

As though summoned by my presence, the door to the forecastle opened, and an elegant elven lady stepped into the shimmering late afternoon sunlight. I was not surprised to know her. It was Elion Tarasynora, my elven mate, and incomparable avatar of ethereal beauty. She was tall and slender in the manner of her people, with waist-length platinum blonde hair and a blushing, lavender complexion. She was dressed in diaphanous white, revealing as much of her figure as hiding it, and jewels fairly dripped from her body.

"Bel!" she exclaimed. Even excited, she moved with the airy grace of her people. She walked past the half-elven crew, ignoring them as though they did not exist. She embraced me, pressing her lips to mine. "I have missed you, my leilatha."

"And I you, Tara. What are you doing here?"

"You have not come to see me in many years," she pouted. "Am I expected to live without love?"

"It has been longer than I intended," I admitted. "Have you not remarried?"

"I have considered it, but it is you I miss. An elf lord would not..." The lavender color rose in her cheeks. "...use me properly."

"I kept thinking that I would see you, but there was always something keeping me."

"Yes," she said, her eyes flashing. "My Bel, ruling a great kingdom, at war with an empire!"

"What do they say about this in Iarveiros?"

"It is quite the talk," she paused, smirking. "I ensure that your name is on many a tongue. It does me quite well for all to know that my leilatha is the great Belromanazar, Tyrant of Zuunkhorun."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "You are a political animal."

"I am more than that," she said, kissing me again. "Would you make your mistress beg?"

"Of course not, my love. Come, let me take you to the palace. Your crew can remain here?"

She waved in their general direction, her violet eyes never leaving mine. "Oh, think nothing of them."

I called Quiyahui down. My familiar resented flying all the way back to Tagariaganuur with a passenger, though she did it. She had grown since the time with Belazei, but she still bore others with difficulty and required rest afterwards. She would spend the following week in the garden. That was fine. I had little else to do other than renew my acquaintance with my elf.

Tara entered my household for a time. It was different than my visits to her, for now she was in my place of power. I believe she liked that. Once again, she and Tanyth got along splendidly, and Lysethe never minded being treated as a servant. Sarakiel and Maireili never cared for Tara, and Zhahllaia was cordial but cold. Jerrika met her only once and was faintly amused at the elf's obvious fear. Elves had lost the capacity to become undead and found wights viscerally disturbing.

Still, the siege nagged at my mind. I fought some days and sent other wizards in my stead on others. I released the Deadwall among the attackers. In most things, I trusted my Master of Wolves to keep us safe. Yes, some of my distance was that I was besotted with my love who had returned to me after so many years.

One day early into her visit, Tara and I remained abed. I explored her orchid as she polished my staff. Neither of us felt any urgency to finish. We kept our pleasure at a low simmer, languidly enjoying one another. I had Tara open and my tongue deep inside her when an epiphany struck me like a thunderbolt. I sat up.

"Bel?" Tara took me out of her mouth. She was drooling heavily, a fetching sight on her fine elven face.

"Forgive me, my love. I had a thought." Nude, I left my quarters, finding Tanyth in her suite, sitting in her chair with a book of poetry in her lap.

She looked me over and broke into a musical laugh. "Your staff is still wet, my love. Did you leave that lovely elf all alone?"

"Yes, I was just..."

She set aside her book and rose, kissing me. "You taste of her flower!" she laughed.

"Tanyth, I need you to journey to Kharsoom."

She frowned. "Are the hospitality houses in need of workers?"

"No, there is another errand." Her eyes widened as I described what I needed and where she would have to go.

"You're certain?" she asked.

"I will draw you a map. I want you to leave in the morning and take Lysethe and Maireili with you."

"Bel, no. You need them here."

"I want them with you. I have four other wizards now. We can hold the Arkohnum. I need to know my wives are safe, and no one takes care of you like one another."

She sighed, kissing me again. "I love you."

"I will draw the map."

"You will return to Tara and finish her off. I'll not have my honor sullied thus. We cannot leave before tomorrow and your map will be done by then."

I returned to Tara, finding her idly teasing herself. "Bel," she said with a nervous smile, her fingers never ceasing their movement. "What troubles you?"

I explained the errand I would send three of my wives upon. She touched my cheek. "I will send them in my ship. My crew will keep them safe and no human ship can match the swiftness of an elven vessel. And while they are gone, it falls upon me to warm your bed."

"Sarakiel will still be here."

"But so will I," she said, kissing me. "Now, will you let me finish what I started?"

I settled down onto the bed with her, returning to our former position. "Of course, my love."

***

The Heacharids launched a brutal attack not a week after my wives left. I went to the wall, along with Deimara, Dioscoro, Amala, and Tartu. We needed all five of us to hurl it back, and it cost Amala her life. All of us bled from new arrow wounds where Heacharid missiles had made it through our magical defenses. On the third night, when the Heacharids finally pulled back to Victory, a ragged cheer went up the exhausted defenders.

