For Lord and Land

For Lord and Land
By: Delilah deSora
Chapter 3

**

. . . my will . . .

**

Dante lounged in his saddle, wondering if it was a sin to be happy with having so far failed his Emperor. It had been nearly two months since they had left the dusty halls of the fortress and little over a month weaving their way through the wilds of their homeland. It was hot, wet, and slow going through the lush vegetation that had often spilled over onto the road, blocking their way.

He was in heaven.

Cian, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly more agitated with every dead end they reached. They had managed to dig up six more extended families of Llyrs but none of them had been what they were looking for. Truth be told, Dante mused as he followed his brother’s lead, he wasn’t entirely sure what they were looking for. Cian seemed to know.

Lord Dorjan had called his brother back to office right before they left. Cian had not offered to explain what the meeting had been about but afterwards he no longer lamented about the lack of information. Dante shrugged it off. He didn’t particularly care. One of the lessons of the Knights was that you did your job with what they gave you. If they wanted him traipsing around the jungle doing little more than helping record what they had found and protecting his brother’s back, that’s just what he’d do.

“This is ridiculous!” Cian growled, hacking away at a vine that had tangled in one of his packs. re gre getting no where.”

Dante pulled his mount to a stop, waiting patiently as his brother vented his frustration on the offending foliage. “We’re down to the last family unit the Llyrs in Fyae provided. Maybe they house the one we’re looking for.”

Cian snorted. “I hope so.”

“Besides,” Dante said, spurring his horse forwards again, “it gives us an excuse to eat good food and sleep in soft beds for a few nights!”

“I don’t understand how Lord Errol could miss an entire family right in the middle of Wyrllyr. You’d think that would be the first place they’d look.”

Dante shrugged and pulled out the list of families. “They did look in Wyrllyr. They just somehow missed them. It is a pretty big city after all.”

Ten hours later the city lay sprawled out beneath them and Dante felt his spirits rise even higher as he peered past it to the span of blue water that glittered in the setting light. The salt of thean ean water teased his nose and left a familiar tang on his tongue. Laughing gaily he urged his horse into a gallop and flew past his brother. He heard Cian yell out behind him before giving in and chasing him.

They rode through the gate like children, shouting playful insults to each other and garnering strange looks from the guards who watched the two knights barrel past them. Dante slowed his mount and smiled happily. Buildings spread out across the ground, rarely sporting two levels for fear of the occasional storm that would blow up from the sea. Unlike the oppressive reds of the iron bearing volcanics up north he found himself surrounded by the white and tans of Aquilae sandstone.

Massive shells hung over doorways as well as the occasional fossil perfectly preserved in the rock. Palms and great-fanned ferns whispered in the breeze. Brightly garbed people moved through the streets, their slow speech and tanned skin bringing back memories that had gone dormant during his time up north.

Dante sighed in pleasure, glancing back at his brother. Cian was oblivious to his surroundings as he scowled at the map and list of places they had visited. It made him frown as he studied his brother, realizing just how out of place he looked among his own people. Cian sat stiffed back and sharp featured, like the Ardae. His red and black uniform looked harsh against the pastel city of their birth. Dante glanced down at his own uniform, studying the black dragon that had been emblazoned on it and shuddered.

His first thought when they came upon their father’s home was to tear off the offending garment but his father would have none of it. He beamed at them proudly, enveloping his youngest son in a great hug that made Dante blush. His mother’s greeting was a bit more reserved but just as heartwarming.

He wrapped his mother’s arm about his elbow, escorting her into the family sitting room. She had always been the victim of frail health and he studied her carefully as they walked. Her hair was longer than he remembered it being, falling down her back in a shimmering spill that was almost more blue than black. Her eyes were clear and though her skin was pale it was not the pale of illness. It set his heart at ease and he couldn’t resist placing a kiss on her cheek as he sat her in her favorite seat.

Cian was father’s son while Dante was his mother’s. He spoke with her quietly while Cian was grilled by their father about the goings on of the north. After an hour or so they begged release to be given the chance to clean for dinner. Their father chased them out, asking if there were any they wished to be invited for the impromptu reunion.

Dante walked through the wide halls of his home, smiling to himself. He paused to admire the new fish that swam past him. A gaily-colored puffing fish swam up to him and flared. He laughed and tapped the glass, sending the fish fleeing. Hands wrapped about his waist and he stiffened, his instincts taking control.

“Welcome home.”

He relaxed as a familiar voice caressed his ear and a chin rested on his shoulder. “Thank you, Sibley. I missed you too.”

