Legends Of Dacot ( Rise Of A Forgotten Myth) (1)
On the 15th day of august in the year 1309, there was a birth that would change the history for the great Kingdom of Dacot. Born into no convenience or great wealth, this boy is nothing of great note to the King, who would one day feel his cold blade through his flesh. The boy is now a stable hand in the Kings Stables. He is the lowliest of servants sleeping on a hay mattress, dreaming of is next meal of thin soup and xatha. He has managed to survive seven and three quarter years. This is where his legend begins. Today is the naming day for all those born in the last 10 years. Today children as old as 9 or even 10 will finally have their own name. It is a day of great importance to the small boy off in the stables, who has been called �boy" or "street rat" his whole life. Today is the day he gets something of his very own. Being born into a family of servants to the king is not the worst of fates for most, but to this boy it is the worst thing that had ever happened in the world. Some cosmic break happened that august 15 that made him a slave to the whims of an ever crueler tyrant. �I'm finally going to have a name, Berta!� exclaimed the stable hand to his beloved horse. �After almost eight years! A name! No one is ever going to call me �street rat� again! Never!� The other workers that were working around the stables were smiling at the boy for his joy, remembering the excitement and anticipation of youth. Most were wearing the browns and grays of the castles servants. Others wore brighter colors such as blue or even a rare maroon. All wore the heavy boots of the King�s Stable�s. As he said this, the block master walked in to The Stables. He had a wry grin on his face. He knew this was the end of his amusement with this one. �Hey!� He shouts to the boy. At this the boy jumps and slides his foot into horse manure. Seeing what happened, he scolded the boy. �That�s what you get for not doing your job. Serves you right anyway being late to your own naming ceremony,� He says, with the tight mouth and unkind eyes the boy has become accustom to. But today the boy had no time for being sheepish under his master�s glare. He had a naming to get to. The boy ran to the square at the heart of the city. He made it to the square just in time to see the procession of The King and Prince. Still breathing heavily, he climbed the creaking wooden steps to the platform. �Today is a day of great importance!� cried the announcer. �This day the future King will be named!" and applause rang through out the square. �Today these children,� making a sweeping gesture towards the large throng of children now on the platform. �will be named!� The same shrill applause rung through the large square and into the boy�s ear. He was so excited that he didn�t even notice that the girl next to him was holding her nose and looking at him as if he had just made a rude sound. As the naming went, on the boy only half heard the names being called, as he was too busy looking around the square. He noticed things he was always too busy to notice before. Always rushing around, he�d had no time to notice the livery of the season. It was mid-spring and the shopkeepers had a large assortment of fruits and vegetables, the flower maids, as they were called, had many different colored blossoms. Looking into the crowd he saw people of many different social standings, The King in his throne on the end of the platform, the proud father in the front waiting for his son to be called, the court nobles in the back talking politics with each other, the old maid, come to see The Prince be named and the older boys with the mangy mutt playing fetch, with many others filling the spaces. All had come to see the naming. The boy waited for hours to be called, he didn�t know what order they were going. He did notice that the ones with the colorful cloths where getting fewer by the minute. Oh well, it shouldn�t be long now, the boy thought. I should be called soon. But as the hours wore on and the light began to fade from the sky, he began to wonder if his turn would ever come. Just as he had finished that thought, he was called out of the crowd of children. �You there!� the Namer called �You, boy, the one with manure on his boots!� the man called out to the boy, �Do you want a name or not?� Broken from his thoughts, the boy looked around to see who had gotten named. But every one was looking at HIM. He realized as he looked at the Namer, who was by now giving him dirty looks, the man had called him. The boy ran to the front and looked at the man not knowing what to expect. The boy began to say something to the Namer, but the Namer stopped him. No words are ever spoken by the named. The Namer�s dark, seemingly unemotional eyes searched him from head to toe, as if trying to find something to name him after. He couldn't seem to find anything to call this boy that smelled like a horse. Then it dawned on him, Horse! But not in this tongue, the man thought, having a sudden spurt of creativity he rarely experienced, the ancient tongue of Dacot. Smile on his face, the Namer said only one word. �Meirach!� The boy, now known as Meirach, had his name at last. Giddy with pride and love for his new name, completely oblivious to the meaning, he almost hugged the man. But was quickly carried off the platform and pushed away. Not wanting to cause a scene, Meirach ran home with a smile of unadulterated bliss. Waltzing into his father�s small shack, which he called home, he couldn�t seem to stop dancing. Seeing the joy on his son's round face made him think of the boy�s mother, Calarah, peace is with her. �Well, son. What is it? What am I to call my boy now?