"Go rest, my love," said Lysethe. Her plate armor had held, though the enamel was chipped in places and her tabard was stained and torn. She bled from a slice across one fine cheek. "I will watch the wall in case the Heacharid dogs launch an attack after their prayers."

"Thank you," I said, kissing her pale lips.

I limped off the walls, seeking only rest. Tara found me before I had made it more than a short distance. Her soft lavender scent enfolded me as she pressed cool lips to my forehead. My exhaustion warred with the desire to take her then and there. "You were magnificent, my leilatha," she said, a cruel light shining in her violet eyes. "I observed the battle from the western tower with those who do not fight."

"Today you saw the Dreadstorm," I said, and though my tone was rueful, a part of me wanted her to see me as the beast that put fear into the Heacharids.

"You are injured?"

"A battle-exorcist has closed my wounds," I assured her. "I am sore, but now time is my ally."

"Then you belong to me."

Tara ordered a bath brought to the room, and though she wrinkled her nose at the water available to humans, she set about washing me. She took my robes from me and stripped off her own clothing. My eyes went to the pouting orchid between her legs until it vanished beneath the milky water. Soon the water was dyed pink and gray as blood and soot washed from my flesh.

"I have been meaning to ask you something. You have had children, have you not?" she asked idly as she poured water over my shoulders.

"Many."

"Have any been born with your gift?"

"Wizards? Three. Two of my sons by Lysethe and one of my daughters by Maireili. I have a granddaughter I know of as well, but she wanders the world."

"The two young men I saw on the walls, they were yours?"

"One of them was my Dioscoro. The other is a Zuunese wizard I helped train."

"You know these three and you have not brought them to a symposium? Each would make a fine leilatha."

"There are four. My Deimara, unless you no longer want women."

I felt her falter behind me and she was silent for a moment. "She is a ghaunt. I do not mind their people, but many in Iarveiros find ghouls and their kin distasteful. She would not be welcomed as befits one of your bloodline. Your two sons and the Zuunese man...you should bring them."

"I shall give it some thought," I promised, turning about. "Now I want something else."

She smiled, turning away from me and gripping the edge of the tub. Her buttocks surfaced, the water sluicing from her slender form. She looked over her shoulder with a fetching grin. "Take what you wish, my leilatha. I am yours."

***

Some weeks later, I was spending the evening with Sarakiel and Zhahllaia. The siege had been quiet, and Sarakiel had journeyed to Ironmotte to stay in the castle. I preferred them in the capital, for there they had an easier path to both Uraraoi and the Alguur Pass should the worst happen. And there was the simple fact that I am not made of stone. I like having my wives with me.

The three of us were abed, simply reading and enjoying the closeness with one another. I stroked Sarakiel's bare thigh with one hand.

The door opened, revealing Tara. "Bel? May I join you?"

"Forgive me, Your Grace," Sarakiel said imperiously. "You've had him for weeks. He needs to spend time with his wives."

"I thought the two of you were concubines," she said innocently.

I leapt in, as I was no fool. I saw what she had said, even if she had not. "Tara, I think Sarakiel is right. Retire to your quarters and I will see you in the morning."

"As you wish, Master Wizard," Tara said, slipping out and shutting the door behind her.

"The cheek of her," Zhahllaia snapped as soon as Tara was out of the room.

"When is she returning to her forest?" Sarakiel demanded.

"When her ship returns. Kharsoom is far away, even for an elven vessel."

"She should not say such things."

I was wise enough not to point out that my elf had stated a fact. Fortunately, it was easy enough to concentrate on the hurt, for I never liked to see my brides injured. "Tara did not mean offense She is...she does not understand what you mean to me."

"Don't apologize for her," said the djinn. "She is an elf. To her, we are your toys. Tanyth, by virtue of her title, homeland, and the fact you wed her, is the only one with any status, and Tarasynora sees even her as a clever animal."

"I think that is unfair. I know I've spent more time with her over the past months, but I have not seen her in decades. I understand the jealousy..." And as the word left my mouth and the fire blazed in two pairs of beautiful eyes I recognized the error I had made.

"Jealousy? Have you ever known the two of us to be jealous?"

"Were this Lyta Sullac or the Stoneborn sisters or the Mythseekers, we would not have the slightest objection," said Sarakiel.

"I misspoke," I said. "Forgive me, my loves. As soon as her ship returns, she will be on it, bound for Chassudor."

Sarakiel touched my chest "I know you love her. She has merely been here for far longer than I anticipated."

"And we don't like her," said Zhahllaia.

"I will talk to her about showing the both of you the proper respect," I said. "If you can understand what she means to me, then she can do the same."