The arms around his waist tightened before the taller man released him and stepped back. He turned and eyed the man from his waist length black hair to his sand encrusted boots. He an eyebrow reaised as he took in the hastily button tunic. “Did I interrupt something?”

Sibley’s blue eyes widened and he batted black lashes at him innocently. “Of course. You couldn’t expect me to wait for you forever.”

Dante laughed, reaching out to gather his former lover to him in a tight hug. “Good. You deserve better than to pine away for some lout who leaves you behind to go riding off to danger.”

Sibley pulled away, locking their arms together in a friendly embrace and trailing him to his room. “Oh I don’t know, maybe I fall for that type. You know I could get the university to transfer me up to Fiorn, then we’d only be a half a day’s ride apart.”

Dante snorted. “Don’t. You’d hate Ardae.”

“I know. It wouldn’t do me any good anyway.” Sibley pouted.

“Ah yes, I forgot about your vision. What was it again? I would cheat on you as soon as I was surrounded by muscled sweaty warriors?”

The taller man growled and punched him in the arm. “Please, we all know it would be the refined scholars that would have to fear you, you barbarian. And no, it wasn’t that you would cheat on me. It was just that you would find the person you belonged with up there in the fire lands.”

“So you so graciously set me aside for fate, how civilized.” He teased. Sibley had always been given to visions, which, Dante was forced to admit to himself, turned out to be right more often than wrong. It didn\'t mean that he had to believe the prophecy, though. All he cared about was that it helped his oldest friend get through the break down of their relationship.


Sibley shrugged. “I want you to be happy, Dante. If I am not the person to do that than I will gladly move aside to make room for one who will.”


Dante stopped, pulling his childhood friend against him. “You made me happy, ‘ley. You always did.”

Sibley pulled away from him with a smile. “Good, so what souvenir did you bring me?” He asked, making a show of going through his pockets

Dante laughed, shoving his friend into his room. “Aren’t you too old for trinkets?”

Sibley shook his head. “Of course not! Now appease me or I\'ll go cry on my lover\'s oh-so-broad shoulders and tell him you were mean to me!”

**

Dante reveled in the feel of the bath as he swam the length of the pool. He could swear that the even the water of his home was happier and more fulfilling then its Ardae counterpart. He dove under, gliding along the rough bottom of the pool for a few laps. Breaking the surface he eyed the position of the stars and decided he had spent enough time playing around.

He dragged himself from the bath and dressed, aware of the new clothes that had invaded his wardrobe. Dinner was a public affair with the entire household showing up to greet their young masters home and it was late in the night before Dante managed to slip away. He stood on the back porch; leaning against the rail and letting the wet breeze blow across his face, content to let his homeland wash over him.

A soootsootstep and a gentle hand on his arm was all the indication that he received of the arrival of another person. He smiled and turned to glance up at his mother. “I missed you.” He murmured, moving aside to allow her some room beside him.

“No more than I have missed you, Dante. How have you faired?”

He shrugged. “Well enough. My heart has ached for the land of my birth, though.”

His mother nodded. “It is rare to see Knights down here. Your brother said you were on a mission.”

“Yes. The emperor sent us to find someone.”

A frown marred her pale face. “A Llyr?”

Dante nodded, figuring that his brother had told her while they waited for him to finish his bath. “Yes. We’ve been looking all over for lost Llyrs.”

“Have you found the one you are looking for then?”

He shook his head. “No. We got some information on a branch of the family here in the city that wasn’t on the list. We hope he is here, time is running short.”

His mother made a neutral sound and he sighed. “They said that this Llyr was comfortable in the water,” he chuckled softly, “It’s a pity that I’m not a Llyr or else I could be who they wanted and I would be able to meet the Emperor.”

He blinked as his mother stiffened, turning to stare at him with wide blue eyes. “You haven’t told anyone, have you?” She hissed, glancing back at the open doors.

Dante shook his head. “No. I remember my promise.”

His mother sighed in relief, seeming to sink back in on herself. “It is not a thing to take lightly,” she whispered, “If they were to know . . . you would lose everything, Dante. Everything you’ve worked for, everything you’ve gained.”

“I don’t see why. It’s not like I’m dangerous!” He protested bitterly. “I can breath under water, big deal. If we’re searching for someone else with that talent it must not be all that rare either.”

His mother stared at him, her eyes soft and sad. “They wouldn’t understand. They are creatures of fire and anger. None of their kind has such powers and water is foreign to them. They fear what is not natural to them, Dante. They fear Aquilae, even though they own it. Their Emperor would have us all killed if he could.”

Dante hissed. “Do not say such things, mother! He is your Emperor too. We are all one people!”

