Chapter 195. Golden King (1)
“If the one who usurped Grimslawn’s body neither kills me nor seizes the sect, but simply drifts away, then what of my prestige rooted in this land? That is why I will bind you beneath my authority, no matter what. Be at ease, I demand nothing of you, nothing at all. All you must do is uphold my authority. You want that too, don’t you? In this situation, you need controlled power rather than chaos.”
The Sky Lord of the Blue Sky Order had grasped precisely what Azadin desired. To seize his sect realistically would require great effort, and Azadin did not even want that.
What Azadin wanted was to exert influence over Bruma in order to prevent the civil war of the Herald Clan from spilling into foreign conflict, and in exchange for granting that, the Sky Lord asked him to acknowledge his authority within the sect.
“But, must it be adoption?”
“Grimslawn has grown disappointed with me and will no longer bestow miracles. But if you become my adopted son, then the miracles you have experienced will also become mine.”
“How meticulous.”
Azadin frowned at the Sky Lord.
The Sky Lord’s appearance was that of a young boy. Surely, if one measured age, he was older than Azadin. Was he born this way? Or did Grimslawn’s revelation grant him this appearance?
Whatever the case, his proposal did not match his looks. It was not the frivolous speech of a child, but the damp shadow of a seasoned power-holder. In that proposal lay something unpleasant, yet an inescapable gain.
“Personally, I dislike it, but from a broader perspective, it must be done. Otherwise, coming this far would be pointless.”
“Good, I like one who understands quickly. Truly, I’d like to make you my son.”
“Then should I call you Sky Lord, or Father?”
“As long as you uphold my dignity in public, there is no need for such titles in private. Yet outwardly, I want you to show me boundless respect.”
“Fine, understood. Then, what is your name?”
“I am Kazas.”
“Kazas, you say?”
“Why are you surprised?”
“No, it’s just that someone I know bore that name. Why choose such a name?”
“It was the name of a very famous elven mage in this region long ago. There was a superstition that only by using such a strong name could a child survive even if he fell ill.”
In the voice of the cult leader lay a faint contempt for superstition.
Azadin thought that look comical.
But on reflection, it was not comical, but fearful. A man who willingly chooses superstition and barbarity as a means of greed, even while despising it, is dangerous.
Though Azadin had subdued him by force and extracted agreement, the man’s deep, far-reaching designs were to be wary of.
“Welcome to the family, Herald Clan.”
“Second Herald, Azadin.”
“Yes, Azadin.”
The Sky Lord said so and stood, and now the bleeding from his ear had ceased.
The spear shaft Azadin had fired had nearly split his ear in two, and the bleeding wound had hardened like tree sap, completely healed.
Though he said Grimslawn had been disappointed in him, it seemed Grimslawn’s power still lingered in him.
***
The Sky Lord of the Blue Sky Order, Kazas, officially recognized Azadin as one who had received revelation, and proclaimed him his adopted son.
Ordinarily it would be cause for festival and joy, but the situation was so urgent that instead of a festival, they housed the residents who had been driven out of the outer settlement.
Moreover, when they opened the sect’s granary for them, both the expelled residents and the Bruma underclass in similar straits praised the virtue of the Blue Sky Order.
And thanks to the Order’s help, Shati and Scott too passed without any checks.
The blood mages who identified disguised persons at the checkpoint were themselves members of the Blue Sky Order, so with their collusion, Scott and Shati could pass unharmed.
“No matter the necessity, to so easily become another’s adopted son...”
Shati was astonished at Azadin’s choice.
“It’s formality, formality. No need to stir trouble in this time of chaos. Besides, that Sky Lord of the Blue Sky Order was a most reasonable partner.”
Azadin turned his gaze from Shati, watching the Bruma army prepare the city defenses. It was difficult to face her when she deliberately prodded the parts he himself felt ashamed of.
“This, this is truly good fortune. Once, I thought the Sky Lord regarded you as some rival and might eliminate you. But if you received revelation, why did you not tell me?”
Jiswa, in her innocence, seemed to believe that Azadin had truly conveyed a new revelation to the Sky Lord, and that thus all had ended well.
In truth, it had been a tug-of-war of power and authority, but Azadin kept silent, for Jiswa’s faith was too deep and upright to hear the details.
“Jiswa.”
“Yes?”
“Help the Blue Sky Order reinforce the city’s barrier. And I, with the Sky Lord’s introduction, will seek an audience with the King.”
“An audience with the King, you say?”
“Wow, Captain, impressive. Everything is moving swiftly. To think I’d see you meet Manza-Zadek.”
“Well, the King has business too, so that’s why. Why are you, an orc necromancer, so bothered?”
“Huh? Don’t tell me you don’t know of the Golden King, Manza-Zadek?”
