Gloom

The turret was surrounded by thousands of the little creatures. It was all Ven could do to keep her supper in her stomach. She shook her head and shuddered one more time as she followed her husband back off the wall. It was bright and sunny today and the pungent smell that was rising from the writhing mass below was enough to make anyone sick.

The long black cloak she wore was pulled tight against the sunlight and, though she could feel the heat of it rising inside, she held fast to the cloak. She had no desire to let the guards see her walking about as if she were purposely flaunting the thin shift she was wearing beneath the cloak. On summer nights such as this, less clothing was always the best option, but it caused problems when your husband ripped you out of your chambers with no notice and ushered you to the upper walls of the hold.

Ven turned and gave the man a dark enough frown to let him know she wasn’t happy with the situation. He was a relatively tall man, a hand and a half taller than her and sleek in a muscular way. His position as the Captain General of the city had given him a harsh, worldly look that had a tendency to make most people grant the respect he deserved. She was never one of those. His short, black hair was slicked back over his ears and his rough, week old growth of beard stood out sharply on his sharp jaw. He had found time to put on proper attire. His green and black suit was pressed and all the fancy stars and ribbons in place where they should be. He was the perfect picture of a Captain General.

Ven tried not to imagine what she looked like at the moment. She felt filthy and her hair had to be a mess. It was usually combed out and braided up by two of her maids each day, but right now, she could feel it pushing itself in different direction.

“Sech, you know damn well that I can’t be ambling about the city like this. People expect to see their leader well kempt at the very least.” She shot the glare back at him one more time.

“I figured you’d like to see the infestation first hand. It’s quite severe.” The monotone response was that of a Captain General, not a husband.

“Sech! Cut it out. Such childish demeanor is pointless. We need to talk about this.” She tried to ignore the sweat beading down her already greased forehead. She hated yelling at the man. He was the love and light of her life, but she had to make sure the men didn’t think he was some puppet that shared her bed.

Sech began to say something, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand and continued, “First, I’m going to go and get dressed. I will be presentable before I hear anything from anyone else.”

Ven marched off, making a line for the stairs that lay at the back of the turret. She stopped at the top of the stairs and surveyed the courtyard quickly. It was a small one in terms of courtyards in general, but then it was only a small part of her kingdom. She knew she must worry about the rest of her land as well. As much as she held pretense of annoyance over her appearance, a deep fear coursed through her veins as she thought on the swarm waiting outside the gate.

Something caught her eye as she saw one of the guards snag a young boy running from a fruit cart. She felt for the boy, but with an infestation as large as the one they currently faced, thievery of their food stocks couldn’t be allowed. Rationing would have to be in place before the end of the day.

She pushed aside the worries of the day for a moment and made her way down the stairs, and went straight to her chambers. She found her maids there waiting to help her clean and dress for the day. A tray with a bowl of porridge and a bowl of fruit was set up next to her bed, but she ignored it for now. The people couldn’t see whether she was well fed and that meant that it could wait for now.

She tossed the long black cloak on her great bed and plopped down on its edge. The bed was monstrous in size, large even when Sech was with her. The four posts that rose from the floor to the ceiling were specially carved and shipped from some exotic province to the west. She never really knew where the Steward retrieved all the things she owned, she just knew the cost she ended up paying for them.

Her chambers were large unto themselves. The carpets were a fine white cloth that ended up being cleaned every day, either because of Sech’s muddy boots or her careless eating habits. The finely embroidered curtains were drawn and the bright sunlight filled the room leaving the lamps and candles extinguished for the time being. She quickly removed the sweaty shift she was wearing and instructed her maids to have the bath drawn. She had the rare luxury of running water. A glorious vision designed and implemented by a Learner of her Academy. The man had been very popular from then until his death.

