Chương 9: Chapter-9

I could smell them as I walked through the city. The living. The scents of skin, of their food and breath and the other stink they produced. Not that I found it unpleasant. Living or dead, the scents the body give off do not bother me. I walked past the sleeping houses to the sound of activity. The lamplight outside the tavern lit the sign, which showed a ram and the runes for drink. It was loud and uproarious inside, with laughter and music. I walked past the entrance to the strongest forms of life I could smell.

The door opened, and the horses turned their heads in their stalls to consider me for a moment. Then they went back to whatever they had been doing. Chewing their oats. Drinking. Waiting for their riders to come back. It was all the same to them. I walked up to a chestnut mare and pressed my hand to the white crest on her forehead. She nickered at me, unperturbed by my cold touch or the lack of the scents of life upon my skin. It sniffed, looking for an apple or treat in my other hand.

When it found none, it leaned into the scratches. Then she shat in her stall. Undisturbed, I continued to scratch her gently until they found me there. The stable boy came to fetch one of the other horses, and when I turned to look at him, he pissed himself and ran out, screaming about the undead. I sensed them gathering around the stable, twenty, thirty, one hundred of them. The glassless windows flickered with torchlight as some argued about setting the stables alight.

Those with horses inside were furiously defending their animals. The standoff continued until the priests arrived. The head priest stormed into the stable, command staff in hand.

"Tal," he exclaimed.

"It is you. Thank Vorulsht. Today has been a strange day, and having a second Inalten appear out of nowhere is beyond my expectations. But why did you leave the temple?" I said nothing, continuing to scratch the mare's head.

"Wait here," he commanded, lifting the staff. I felt the magick of it's compulsion try, and fail, to influence me. But I had no intention of disobeying anyway. The priest went out and dispersed the crowd, assuring them that the matter was under church control. When he returned, fifteen minutes later, he rushed over. The mare sniffed him, looking for apples I think, and then turned her head back to my scratches.

"You like horses," he said. Was that a question?

"She does not fear me," I said. It was the longest sentence I had ever said. Speaking was getting easier, the more that I did it. I do not know if that was because of my age, or the long isolation. Not that I felt any need to fill the silence. But as I got to know this priest, I knew that he would not leave me until he understood what he was witnessing. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I felt my explanation satisfactory, but he pressed on "Why did you leave the temple, Tal?" I considered his question for long moments. He clearly did not expect an answer, and as I was still coming up the words he interrupted my response with another question: "Who ordered you to leave the temple, Tal?" I considered.

"You did."

"I ordered you to remain in the rectory for the night," he said." You should be among the living, Tal," I said, repeating his words verbatim. He blinked in surprise.

"Oh." He sat on the bench nearby and regarded me. He rubbed his command staff nervously and looked at the floor, then at me, then at the staff. I just continued scratching the mare.

"I will see if I can arrange for you to care for horses," he said at last.

"But I must warn you, Tal, that there are many who fear your existence. They would burn you, or seek to cut you into pieces too small for you to regenerate, or any number of the other ways that are known to bring an end to your existence. The church sees you as the child of Vorulsht and would protect you. Others see you as a monster, created to bring destruction and ruin. Do you understand?" I considered.

"Yes," I said. And I did. Because I was both of those things.

"If you kill anyone, Tal, then you will be destroyed. The church can only protect you from the crimes of the Zezheimians. Whatever—whatever you remember about your final orders? Whatever drove you north with that crown, before you stopped moving in the depths of that cavern, you must forget it. Prince Rials was a madman among madmen. If he had any plans to resurrect his cause, or if he—""Does the princess still live?" I asked, interrupting him. He blinked in surprise.

"Which princess?"

"The younger sister of Prince Rials."

"To my knowledge, yes, she does," he answered.

"My final orders from Prince Rials were to return the crown to her," I said, recalling the moment vividly. I could still smell the stink of battle, of my prince's blood, of the rot of the undead all around me. The priest was silent, waiting to see if I would say more. When I did not for several moments, he said gently "That will not be happening, Tal. The crown is in the keeping of the Duchess. It will remain there for generations, a sacred artifact and dangerous weapon both.

If the time comes when it must be used to defend the Duchy of Pasheni, then it will be used to defend the Duchy of Pasheni, and not the Empire of Zozheim. Do you understand?" I scratched the mares head until she turned away, having had enough of my scratches for now. I walked over to the next horse to see if he would be interested in some affection, but the gelding did not stir from his slumber.

"Why do the living sleep?" I asked. I had always wondered why they would go still and leave themselves vulnerable when they seemed to value their lives so highly.

"I do not know, Tal. Because the gods made us to need sleep, and so we do," he said. Was that not a contradiction? If he did not know, then how did he know that it was the god's will? When I did not speak further for some time, the priest stood.

"Come with me back to the temple, Tal. In the morning I shall see who in the city needs a stable-hand." I looked around the stable for a moment, then, realizing that there was nothing here for me now that the mare had decided she no longer wanted my affection, I followed him out of the room. He still hadn't noticed that I was completely ignoring the waves of compulsion of the staff. For that matter, I recalled the sensation of being in the presence of the girl when she had been a Crowned One.

I had not felt the same overwhelming need to follow her will as I had in the presence of Prince Rials. Was that because of some difference between the two? Because the girl was a commoner and not royalty? Or had I simply grown beyond the influence of these trinkets? Could anything command me any longer? I resolved to continue my subtle disobediences until I had my answer.