The Spellcaster's Heiress -- Chapter 1

By Christopher Leeson

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The universe of Rodin Oc'Raighne centers in a Europe alternate to the one we know. His homeland, Arannan, occupies that region of France that we call Aquitaine and Rodin's people are descended from the Celtic Gauls. True magic is practiced in this universe and, undoubtedly, it is this peculiarity that has made the history of Rodin's world so substantially different from our own.

In the land we shall explore, those people who correspond to the Italians never became great. Without Rome, Rodin's world never knew a Jesus. In a world so altered, no Mohammed ever rose to lead the desert people. The many gods of paganism continued to be revered, just as mankind continues to fear the demons of darkness.

The decisive departure in the history of our two worlds must have come sometime in the First Millennium B.C., for the farther back we look, the fewer discrepancies we discover.  For example, while Christianity and Islam do not exist, older faiths do (though, admittedly, with changes), such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

The discrepancies are most strongly noticed in the younger nations.  The West eventually filled with kingdoms that developed from the institutions of the early Celtic race.  Meanwhile, an alternate Greek (Helleg) civilization, much like the one in our own history, flourished.  Having no Roman Empire and, later, no Arab Empire to overwhelm it, the ancient Hellegi produced an empire that still endures in its successor states.  

Where the Roman Empire never was, there is Etrue, a region of city states based on the Etruscan civilization.  The Etruean region has had many conquerors, but as latter fade away, the ancient vigor of the Etruscans has always made its resurgence.   In regions where Etruean settlement has been historically weak, as in the south of the peninsula, Helleg kingdoms have held the land, skillfully avoiding subjugation by of their eastern kin and by the Punics to the south.  The strongest of these Helleg states is Achaea, which we would call Sicily.



Among the greatest of states during our time of study, ruling the south Balkans and Asia Minor, is Megarion.  Hellenic culture has become the standard of the East, almost as far as India.  Greece and Iran (called Persi) have fought many wars with varying fortunes and influenced on another greatly.  From the Iranians the Hellegi have taken away autocratic rule and centralization.  But their long contact with the Hellegi has allowed Iran to grow heavily Hellenized, though Mica remains their national god.  The Iranians, held at bay in the West, have fared better against the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms of Asia, and they have also made great inroads into the lands of those superb horsemen, the Togarma people of the northern steppes.

Elsewhere, the German race, blocked in the West by the Celts, have turned their virile power upon Central Europe.  The southern Germans, though, have been checked at the boundaries of Greek power.  Their borders with the Slavs is almost never at peace.  Meanwhile, the Northmen have long posed a menace to the coasts in both the West and the East, sometimes mounting daring land invasions, also.  Yet the strength of their would-be victims has prevented them from laying long-term claim to little except some Atlantic and Baltic islands, the greatest of these being Thorland, which we call Iceland. 

The resultant federation of German states has kept the Slavs from settling in Central Europe and the latter have turned toward the sunrise, doing battle with the Russians (Zemlyans). Faced with so many opponents, the Zemlyans have managed to form no monolithic empire, but only an amalgam of semi-autonomous duchies, united in theory by an almost powerless Great King patterned after the autocrats of the Hellegi.  Intercine war between the duchies has prevented the Zemlyan domain from reaching the Urals.  As they have been harsh masters wherever they conquer, that is probably for the best. 

Farther East, the Turkish (Togarma) horsemen have remained powerful. The Mongols (Buryats) of the Far East have not yet ceased their own internal quarrels long enough to unite, but the day may be coming when their potent threat shall be realized. The ways of China (Ser) of this world would be recognizable to historians, and Seran sorcery is very advanced, but it is chained in place by the weight of a bureaucracy that is excessively large, unimaginative, and unadventurous.  An emperor who endeavors to change the ossified ways of Ser's mandarins is apt to alienate his department chiefs and be assassinated.

With magic to draw upon, science -- both East and West -- has lagged.  No one has invented those evil fixtures of modern battle, explosives, and so the sword shall probably remain the weapon of choice for a long time to come.

Meanwhile, farther west, the Slavic states have been influenced by their German and the Greek adversaries and trading partners, but their aristocracies have long cast an admiring eye at the more distant Celts.  This trend shows strongly in the learning they prize and their artistic tastes. A cultured Slav is proud to communicate in fluent Celtic.

