converging on Cardior

[cellio]

June 26 (Thursday)

Today I went to Shepford to speak with my parents. The other family members were out in the fields, so we had some privacy, and I broke the news to them.

They were, to say the least, shocked. Their daughter was going to be the emperor? How was that possible? I realized that I would not be able to make them understand the events of the last year in detail in the course of one conversation, so I said simply that the previous emperor had no heir, we had ended the blight in the land, and the consensus was that I would be the one to step up and rule. ("Nice save", Hrolf said to me silently.)

Mom alternated between fretting -- about her little girl being in danger, about what she would wear to coronation, about what she would say to the neighbors -- and gloating about how this would teach certain people a lesson about her family. Dad was remarkably calm; I think he had already figured out what was going on. Shepford is not in the center of things, but the place does get bards, and bards have songs and tales. Dad, clearly, pays attention to them in a way that Mom doesn't.

I told them that I wanted to bring the family to Cardior to prepare for coronation, and in answer to Mom's fretting, I have tailors standing by to make sure that they will not feel out of place. I had meant to bring them today, but they wanted time to make a few arrangements (and, I presume, boast a little), so we agreed that either I or Liandra would fetch them tomorrow morning. We also agreed that I would slip away before the others returned from the fields and my parents would share this news with the family themselves.

From there I went to see Brion. We began what was going to be a long conversation, and I suggested that he just come to Cardior now and he agreed. He suggested that Jehan might want to come now too; he has staff to take care of the inn now, and Brion thought he would enjoy having more time to see Cardior. So we went to the tavern and Jehan said he thought I'd never ask and pulled a packed bag from behind the bar.

We got to the palace just ahead of another ducal delegation, so I signalled to Galen "I'm not here yet" and led Brion and Jehan to a suite near the rooms used by Tobin and the other rat-kin so they could talk later. A passing servant -- apparently the palace has passing servants now! -- greeted us and, moments later, returned with food and drink. He whispered in my ear that if I stayed out of sight for another half an hour or so, I could avoid getting drawn into a lengthy and pointless debate being held by the dukes of Thoracis and Lescap in the central hall. I thanked him for the warning.

Brion and Jehan both wanted to know more of what had happened -- the real story, not what I told the tavern patrons a couple weeks ago. I told them of Agondre's death and rebirth, and of Garett and Charlos and the land of Gurrosh-Kar, and of Liandra's coronation, and of the good work Tobin has done here, and of negotiating with dukes and planning an empire. Jehan said he never would have believed that a daughter of Shepford would become a great warrior, and Brion beamed about my spiritual growth over the last year. I said that both of them had been major influences and that other members of our group deserved much of the credit.

I asked about their plans. Jehan is excited for his business prospects; he figures that now that Shepford is "on the map", so to speak, there will be a tourist industry and he will be able to expand the tavern and build a boarding-house alongside it. He also wants to talk with Colm about importing some of Nithelin's special wine, and I suggested that he and Colm could probably benefit from getting to know each other. They're both trying to do similar things, far enough away from each other to not interfere, so they can probably help each other.

Jehan said he'd like to see Cardior; I offered to find him a guide, but he said he preferred to explore on his own, if the streets are safe. I assured him that they are and told him how to get back into the palace later, and he headed off.

After he left I asked Brion if he wanted to meet Agondre. He was speechless; I don't think it had occurred to him that that might be permitted. I said we don't let many do this, but I wanted him to have the opportunity, and he said he'd like that very much.

So I took him to the chapel, through the gate into the sanctum (where we were greeted by Karameikos at the gate), and from there to the chapel leading to Agondre's chamber. He said he had many questions about the dragon religion, but I suggested he hold them for now. We then passed through the gate into the hall leading to Agondre.

When we caught our first glimpse of Agondre Brion froze, completely transfixed. He stood that way for several minutes; I was growing concerned. I met Agondre's gaze and felt reassured that nothing was wrong. When Brion snapped out of it he stepped forward and bowed low to Agondre.

Eventually I convinced him to walk toward Agondre, and when we got close Agondre reached out and licked the top of his head. Brion smiled but said nothing, and after a time Agondre nodded and Brion stood to leave.

When we were back in the sanctum Brion let out a deep sigh. I asked what was wrong and he said that he felt he had met a god -- not his god, but a god. How did Agondre fit into a pantheon including Pelor? This was the first time I've seen Brion shaken.

We sat down and I said that I don't really know how the gods interact with each other, but I had never stopped believing in Pelor even while becoming bound to Agondre. This did not seem to bother Agondre, and if it bothered Pelor I'd seen no sign of it. I also said that I didn't know a lot about the ancient dragon religion, but that the modern followers of Agondre do not claim exclusivity. He seemed relieved.

Still, I decided to save for another day the message I got from Agondre before we left, that Agondre would welcome Brion into the inner circle.

On the way back to Brion's suite we met Tobin in the hall. The two of them embraced, and I slipped away to allow them to catch up with each other.

Today the dukes -- and their entourages -- from Dranneken, Lescap, Tergia, and Thoracis arrived. Of course we had dinner with all of them, and the ones who arrived yesterday. Almost everyone is here; Aulos and Genathiel will arrive tomorrow, I'm told. There are a lot of dignitaries here.

After dinner Turok told me that he had spoken with more claw candidates, including Bertolf. Bertolf is conflicted; he, too, noticed the strong tie he felt to the land when in Agondre's chamber yesterday, but he also feels obligations back home. He might join us before too much time passes, but he probably will not do so now. He does, however, want to come back and visit after the coronation, which Turok assured him would not be a problem.