� he asked the boy, �Well, come on now, out with it!� Meirach stopped dancing to the music he still heard in his head. He took a deep breath and said very solemnly, �Meirach. My name is Meirach,� the boy said it in a voice so full of pride it brought tears to his fathers eyes. �Well, that�s a nice name, did they tell you what it meant?� said Trieod, the boy�s father. �No I didn�t ask, I thought I would hurl if I opened my mouth, do you know what it means?� the boy said with an expectant smile. �No I don�t, m' boy. But you�d better get some sleep, supper'll be ready in the 'our� he said to his only child. Meirach walked to the bundle of hay he called a mattress. He hadn�t even realized how tired he was until his father had mentioned it. He was asleep before his head hit the fur on his pillow. He dreamt of his long dead mother. She was smiling, with the sun in her auburn hair and the breeze blowing her favorite blue-gray dress around her, she looked like a goddess. Then the winds got stronger and the breeze turned into a storm, his mother was swept away from him. He woke with tears in his dark eyes. He wiped them away before his father saw him crying- he wouldn�t like that. He walked to the table that separated their mattresses and sat at his chair. Waiting for his supper, he looked around the room. He saw things that had surrounded him his entire life. The loom his mother had used tossed off in the corner covered with dust. His fathers working tools, he was a trench-man, the shovel and spade. His own things; toys tossed aside over the years, a book of the holy teachings, and his fathers large hay mattress. A jolt of the table woke him from his daydreams. �Well then, Meirach, here�s your supper, you�ve got chores to do. The block mastah was here earlier, says you didn�t finish 'em.� He said with a desperate glance. �I�m supposin' you�ve got a good reason, so I�m not goin' to ask. It had better not happen again, got it?� Meirach looked up from his small meal of salted potatoes and a strip of dried chimtny root. He had completely forgotten about his chores! �Got it, da', I�m right on it,� he said. Gulping the last sip of xatha from his goblet. He ran from the shack to the stables. On his way to the stables he danced and sang to himself. The people still out working or drinking xatha saw him and smiled remembering their own naming. Suddenly tired Meirach stopped dancing and walked calmly still smiling to the world. He chased some dogs away from a dead rat on the side of the road stopping to inspect the decaying animal as only a boy could. Remembering his work he rushed for the Stables. Turning the corner to the entrance he stopped to look in a shops window. Noticing it was a woman�s undergarment shop he had chosen to look in on, he blushed furiously, glad no one had seen, making sure not to look into any other shop windows, he ran to The Stables. Finally at the Stables, Meirach got to work scrubbing and feeding the horses. Cleaning out the manure and chasing away the rats and hay mice that occupied the hay loft. Swearing to himself as he noticed a blister developing on his thumb, from the fork used to scoop the hay, while he was rubbing Berta down. It was almost morning when he finished so Meirach didn�t bother to go home. Falling asleep in the Stables next to Berta he had a peaceful slumber, stirring occasionally from the cold. Waking at dawn, to early to work on an empty stomach, he stumbled back to his home still groggy from his sleep. Walked through the door to find his father already gone to work. It seemed a bit odd to Meirach, considering he had stayed out all night, and that his father was never eager to go to the trenches that surrounded to gates of Dacot. Making himself a small bowl of leftover potatoes and chimtny root. He sat down to eat and watched as a neighbor walked past the door. He looked about quickly and looked at the boy in such a way as to say follow me. Which Meirach did, not knowing what the man wanted. Looking around again to be sure no one was watching. �Dems took your Da�,� the old man said, looking around again. �The quarta� mastah did. They was makin� a big racket dems was. �Where is he? Where is the boy; the little street rat!� Dems was yellin� all night. Couldn�t hardly sleep from all the racket.� The man said with a look of loath. �Came an� asked me questions an� all that, but I wouldn�t tell em� a thing. Course dems tried to bribe me an� all, but I wouldn�t have none of it.� the balding old man said. �Where did they take �im?� Meirach asked. When the man didn�t say anything, he walked away, Frozen with shock. Fear began to shake Meirach as he realized that his father had saved him. He knew he had to hide, but there was still much daylight left. He went to look for his father. Walking through the back streets and alleyways, Meirach slowly made his way through the city. The hours droned as he searched for his father. Turning a corner into a crowded marketplace he almost bumped into a guard. Slipping away from the misshapen guard darting under the chimtny stall nearby. Moving quickly under the next only half hearing the angry cries of the guard. Already to the end of the line of stalls, he paused under the last one. Hunger tore at his stomach as he realized his lack of breakfast and now lunch was approaching rapidly. Driven by hunger he reached out from under the wooden stall and grabbed the first thing he laid his hands on. Bringing his hand back he was stopped by a fat hand grabbing his. �What have we here?