She quickly bathed and chose some of her more stately attire. She had a feeling she would be meeting with the council today as well and she wanted to look as dignified as possible. The brazen green dress flowed over the length of her body, clinging where it should and laying loose and gently where it should. The brilliant brocaded seems were a fine gold and rang their way around her neck, topped by a small bit of lace coming half way up her neck. She had her hair done up into a braided bouquet. It was the quickest way to do it up and still make it look regal. Her hair was always a tad too long, so the extra amount of work needed to make it look extraordinary was reserved for really important occasions.

She tried to get the semantics of her daily routine out of her mind and to change her focus to the infestation that was blocking in her city.

The little creatures, some called them the Sea of Death, others just used their real name of Caratois. She heard the former more than the latter though. She supposed she spent a bit too much of her time around the Academy where such scientific explanations were the rule of thumb. She had remembered hearing about the little creatures for some time from Sara. Sara was the quirky red head with the large rimmed reading glasses that worked in the east wing of the academy. Ven remembered the warnings that she had been getting for weeks now about the infestations around the rest of the continent.

According to Sara’s sources and the books she read so often, it was an almost certain fact that over the course of time these little creatures would begin to overtake the eastern continent. She claimed it happened every few hundred years; something to do with their reproductive cycles and some comet or meteor or whatever she had called it that came too near their world.

Ven had listened as closely as she always did, but had not put too much faith in the claims. That was until about three weeks earlier when she had heard the first sighting from the north in Westerlas. The news had traveled quickly, but it was still a long trip, and she had felt the press of time.

Now, as she made her way to the reception room that she knew her husband was waiting in, she could only think of the various ways that the council was going to suggest they deal with the problem. Not only would it be a fight versus run discussion to start with, but they would never come to an agreement, and thus she would be left with the decision. Thus, she must come to a proper decision or at least a good idea for what needed to be done before she met with them. That’s where Sech came in. He was always helpful in these types of situations. He was capable of offering the strict, military opinion that he was imposed to develop, while still being sensitive the civil and political aspects of a situation as he had learned by being married to the leader of a nation. He was a god send and that meant she would speak to him first.

She came into the reception room and found herself not standing in the presence of her loving husband and a few loyal maids, but the entire council. That wasn’t what really surprised her though. Standing directly in front of her were the Kings of both Velian and Westerlas and the Queen of Belmon. They were still dressed in their traveling attire, wrapped in riding cloaks and wearing black boots. The queen still had her light brimmed hat and dust veil on. King Keran was not only old, but bordering on decrepit. His snow white beard and wisps of hair hang loosely on his face, and he was leaning slightly on a grand, carved cane.

The other King, Tobin, was much younger. He still carried the youthful passion that seemed to imbibe a young monarch. His face was glistening and his eyes were sharp, taking in everything he saw. He carried a slick, black crop of hair, cut at the neck and shaved at his ears, leaving him with no beard.

There was no reason for them to be there though. Ven was wary upon entrance and quickly put up the defenses she had learned at a very young age. There was no way these conniving rulers were going to impose their will upon her.

“Welcome your highnesses,” Wariness was no excuse to dispose of courtliness.

Tobin flourished a grand bow, followed by a meek attempt to follow his lead and a small, almost insignificant curtsy from Lucia. “Your highness. I suppose you didn’t expect us. There was no way for you to do so.” His voice was grating on her ears. However long she would hold her throne, there was not enough time to get used to the delicate musical tone of a noble blowing smoke in their speech.

“Very astute, your highness.” Ven returned the curtsy and gestured for the three to sit in the chairs that had been brought in by the servants while she had been entering. “I take it you have just arrived. I am taken quite by surprise.”

“You would be very correct. We were in a great rush to arrive in time. Your eastern gate is almost blocked by the infestation. The travel saw us lose a good deal of men.” Tobin added the last bit with little to no emotion. He was too hard to run a country fairly. Ven had worried about his demeanor since he had taken the throne 9 years ago.

“I hope your highnesses are all well then. I would hate to hear that you were harmed…” She tried to impose some kind of caring into her voice but Keran cut her off abruptly.
From a scratchy, old throat, the King of Westerlas began, “We have no time for courtesies right now.” She noted his lack of honorifics. Keran had never been one to dispose of the proper courtesies. He was an old man, but he was fair and polite.

