Haydon, Elizabeth - Rhapsody 1 by Haydon Elizabeth

Author:Haydon, Elizabeth
Language: eng
Format: epub

Stephen walked to the stairs; his natural exuberance coupled with his interest in the topic made him seem as if he were running. "Come, and I'll show you." cAt the top of the small stairway was a sizable statue of a great copper dragon rendered in jewels and giltwork, tarnished from neglect. Rhapsody eased by it carefully; the dragon seemed very lifelike, with cruel-looking claws and fangs, and rippling muscles.

The expression in its eyes was fierce, and it was coiled to strike.

'This is the mighty wyrm Elynsynos, who held all these lands before the Cymrians came," Stephen said as he passed the statue. "She was apparently quite ferocious, and had successfully kept the humans from her lands from the beginning of Time, until Merithyn the Explorer came."

He led them to the back wall, where a series of portraits hung in pairs or triads, one on the end having been painted a long time before the others. An oil rendering of himself, somewhat younger, was displayed below one of them, another painting which depicted a sharp-faced man in a miter, wearing an amulet around his neck.

Rhapsody and the Firbolg examined the pictures. Each of the men in the upper row was wearing a similar headpiece with robes that resembled those of the first man. She turned to Lord Stephen.

'Who are these?"

'The men in the top row are the Patriarch—he's the one on the end, alone—and the five benisons who serve him. At least that's what he looked like as a young man; he's quite aged now, I understand.

'In the bottom row, roughly corresponding, are the various dukes who rule the lands in which the benisons have their Sees. Except for him." He pointed to an auburn-haired man somewhat older than himself, with the same blue eyes. "That's Tristan Steward, who is not only the Lord Regent of Roland, but also the Prince of Bethany, which is the capital seat.

'Although each of our states is technically sovereign, he controls the central army and the largest area of land, and makes laws the rest of us abide by. There isn't usually a problem; most of us are related.

Tristan and I are cousins."

Rhapsody nodded. "Why are the royalty displayed below the clergy?"

-

Lord Stephen laughed. "An astute question. Well, it's a traditional conflict, you know, the struggle between the church and the state. Ultimately, it puts the poor citizen in the middle, having to choose loyalty to the All-God or to his sovereign. Of course, only Cymrian royalty would have the temerity to think there should be a choice."

Rhapsody laughed. There was an irreverent twinkle in Lord Stephen's eye that was reinforced by the amusement in his voice.

'This, of course, is not true in my case, as the benison of this province is also the Blesser of Avonderre. His See is arguably the most powerful, certainly within Roland, but potentially on the continent as well.

'His only rival, and it is an active rivalry, is the Blesser of Sorbold, as he is the head of the Church for

an entire country, not just a pair of provincial states like Avonderre-Navarne.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.