***

I would like to say that mended the relationship between the loves of my life, but that would be a lie. Tara agreed she would treat them as though they had titles and didn't understand why this was not nearly enough. Zhahllaia and Sarakiel would have sniffed out the condescension even if Tara had worked even slightly to hide it. We existed this way for several more months. It was so bad at times that being called to the walls of Ironmotte was a relief.

A bird from Lysethe informed me when their arrival was imminent. I gratefully took Tara out to meet the ship. Dioscoro journeyed with me, as I had agreed to let him attend the symposium. I wanted him away from the walls anyway. He was too young for this, younger even than I was when I first fought the Heacharids. I thought time with the elves would do him some good.

We reached the port on the day the ship arrived. My heart soared as I saw my family on the deck. Tanyth was in her splendor, her iridescent white gown hugging her perfect form. Maireili brooded in her dark cloak, never far from the Kharsoomian's shoulder. Lysethe's armor gleamed redly in the sun, her skymander leaping from her shoulder to join Quiyahui over the bay.

Next to them was another that I had not seen in many years. Her shape was that of a woman, pieces of her sculpted in porcelain, her joints machined clockwork in copper and gold. The wind ruffled the cascade of ribbons she had in place of hair. She was beautiful, combining the loveliness of an incredible machine with the perfection in form of a statue.

The ship docked and the four of them came down the gangway. I embraced each in turn. I paused at the last. "Kushan-Hegal," I said to the clockwork golem. "Thank you for coming."

"You are my friend," she said simply. "I am told you are Belromanazar? Not Ashuz?"

"For you, I am either. Hegal-Toth will be safe while you're on the other side of the world?"

"We remain secret. So secret I was surprised when I saw these three figures coming through the sun. One Kharsoomian, and these two, pale as porcelain."

Tanyth laughed. "Maireili finally embraced local custom."

My ghoul wife blushed blue. "It was hot."

"I wish I could have seen you," I said, wrapping an affectionate arm about her slender waist. "Clad in nothing but a weapon harness."

"It was fetching," Lysethe said.

Maireili's blush deepened. "I have no doubt about that," I said, kissing her smooth cheek.

"I admit I was concerned to see a red Kharsoomian," Kushan-Hegal said, "but she explained to me that she was the wife of Ashuz the Blackspear, now Belromanazar the wizard, who seized his powers from the gods."

"One goddess," I said. "Have you brought any more of your people?"

The clockwork woman did not make a sound, but I felt a hum in my bones. Emerging from belowdecks were four more daughters, including Ashuza-Hegal, the giantess whose creation I had witnessed. She emerged from the tight space with an uncanny twisting of her limbs that would have been impossible for a human. I wondered if she had been folded up inside the ship, patiently waiting for landfall.

The others included one with a human silhouette close to Kushan-Hegal's, this was Shura-Hegal. Another was a ball of limbs who moved in a swift roll. She was Taigan-Hegal. Last was Kelek-Hegal, a beetle-like golem.

"Welcome!" I called to them as they joined us on the wharf. "Ashuza-Hegal, you look well."

"You are still small," she said.

Zuunese fishermen and sailors gawked at the assembly on the docks. They knew well their Tyrant was a wizard with many strange allies, though these were strangest of all. It was a testament to the loyalty that I had fostered that none were concerned.

"You will accompany me to Ironmotte," I said, "where I will beg a favor."

Tara sidled up next to me as we made our way to the carriages waiting at the mouth of the harbor. "Bel, what are these creatures?"

"Friends from the Red Wastes," I said.

Tara returned to Ironmotte but she departed shortly afterwards with Dioscoro. Sarakiel was amused at the way the Hegalites disturbed the elven noble. She, unsurprisingly, found them fascinating, striking up a friendship with Kushan-Hegal that persists to this day.

"I want you to build something for me," I said. "A great machine."

"A machine?" Kushan-Hegal stood on the western tower, looking out over the burning lights of Victory.

"One of your daughters. The most terrifying you have imagined. I will put the kingdom's resources at your disposal."

"To defeat them," she said, leveling a porcelain fingertip at the infernal glow.

"Yes."

"I will do this for my friend."

***

I built a workshop for Kushan-Hegal on the northeastern edge of Ironmotte. This would eventually grow into Hegal University, which persists in some form even today. It began as little more than a collection of squat buildings, designed by the Hegalites and built by Khaltóg and Besh craftsmen and would only later grow to a sprawling village.

Kushan-Hegal wanted everything symmetrical, everything geometric, which is why the center of the university appears as it does. It was only after her departure that the spiraling gardens and soaring buildings for which it is famous started to grow about the initial cloister. Kushan-Hegal started the subterranean levels as well, which soon became home to dwarven and ghoulish students. It was this moment that the ghoul citizens of Zuunkhorun began to incorporate themselves into the fabric of the kingdom.

The buildings were the easy part. Kushan-Hegal needed devices and machinery that only she truly understood. My task was to provide her with the materials, both common and exotic, she required. She and her four daughters were busy with construction day and night.