In Spain, the early mix of Celts and Iberians has generally maintained itself and has formed up into regional kingdoms.  The most important of these is Herzeloyde.  But in the south of the country, the Celts and Iberians have been for almost two millennia a part of the cultural orbit of Punic North Africa.  The latter has largely Phonenicianized the Berber natives north of the desert.  The altars of Moloch are well attended from Libya to the Atlantic.  From a capital city built near to the site of our historical Carthage, this robust race holds sway from the edge of Egypt to the Atlantic, and has colonized most of the great islands of that sea.  Some say they have found lands on the other side of the ocean, but they are very secretive about such explorations.

Following its ancient glories, Egypt had for a long while lost its liberty and languished under Greek-born dynasties. The latter found Egyptian ways congenial and reigned there as traditional pharaohs.  In time, enfeebling decadence afflicted the Hellenic pharaohs and a popular revolt brought forth another native dynasty.  This revived Egypt has restored its standing as a beacon of culture and a bastion of military might.  Hemmed in on the east and west by rival kingdoms, it has sent its power south, into what they call Kush, beyond the deserts. There it competes with the Punics in acquiring precious resources, and also in bringing enlightenment to the natives (when not bringing them north as slaves).

At the time of our story, a rich material culture holds dominance across an alternate Western Europe. This civilization, despite many small differences, exists at about the level of our own fourteenth century France. However, few of the familiar names that are found in our history books will appear on the map laid out before us.

*****

From Dyan's Journal

I have fought tyranny under the name of Dyan, but I was born Rodin Oc'Raighne.  My clan came to prominence as successful traders and bankers.  In our generation my parents wanted more for their children, which meant finding them appointments in the royal service.  My father had many friends at court and, through their influence, I won a favorable placement.  I was to be schooled in the King's Guard, not as a man of the ranks, but a knight-in-training -- something that had been my dream since early childhood.

Strongly driven, I strove to achieve a mastery of arms commensurate with my years.  Having passed the preliminaries, my studies were increasingly directed toward preparation for leadership and command.  These were the best times of my life and the attainment of my family's hopes for me seemed to lie in the offing.  Alas, when I was still but a junior officer, the old king died of a wasting disease, one like none had ever seen before, and his son, Cathmor, came to the throne.

The heir was nothing like his sire.  He had spent but little time about the court thus far; and he arrived for the funeral with a train of favorites. These were a mixed lot. Some already possessed scandalous reputations, others appeared to be nothing more than untried mediocrities.

But, good or bad, the new men began to crowd out the old king's aides and ministers, individuals who had served the kingdom long and well. Cathmor had a strong ally in court already, the sorcerer named Harouck.  He had been a rising star int he bureaucracy for some years.  But he attained the post of First Secretary to the chancellorship shortly before the old king had grown ill.  Cathmor patronized him, and when a scandal tarnished the old chancellor's reputation only days after Cathmor's arrival, Harouck succeeded to the coveted post.

A naturally lazy man, King Cathmor allowed himself to be treated as a figurehead.  Very quickly, Harouck's personal power was felt; his shadow grew heavy and dark across the land.  He interfered in everything.  Only cadets who were ostentatious in their admiration for the chancellor prospered. My own rise in the King's Guard slowed to a halt. I began to suspect that I was not trusted by my new superiors, creatures that had been appointed under Harouck's system of political patronage. 

 

Perhaps I was too outspoken in my opinions regarding the deteriorating state of affairs.  I believe that Harouck's minions were testing me when they put me to odious tasks, none of which could not be carried out with honor.  One of these was threatening and beating yeomen who were late with their taxes.

 

I was grew increasingly discontented under the state of affairs, but in the years since I have had time for reflection.  The evil in our governance had come about because Harouck preferred to surround himself with criminals.  The thieving extortionists on whom his power depended were vulnerable to his blackmail and, hence, completely in his thrall.  Because I refused to be compromised, the regime had no such tool to use against me.  It marked me as a man who could not be trusted by the regime.

If I had been a more experienced courtier, I might have conducted myself with subtlety and hidden my disgust.  That way, I might have remained close to the seat of power. I would have been able to wear my dagger nearer to the black heart of the tyrant, should the opportunity to use it suddenly arise.

Even before I left the Guard, it had crossed my mind that it would be a noble thing to put an end to the unbearable state of affairs, even at the cost of my life.

But I did not get that chance.  My life took a different course.

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Cherry Blossoms and Nightingales