“Very correct,” Queen Lucia cut in, “We must get directly to our purpose.” She was always quick and to the point though. If anyone was going to forgo courtesies it would be her.

“Very well. I imagine your trip is in dealing with the infestation. What is it you have come for? Opinions from my academy. An outpost until we can deal with the problem. I understand the terms of our treaties. I will concede.” Ven tossed out everything together. If they were going to border on rudeness with her, she felt no inhibitions in returning the action.

She adjusted her skirts and caught her husband entering the chambers from the side entrance. The room was relatively small and restricting compared to what it should be. It was intentional though, as it allowed her to see everything that was going on in the room at once. When only the four of them were in the room, it made it quite easy indeed.

Sech walked quietly to the fireplace and stoked the fire, closing the small wire mesh gate and making his way over to where Ven was sitting, positioning himself behind and to the right of her chair.

“Ah, your Captain General is here. Very good. This involves him too, I believe,” Lucia’s voice was too matter-of-fact for Ven’s tastes.

“Well, to the point, I believe.” Tobin struggled around not adding the proper honorifics. He had always prided himself on his ability to impress any other noble with his polite, kingly attitude.

“Yes?”

“We come with a solution. A seer in Westerlas came to the Magery and offered a vision some 2 months ago. Another seer brought a vision to the court in Velian and I heard it myself. Both visions were identical. We believe them authentic.”

“And?” Ven felt a knot forming in her stomach. Something was wrong here.

“They pertained to the infestation of course. We didn’t believe them at first. But after the infestation started and Lucia and Kenan found themselves in Velian, we had time to corroborate and come to a series of conclusions.” He paused and raised his eyes to hers. A dark look took hold of his face, “Serious and unhappy conclusions.”

Ven kept from swallowing as she waited fro their ‘conclusions’.

Kenan coughed lightly and continued in his raspy voice, “You are named as the Queen of the Western Walls, Light of Kingdom of Kivian, are you not?”

“Along with a score of other meaningless titles. Why?”

“The seers both have spoken of prophecies laid down in the past, ones of great bearing and importance. The last time such an infestation took place, hundreds of years ago, the ruler of Velian was sacrificed to the Sea of Death because of these prophecies. They were correct and the Sea resided, leaving the land in peace, until now.”

Ven knew what they were going to say. Sech did too. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gripped tightly. She placed her hand gently on his and squeezed. He was understanding. She hoped he would stay calm when they said it.

“I’m sure you see what we have inferred from all of this.”

“Yes, I believe I do.”

“Well, we have come to make sure it happens. This plague cannot be allowed to continue. If you defy us, we will force it. I dare not hesitate on this.”

“I see. Well, it doesn’t appear that I have a choice in the matter. May I inquire as to how much time I have until I am ‘sacrificed’.” Ven tried her best to keep her voice as level as possible.

“I suppose no more harm can come in one day. Tomorrow at dawn is as good as any time.” Lucia sounded as coldhearted as if she were talking of tossing out an old kitchen table. “You do have to worry about the succession.”

“Yes, that is a problem at this point.”

Sech cleared his throat and stamped his foot three times. At once, 6 servants entered the room. “You may as well be shown to rooms for tonight. I don’ see what harm will come of us being hospitable.”

Ven and Sech watched the rest leave the room, waving the last of the servants out.

As soon as the last door closed Sech hit the floor. Ven let the tears flow and they embraced. Sitting there for a long time, just holding each other. Ven had no desire to leave this spot until dawn. If she were to die she wanted to spend her last day in her lover’s arms.

Sech made the decision for her though. Running his fingers through her hair he pulled away. With a gentle touch of her cheek, he pulled her to her feet, “Come, we must see to things.”

The man was clearly holding back his tears. There was no suppressing it for her though. She just couldn’t. Queen or no queen, she was going to meet her death in the morning, and worst of all she would be leaving everything she loved so much behind.