� the man at the stall said with little humor.� well lad? What have you to say? Stealing from my store are you?� looking at him through large spectacles. By now the man had pulled Meirach from under the stall. Almost tearing his arm off in the process. Waiting for an answer from the boy, who stood, eyes lowered, rubbing his arm. �I�m sorry, Master, really I am.� Meirach said, �Its just, I�m so hungry. I haven�t eaten since last night, and my da�s been taken away.� The man put his hand over the boys mouth. Looking around he pulled a string and the stall was closed. He pulled Meirach into the small clay room behind the stall. Pushing him onto a broken old stool. �What do yah mean your da�s been taken away?� The man said in a harsh whisper. � Who took �im?� Meirach, still young, didn�t ven think twice about telling the man, he was after all an adult, and so he began his short tale, being careful to leave the embarrassment of the shop window out. By now the man had a trace of hope on his large oval face. And was looking through the cracks of the small boarded- up windows. He began to pace the small room, while Meirach sat and watched not sure what to do. He looked around the room, nothing of any importance, a few pots, fruit to replace the ones sold, a water jug, barrels of unknown content stood in the farther left hand corner next to the wooden door on the back wall, the curtain of a door at the front of the room leading to the fruit stall. A cough shook the boy from his thoughts, and he turned to the man and started to say something but was once again hushed. �Not here, boy.� the man said, with a slightly irritated look on his face. Meirach nodded his head; if this man had it in mind to hurt him he would�ve by then. The man grabbed Meirach�s hand, �Follow close, boy. I�ll not be slowed,� the man whispered through yellow teeth to the boy. They made their way out the door in the back of the room, down the alley turning every which way. Until finally they reached a set of stairs going down, the man followed the stairs until they came to a long, dark hallway, with many doors. Murmuring could be heard through the wooden doors, and an occasional shout, but none came into the hallway. They stopped at a wooden door not unlike the rest, but for what seemed to be a guard standing outside. He stepped forward as they approached, obviously waiting for a password unknown to Meirach. But the man must�ve known, for, after a brief pause and a whispered word, the man stepped aside and they went through. Meirach didn�t know what to make of the room he was in. nothing remarkable stood out to Meirach. A small table, laden with cheeses and fruits, sat in the middle with pillows surrounding it, in the typical sophisticated way of the Nobles of Dacot. Looking at the man, who now sat behind the table, he stepped towards the table. Coming to a halt when he saw a large beast in the corner behind the man. �Come, come. He won�t hurt yah,� the man said with a jovial look on his face. �Least not until I tell �im to.� The man laughed a hearty bellow of a laugh. �Now, lets get to business. What of your da?� The boy gave a shrug. �I don�t know. I was lookin� for �im when your hand snatched mine.� Meirach stood looking at the food with a longing look, hoping the man would notice. �Well boy, aint you gonna eat?!� the man said with a bemused look. �There�s plenty here for ya.� he said as he stuffed a large soft-roll into his mouth. Meirach started, still looking at the food. Wondering what to eat first. Then he noticed something about the man and the food. The man was only eating soft-rolls and soup. The boy, having grown suspicious, asked, �Why don�t you eat anything else?� the man gave him cursory glance, �You know, why don�t you eat the sweets or anything else� The man gave his bellow of a laugh. �Well my boy, don�t you know the sweets are for dessert, and as for the rest, cant you see I don�t have much teeth left?� With that the man gave a wide grin, which made his face look like a smiling Jack, from All Hallows Eve. Meirach took a look into the man�s gaping mouth. And sure enough the man was missing most of his molars on both side and the bottom, and a bicuspid on his lower right hand side. He nodded in acknowledgement and sat down. �Well boy, I don�t think I�ve met you �fore, what�s your name?� he looked at the boy as if he didn�t need an answer, having already plucked it from the boys own mind. �My name is Meirach. I just got it yesterday, at The Naming.