“Is it not Manza-Zadek, the Golden King?”
“Manza-Zadek repelled those who coveted Bruma’s wealth, and especially in his youth he slew many ogres. We orcs, with our natural keen intellect, used to lend wisdom to ogres and nagas alike, receiving vast payments, but we often tasted bitter defeat at Manza-Zadek’s army. My parents too were slain by Manza-Zadek’s elephant legion.”
That meant that from Scott’s perspective, Manza-Zadek was his parents’ slayer. Yet Scott seemed to admire and respect Manza-Zadek.
“Such is a strong and great king. Just like this city gleaming with gold. I want to meet him too.”
“In the audience hall, I alone will go, with the Blue Sky Order.”
“Regrettable, I wished to behold the radiance of the Golden King.”
“I will see it and tell you after.”
Azadin felt a complicated stir of emotions as he looked at Scott, who seemed to genuinely revere Manza-Zadek.
At that moment, a messenger of the Blue Sky Order came to find Azadin.
“Second Herald, an audience has been arranged, you are to prepare for entry into the palace. We shall assist you. Please, come.”
It seemed the preparations to meet Manza-Zadek were complete.
***
Azadin changed into Bruma garments prepared by the Blue Sky Order and met the Sky Lord before the audience chamber.
“Be mindful of your words, Azadin. His Majesty the King is the Golden King, wise, and also fearsome.”
The Sky Lord explained what precautions to take in meeting Manza-Zadek. Yet all of them were simpler than those when meeting the Sky Lord himself. The only delay was waiting for Manza-Zadek to have a free moment amidst his duties.
The waiting grew dull, so Azadin asked the Sky Lord a question.
“Ah, since we are now father and son, I wanted to ask, why conduct that ceremonial rite? It seems greater than a king’s.”
“Why do you think?”
“Hmm… perhaps because you needed to establish hierarchy?”
“Remarkable.”
The Sky Lord Kazas marveled at Azadin’s immediate reply.
“That is correct. Once, I was a merchant traveling between Bruma and Korasar. After becoming one of Grimslawn’s Followers… I realized this power, could not be contained within one body, and I needed to divide it, to lessen the burden. To manage an organization alone is impossible. Thus, I sought understanding from my fellow merchants, and they became my first masters. They were all capable and clever men. Otherwise, they could not have been merchants of Bruma.”
The Sky Lord Kazas praised them.
“Yet, since they knew my past and my motives better than anyone, it became my weakness. In time, they began to treat me carelessly and threatened my authority.”
“So you created this pomp?”
“Made out of necessity, so it is no empty pomp. Call it a practical ritual.”
“And those first masters, did they then submit to the ritual and serve you?”
“No, they opposed it, defied it openly, and were purged.”
Azadin had faintly expected this. A cult leader would never spare those who ignored his authority and acted merely as business partners.
Such pomp would have been an excellent pretext to purge them, and thus the cult became entirely his.
“But surprising, that you could in one stroke deduce both the purpose of the ritual and the environment I faced, truly clever. Possessing such immense power, and yet your mind turns so swiftly? Are all Herald Clan like this, or are you simply exceptional among them?”
“Well, to explain that would take some time.”
Azadin thought it might be dangerous to speak too deeply to the Sky Lord about himself or the Herald Clan.
Just then, a royal servant entered and announced that the audience was ready.
***
The royal palace of Manza-Zadek, like the buildings of the Sky Lord of the Blue Sky Order, was built in Bruma style.
Columns stood, and vast cloths replaced walls, hung in complex layers, so that by rearranging them, one could control the flow of wind through the structure.
Between those columns, something else served as wall. It was a great oil painting, the length of a horse’s body. Within the vast canvas was depicted a majestic black-skinned man, holding a golden royal staff, standing in triumph upon the corpse of an ogre general.
That was the Golden King, who repelled ogres from the northern front of Bruma, and guarded Bruma’s wealth.
But… in the middle of the audience chamber sat a man so fattened it was hard to believe he was human, perched upon a quartz throne. His body, as huge as an elephant, was so bloated it seemed as though it might burst, with flesh crammed into skin about to split.
And yet, his facial features still resembled the portrait enough that one could recognize him as Manza-Zadek.
‘Did the painter have a blade pressed to his throat while he painted? Or was he once like that in his youth, and only later became like this? But how could a man become such? And why so large? Is he a giant?’
Azadin looked at the great royal staff beside Manza-Zadek’s throne. It was the golden staff from the portrait.
Its length was twice a man’s height. Compared with the portrait, it showed that Manza-Zadek had from the beginning been born with a frame greater than that of ordinary men.
But that this should be the Golden King, the very figure whom even the proud Scott admired…
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