Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:33:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Corrinne S <quasito_cat@yahoo.com>
Subject: Dark Wishes Instalment 27: Part 4 Chapter 22

Note:  This is a gay themed novel about kings and
magic, love and war.  Although I will often allude to
sexual encounters, there are no scenes of sexual acts
for this is, by and large, a love story.  This author
claims exclusive copyright to the characters,
settings, and plot.

Dark Wishes

M.C. Gordon

Part Four: Devlin

Chapter Twenty Two

     Frieden looked around the courtyard of Aolane
from his position on the castle steps.  The procession
would soon begin.  He still found it difficult to
believe that Toran, his grandson, would soon be
crowned King of Elanen and a tear ran down his face
for he wished Katya had lived to see this day.

     The kings from the other nine kingdoms were
riding in the procession, each accompanied by a
warrior who would bear the King's pennant.  Other
kingdoms were also represented, those which had been
formed after Trelaine was summoned by Menfred
centuries earlier.

     The oldest of the riders was Dari, now
white-haired and uncomfortable on a horse.  He had no
kingdom, for Pompeni was now only a memory, but he was
still a king and the animal wildlife refuge had
flourished under his watchful guardianship.

     Frieden felt a hand on his left shoulder and
placed his right hand on it.  Here was comfort and
understanding for how deeply he missed his wife just
now.  Non, his lifelong friend, stood to his left.  To
his right was his son, Beltrae.

      Devlin stood on the highest step, a written
proclamation in his hand.  The years had been kind to
Devlin and he did not show his age of nearly seventy
years.

     The residents of Aolane and visitors from all
parts of Elanen let go a mighty shout as the
procession approached the castle.  Colorful bits of
cloth were waved and flower petals tossed into the air
as the people rejoiced.

     The kings dismounted first and each took his
assigned place on the castle steps.  The Captain of
the Guard, Shanklen's and Pistach's son Wendel, took
the reins from Toran and held the mighty war-horse
still as Toran dismounted.

     Dressed in black breeches, a dark green tunic,
and russet cloak, Toran slowly made his way to the top
of the steps at the precise instant Trelaine appeared.

     The High King had not changed in appearance from
the day Menfred had summoned him.  Tall and regal, his
hair was still blacker than night.  He nodded and
Devlin stepped forward.

     "Be it known to all," he read, "that this day in
Elanen a new King is crowned.  His paternal lineage
runs through Enworthy, back to the mother and father
of the High King's lover Karandal, brought to Elanen
in his grandfather, Frieden.  It runs through Elanen,
from the bloodlines of Nels and Frayne in the person
of his grandmother, Katya.  His maternal lineage runs
through Endril, for his mother was Princess Pela of
Endril, distant descendent of King Llewelyn .  The
bloodline has been certified by nine of the ten kings,
the High King having abstained."

     Devlin stepped back and Trelaine lifted a crown
of delicate gold filigree above his head.  A gentle
sound ran through those who could see a ray of sun
touch the crown.

     "Toran, son of Beltrae, son of Frieden, son of
Jodel, I crown you King of Elanen," Trelaine said as
he placed the crown on Toran's head and stepped to
Devlin's side.

     The handsome twenty-five year old man turned to
face his new subjects, still unable to believe that he
had been named heir to the vast kingdom of Elanen.


 . . .


     "But why?" Toran asked when Trelaine had summoned
him two years earlier and told him he would one day be
Elanen's king.

     "Because you have the intelligence and conviction
to make a good king," Trelaine said.  "I have been a
king, all told, nearly eight hundred years through two
existences.  I am weary of leadership.  I will remain
in Elanen to offer you guidance should you need it,
but I think you will not."

     The next two years were spent in earnest council
with the other kings setting into place laws and
contingencies that would no longer be handled by a
High King.  Courts of Arbitration were set up to deal
with possible future conflicts between the kingdoms.
Laws of Trade and Borders were written, discussed, and
rewritten.  Rules of inheritance, weights and
measures, monetary denomination were standardized.
Aolane would remain the center of learning but
archives in other kingdoms would be expanded to ease
the burden on Elanen.

     "I will choose to leave you all one day,"
Trelaine announced during the final council meeting.
"The last time the Qell left, the kingdoms were at war
and my brothers died.  They are with me now and this
is a thing we have all agreed upon.  There will be no
revenge sought when we leave this world again.  The
kingdoms will continue to know peace and prosperity.
There will be no reason for us to return unless we are
called upon."

 . . .

     Toran had been King for five years and had proven
himself worthy of Trelaine's trust and crown.  Elanen
continued to prosper; the kingdoms were all at peace.


     Trelaine sat alone in the castle garden for there
was now a sixth grave.  He leaned forward and openly
cried into his hands.  He had lived so very long, and
lost too many he had loved.  He knew he could not
truly die, for magic never does, but he no longer
desired to live.

     The graves were set to form a circle and Trelaine
rose from his seat and walked into the circle.
Summoning a magic that was best left untouched, he
sought first the white flame.  When it appeared, he
bade it increase in intensity until his living flesh
could no longer survive.  The fire burned itself out
and the smoke that remained sank slowly into the
center of the circle, reaching out to touch each of
the six graves.

     Some said the High King had left to heal his
heart elsewhere after Devlin died.  It was a thing he
had done before.  Others believed that the magic of
the Qell had simply exhausted itself.  But the forest
grandmothers knew that the Qell lay just below the
surface of the earth ^Ö watching, waiting.

. . .

And so, gentle readers, this tale comes to an end.
Your comments and support have been invaluable as I
labored to create this world of fantasy where good
triumphs over evil by absorbing it and it doesn't
matter to anyone if you love someone of the same
gender.  For love is love, and will not allow itself
to be denied.

Will the Qell ever return?  I guess that depends on
how well this work is received.  I'm trying to find a
publisher who will take it on in the real world of
printed books.  That doesn't mean that I won't do a
sequel here if Nifty readers want one.  This has taken
almost three years to write so a sequel might not show
up right away.

Bless you all for your wonderful encouragement.

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