His mother shook her head. “How can you say that? Did you not just tell me that you longer for the place of your birth? You have seen their land and been with their people. They are not the same as us. They are our jailors! They use our land and take our money. They pollute our water and burn our forests! Theirs is to use and destroy without a second thought. I hope you do not find this Llyr, Dante, because if you do he will be forced to give up everything. He will have to make the ultimate sacrifice for a lord that is not his lord, for a land that is not his.”

He stared open mouthed as his mother whirled on her heel and walked away from him, never glancing back. Her words echoed in his mind the next day he he and Cian scoured the city looking for their lost Llyrs. They colored his vision as he stared at the men his brother interviewed and everywhere he looked he saw fear and hate.

Suddenly his home seemed less like a home and more like a hostile territory.

**

That night he sat with his father, watching the red haired man sift through reports. Cian was off with his peers and his mother had avoided him after her outburst. He sighed, garnering his father’s attention.

“Bored already? It makes me miss the energy of my youth.” He teased, his brown eyes sparkling.

Dante shook his head. “It is not boredom that troubles me, it’s . . . something else.”

His father set aside the papers. “Cian says you are doing well and that this is your final task before being fully accepted into the knighthood. If you fear that your failure will count against you I wouldn’t. Your success is not based on the favorable completion of the task but rather on how you performed.”

“I know. It is not our failure that weighs on me. Returning home has given me much to think about. It is as though my eyes have been opened. In school and in Ardae we are taught that Aquilae and Ardae are one land yet in returning I see how completely wrong that is! I had always thought the Knighthood respected here but all I have seen are dark looks. The colors of our ruling country are hated here! How can you stand it, father? How can you stand being so far from your birth land, for I will not lie, I long for this land when I am in yours, even though I have been told they are the same.”

His father nodded. “I understand what you are saying, Dante. It was difficult at first but I kept telling myself that in a few short years I would be able to go home. You know this story but let me tell you it a new way. I was originally sent to take charge of the guard of Wyrllyr for the four years until I was eligible for promotion. My plan had been to do my job, get my promotion and return to my home. I won’t lie, Dante, I hated it here. Water frightened me because I did not know how to swim. I hated the smell of fish. I hated the sand that managed to creep into every crevice. I hated the bright sun that could roast a man in his armor while the constant wind kept you to cool to notice.

“But then I learned to swim, my skin darkened so I no longer burnt, I learned the taste of fish, and I learned to love the people I was in charge of protecting. And then I met your mother.”

“And you took the permanent position as lord of the guard.” Dante finished.

His father laughed. “Yes. My family back home thought I was crazy. They begged me to come back. They didn’t understand how I could stay in such a heathen land. I tried to explain but I failed because they wouldn’t give Aquilae a chance. You’re right, on the surface these lands are very different but if you look deeper you’ll realize that they are the same. They’re filled with people who want to live their lives as they chose.”

Dante nodded, thinking over wor words. “Lately I’ve been questioning my choice,” he admitted, “I’ve always wanted to follow in yours and Cian’s footsteps, I still do, but . . . I worry. My people look at me in this uniform and its like they are seeing someone else. Even mother . . .” He snapped his mouth shut.

His father frowned. “What about your mother?”

Dante stared at his feet. “She said some things last night. Things about the Ardae and the Emperor. I don’t understand how she could say them. You’re Ardae. You are not like what she said, so how could she say that?”

His father sighed. “She just fears for her people, Dante. I never told you this and I ask that you keep it a secret but I first met her because her family was being harassed by some of my soldiers. Her family came to me asking for help. They had been harassed for years, Dante. No captain before me would help them. Is it any wonder that she is fearful of Ardae soldiers?

\"She also fears for you and your brother. The Emperor has tightened his hold on Aquilae because he fears that the voice of separation is growing too strong but by tightening his hold he appears to prove the words of the dissenters. If it continues there may be attempts on the Emperor’s life and she is plagued by fears of her sons being killed by her people.”

“I understand that fear, father, but I think it is something else. She seemed angry that we were here looking for members of the Llyr famil

His father shrugged. “It is possible. It never bodes well for the Llyrs when Ardae soldiers come looking for them. She should be comforted by the knowledge that you did not find the one you were looking for.”

Dante’s answer was cut off by a wave of his father’s hand.

“It is getting late. Cian said you were both riding off in the early morning so you best head to bed. It will be a long ride back.”

He stood, nodding his agreement. At the door his father spoke again, giving him a moment’s pause.

“Be sure to say goodbye to your mother. I know her words probably offended you but she is only worried about her son. Remember that.”

Dante nodded his understanding.