� Meirach said, as he stuffed a spoon full of something he had never tasted into his watering mouth. His eyes wide with surprise, he began to shovel the food into his mouth like a person starved. The man just looked at him, a smile on his face. Meirach went for some of the xatha in a large jug on the end of the table and gulped it all within seconds. He paused, and the man took the opportunity to introduce himself. "The name Bross, short for Ambrose but no one calls me that, got it?" Bross gave Meirach a look that told of many beatings, if he were to forget. The boy barely looked up from the food to give a short nod. "An� from now on your name is Weivv. got it? They�ll be lookin' for a boy named Meirach. and we don�t want them to find one, now do we?" the boy stared at the man he knew to be Bross. He had loved his new name, Meirach, somehow it told of great wonders and danger to come. but Bross was right, they would be looking for him. and he definitely didn�t want them to find him. so he would be Weivv for now. "Weivv" gave a short nod of agreement to Bross. * The man behind the false wall stood listening. He was wearing the light robe and golden watch necklace unique to his order of Magic. Being a Magician of the Mazzel he strove for the completion of the legends of Dacot�s histories. He wanted to be sure it was him. It was vital to the resistance. This boy was the future. That was all he needed to know for sure. Was it Him? Had the legend finally come to pass? Now another man entered the invisible room, carrying a tray of small treats and a pitcher of xatha. The magician picked up a small kojeikel, a cake like pastry with a vanillea seed spread, between the thinly sliced slivers of sweet cake. Looking thoughtfully at the cake, he began to doubt the legend as he had many times in the past, but never with THE boy in the next room. �What do you think, Toavena�ar?� the man with the tray asked. �Is it him?� This man, unlike the others, had a sophisticated air about him. He didn�t use the street slang, and wore well made clothes however plain or ugly. And his well-maintained sword that hung on his belt told of a dignitary or knight in the least. �I don�t know yet, he doesn�t say much and even if he did, I don�t think HE would know.� Toavena�ar said, an annoyed look on his long face, �And would you call me Toa, please Gezant, You know how I hate that name.� Toa said in a loud raspy whisper. Not wanting to be heard on the other side. �Did you locate his father?� Gezant asked, knowing the likelihood of that task being completed. The dungeons of Dacot were extremely large, going on for miles under the city. �Of course not, you know that was an impossible quest!� Toa scowled. �I was searching for hours down there, nothing but drunks and petty thieves waiting to go home after the nights through.� It was late in the day by then. They had been waiting for hours for any clue the boy might give. Toa began making notes in a small red leather book. He wrote furiously trying to keep up with his mind. Something about this boy was different from the rest. There was no deception in his attitude. He was a totally trusting child of eight, with no harsh residues from life as a servant. Toa kept writing for another five minutes, giving a total description of the boy Meirach, his approximate height of 3�6�, his small build of maybe 75 lbs., his manner of dress, and all the rest. Seeing that his companion was finished with his scribbling, Gezant crossed the small room from the uncomfortably small chair he had been sitting in to look at what had been written. Has he decided? Is it Him? These thoughts rolled through his mind. Looking at the book he could see nothing that would indicate what was going through Tao�s mind or his decision about the boy. �Are you done reading over my shoulder?� Tao said from below him. �Would you also like to read my diary?� �Only if you have some details about that wife of yours.� He said with a playful seriousness. �You never did tell me about your honeymoon. You stayed at The Liefheid, right? That�s a pretty expensive place, isn�t it?� He knew he was getting to him, but didn�t want to stop when he was having so much fun. �How many spells did you have to cast to afford a room there?� �You know I can�t cast spells like that, you bumbling idiot.� Tao said, joining the friendly banter. �And besides, what of your own wife? Is she not good enough to satiate that hunger of yours? I heard some of the other men talking of how-� Another man walked into the room from the side door, he wore The Kings colors, and had the gait of a trained soldier but he looked as if there had been many years since his last day on the battle field fighting against the legions of Atrum Reine, the Dark Empress of Vuori. �What�ve you found?� the man asked. �We cant stay much longer, we�ve got a long ways ahead of us and t�nights almost through.?� �We haven�t found much, you old grump.� Tao said, looking fondly at the old man. �And besides, I�ve never known you to sleep through the night� �Well, I suppose I should be going.� Gezant said. �the court assembles early next morn� and I�ve to attend� He bid goodnight to his fellow conspirators and left the room, mumbling about how hard it was to be a courts-man. After he had left, Tao looked at the man, �Well, what have you found today, Mes? Any new knowledge of this boy?� Looking with great anticipation at the man. �Well, we know his fathers in prison, you know the reason, his mother died when he was two. We cant find much about her, no siblings, no other children, she was an orphan, for crying out loud!� shouting at the end from frustration. �So even if He�s not THE one we have no one to give him to?� looking troubled at the thought. �well, even if he IS THE one, he still has no one to go to.� Thinking about this, Mes also thought of Bross, couldn�t he take the boy? After all he had caught him trying to steal, right? He could train him as a thief for the Thieves Federation. It was the perfect plan! �What if we put him in the Thieves federation?� Mes asked. �Of course! Why didn�t I think of it?� Tao said, almost yelling. �and even if he is THE one, he will learn many important talents. Yes, that is the path we must take.� using one of his many borrowed soldiers terms. *
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