Sech pulled her back to him again, and stroked her hair. He had always hated seeing her distraught. When their son had died so many years earlier, he had been with her constantly, soothing, comforting, and still holding her to her position. His devotion was so absolute. He would never allow her to shirk her duties, but he would also never allow her to suffer more than he could control.

She opened her eyes and looked up into his brilliant green eyes. His face had sympathy painted all over it. “I love you so much… I just don’t… know.” She managed to squeeze out.

His only reply was a simple, “I know.”

After what seemed hours in the waiting room alone, just holding each other, Queen Ven and Captain General Sech made their way to the addressing room for the different nobles of the land. Ven still had to choose a successor. Her only child had died many years earlier in his youth, and Sech couldn’t simply take the throne. She didn’t want the country in any kind of war.

She spent little time preparing the paperwork though. She had a cousin, a young noblewoman of about 28 who was always kind and proper to the people around her. Without much time, she prepared the paperwork, decrees, reapportionments, transfers of accounts, and detailed instructions written up. Elise was going to be overwhelmed one way or another, but helping her as much as possible was the best plan Ven could think of.

She skipped supper, and made her way out of the castle, taking a trip to the one place that she would find at least partial answers. She took Sech with her, all the while holding his arm and kissing him as much as possible. She remembered the days when they had first met fondly. It had been just like this. All of her heart had been in his hands and they had spent little time apart. The throne had seen that change though.

Sara was where she usually was, pouring over ancient books and looking through them for answers to the questions of the universe. Ven and Sech spent a good portion of the night there, talking and learning to the wise woman, hoping her knowledge could outwork that of the infallible seers. She may hold no magic in her, but sometimes knowledge was more powerful.

After returning to the castle and spending the rest of the night together, the two lovers, the Queen and Captain General rose to the dawn and made their way to the entrance of the castle. Ven, dressed in her finest silk dress, blue brocaded in great golds and silvers, and Sech in his finest dress uniform, showing off all the ranks and seals of his office. Ven held her head high and looked the three monarchs in the eyes, awaiting her fate open minded, and open hearted.

As the sun rose over the courtyard, she was escorted to the main gates and showed the entrance. She wished that there was some doubt in anyone’s mind that the seers were correct. She knew better though. They ancient, trained mages were never wrong about visions. Especially not when speaking to a monarch. They were sure and so were the monarchs and subjects surrounding her right now.

She held her breath and watched as the people following her peeled away leaving her and Sech. He gripped her hand and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Without saying any words he smiled and walked away letting her fingers slide out of hand.

Ven turned and held her head high, facing down the gate in front of her. When the courtyard was cleared, the gates were slowly opened. She could see the see of writhing black figures beyond the portcullises. Oddly, they didn’t rush forward when the gates opened. They knew who she was, and awaited patiently for her to enter their midst.

She took a deep breath and walked forward. She tried to discern shapes or types for the thousands of creatures in front of her, but all she could make of it was a sea of black, A Sea of Death.

She took the final step through the gate without hesitation and felt the gates beginning to close behind her, the breeze sliding gently against her skin. The gaze of hundreds of her subjects, other monarchs, and her most beloved husband on the ramparts above pierced through her back, but she refused to turn and look. She would look the oncoming threat dead in the eyes and wait.

She didn’t wait long. As quickly as she had stepped through the gates and they had slammed closed behind her, a sea of black surrounded her. She felt her body lose footing and then blackness.

* * *

Time didn’t exist. Nothing did. She tried to feel, but feeling didn’t exist either.

She tried to see, but blackness was all she saw. She was nothing….yet she was everything.

There was nothing, and yet she was something, and she was everything. The world was gone, her life was gone.

NO…not gone. Her husband. She had a husband. She had a husband. She clung desperately to that thought as she felt the sea of blackness wash over her being.

Forever she lived. Forever she died. She felt the blackness, yet she didn’t. She saw the blackness and yet she didn’t. Forever she floated and yet she didn’t. There was nothing and she was everything. And always there was her husband. Sech was there. He was always there, and until he was there again she couldn’t forget that.

Her name was nothing. Her title was nothing. She remembered nothing. Sech was everything.

* * *

“I don’t know your majesty. He disappeared last night and I haven’t seen or heard sight or sound of him since.” The thin Secretary Captain stood with his head slightly down in the Queen’s receiving room. She had gotten the grip on the throne quite nicely since the northern monarchs had left a few months earlier. The Captain General had been a delightful learning tool for her.

“You must find him. I can’ run this country by myself yet. He is invaluable.”

“Yes, your highness.” The Secretary Captain still found it hard to believe that Queen Ven was gone. She had been such a good queen, but the infestation had left with her, and so he respected her sacrifice as necessary.

The Secretary Captain began to walk out of the room, when a youthful officer burst into the room, “Sir, the Captain General has returned. He has returned and with a babe.”

He quickly turned and exited the room with the Queen and Secretary General on his heels. The three made their way to the entry hall that the officer was leading them to.

“What’s all the commotion?” Sech shouted as the three entered the tight little room. “I’ve only been gone a day.”

“You should tell us when you’re going to leave, Sech. We have our rights to worry about your destinations.”

“You and I both know that I have handled my wife’s sacrifice as well as any could expect.” He refused to call it her death. It was as if he denied her death altogether.

“What is this child you have brought back? I don’t understand,” The Queen asked quickly of him. She was always too curious and open about the curiosity.

“This is Nev. She is a mage child I was bound to raise by an old friend. Ven and I promised to raise the children of the old seer in Ariska when he passed on. I received a letter from his neighbor last night. I couldn’t wait.”

“A mage child? What does that mean. And how could the Ariska seer have a child so young?” The Queen’s skepticism dripped from her words.

“She will grow quickly. 3 or 4 times the normal rate. When she reaches physical maturity she will cease to grow and begin her training. I must take her to another kingdom to raise for now. Therefore I will be leaving you.”

“W..ait a second, there. You can’t just leave. I need your help. You have duties.” The Queen flashed a stern look to the Captain General and placed her hands on her hips. “You know your duties. They don’t’ include leaving to raise a child.”

“I made a promise.” The man’s face turned dark and he left it at that. Without any further remark he turned and left the entry hall with the babe in his arms.

* * *

“Sech, this is just too weird.”

“Please, let it be. You are still too young.” Sech glared at Nev as she scampered along beside him.

“I am not. I just look like it.”

“Either way, you can’t go about speaking like you’re my wife. You only look like a 10 year old girl.”

The two were in Westerlas, taking a stroll to the market to pick up some food for the week. They now lived in a small apartment on the outskirts of the city, where Sech could look after Nev and make sure she maintained her training.

The situation was quite awkward for the ex-Captain General. He knew that the young girl was his wife. He also knew that she knew she was his wife too. The problem was that she was still only so old. She was like a daughter to him in many ways, and the thought of her being his wife made him wonder how things would be when she regained her matured form.

She was still mentally and emotionally a 28 year old woman though, and that meant a great deal of problems when they went into public. She was maturing quickly though, and should reach an adult physical form within the next 3 years or so. He was awaiting anxiously.

He could still remember the conversation they had had with Sara, the seer back in their old kingdom, about the events that would happen after Ven entered the Caratois. The true nature of the Sea of Death and the transformation it would present to her. He wished Nev could just use those powers of hers to make herself normal again, but the long wait was part of the battle, and he was prepared to deal with it.

He just wished he knew what would become of them when she was older again. They wouldn’t have to hide any longer, he was sure of that. He’d be able to bear physical affection toward his beloved wife again too, something he had longed for, for over four years now.

There were so many questions to be answered and yet he couldn’t help but watch Nev as she struggled along side his long stride and see the woman he had married so many years ago, loved so deeply, and would soon be with again in more than just spirit.