Sword of Kings 3: Tempered by Fate - 27. Epilogue – A Glimpse Into the Future

After many weeks of preparation, the final arrangements for the coronation ceremony had been completed and it was time for Kieren to be crowned king. Now, the only thing that still needed to be taken care of was handling the logistical nightmare of getting everyone who should be there to the castle. Since Kieren was a thoughtful and caring son, he ordered one of the royal carriages to be sent to Wildoness in order to convey his parents and the others to the capital. Although his mother and father hadn’t expected him to do this, they were still very pleased that he was so considerate. This would allow them to travel to Leander in comfort and style, as well as shortening their journey dramatically. Of course, Jana and Garreth had already expressed their desire to join them on this venture too, but to everyone's surprise even Qaim indicated that he wanted to go with them as well.

The aignx seemed genuinely eager to see his young master again, even though no one expected Qaim would choose to attend any of the official functions or ceremonies. None of them felt Qaim would be very comfortable being surrounded by so many people; let alone being stuck in such a crowded and restrictive environment. Therefore, they all agreed to make certain Qaim would be able to spend some time alone with Kieren while they were there and then see to it that Qaim had a place he could stay while the rest of them were attending these other activities. They would also give the aignx the freedom to get away from the crowds, or even the castle if he so desired, but that would be entirely up to him.

Everyone found it quite amusing when they got to Leander and Qaim saw Kieren for the first time since they had separated. The aignx's reaction was similar to when a person arrives home after being away for a very long time and was then enthusiastically greeted by his children or favorite pet. Even though Qaim was far more capable than any pet and he wasn't Kieren's child, the aignx still raced to Kieren’s side the minute he spotted him and began to nuzzle against the teen's leg.

"Qaim miss young master," the aignx stated, since he was glad they were finally together again.

"I missed you too," Kieren agreed. "It's nice to see you again and I hope you've been well treated."

"Qaim happy, but he just miss his young master," the aignx replied while continuing his unusual embrace of the king.

From that point on, Qaim stayed very close to Kieren whenever the young man wasn't required to be out in the public's eye. Qaim was also very careful about never letting Kieren move farther than an arm’s length away from him at any time, unless Kieren was leaving the apartment to perform an official duty. Fortunately, Kieren didn’t mind this and good naturedly put up with Qaim's idiosyncrasies.

Kieren’s coronation, as expected, was a major event, filled with all of the traditional pomp and circumstance expected of such an event. Since it had been so many years since anything like this had taken place, there were very few people that understood what needed to be done, so that was why it had taken such a long time to prepare for this moment. Those designated to be in charge of this had been forced to research the matter thoroughly and did their best to make certain not even the smallest detail was overlooked, because this ceremony would now become the precedent for all future coronations. For this very reason, a tremendous amount of thought was put into it to and helped to make the event spectacular. Those planning the coronation had paid attention to even the minutest of details, because they wanted it to come off perfectly, which it did.

Since most of his Tarolian subjects were extremely eager to witness a ceremony of this caliber, the crowds attending the spectacle were enormous. To make sure nothing went awry, a great number of military units representing the various races and groups within the kingdom were called upon to provide security for this celebration. It was hoped that nothing would go wrong to mar this important event and, fortunately, it went off without a major hitch.

Even though only the most important dignitaries and honored guests would be able to get inside the cathedral and witness the actual investiture, it didn't stop a great many others from making the journey to Leander so they could be a part of the event too. For this reason, the area outside of the cathedral, along with most of the area surrounding the castle in general, was besieged with a tremendous throng of well-wishers. This group was mostly comprised of ordinary citizens who just wanted to be able to claim they were there when the new king was officially crowned, but they were also hoping to catch a glimpse of their new sovereign at some point as well. This odd, yet dedicated, throng of spectators represented the largest segment of Kieren’s subjects and they would also become his most ardent and faithful supporters.

The coronation ceremony incorporated a collection of very recognizable and important artifacts from two of the greatest monarchs the kingdom had ever known. First of all, Kieren was formally invested as king using the same golden crown that King Ethelbert had first worn. Kieren also proudly wore the Golden Medallion of Ethelbert where all could see it as well. Kieren also carried the Sword of Kings with him, which was created during the reign Ethelbert, but had gained its greatest significance under King Orthilue.

Kieren had decided to include the sword to remind everyone what King Orthilue had done in his attempt to preserve the kingdom and stifle Madumda's lust for power. The new king also wanted the Sword of Kings included and prominently displayed to remind everyone about the sacrifices Orthilue had made and that he had given his life in order to protect the talisman. Not only that, but Kieren wanted them to remember that King Orthilue had allowed most of his family to be sacrificed as well, in an effort to protect Tarolia from Madumda’s threat as well. It was a fitting and touching reminder of the lengths to which those great kings had gone in an effort to keep the kingdom out of the Dark Lord's hands and get it to the point they were now rejoicing.

The ceremony took place surrounded by all of the historical links to Tarolia’s greatest monarchs too, especially since each of them had been entombed within the cathedral, or in the vaults contained in the lowest level of the edifice after each one's death. With all of the ritualistic splendor of the office and the very visible connections with Tarolia’s great past, the coronation came off as well, or better, than anyone could have hoped for or imagined. Kieren carried himself in a manner appropriate for the occasion and was warmly received as the first link in a new line of kings.

There was also an elaborate banquet held in the Great Hall afterward to celebrate this event, plus there were also many lesser celebrations taking place in the various homes and inns throughout the land. Of course, Kieren made certain that plenty of food was taken back to Qaim, since the aignx chose to stay in the royal apartments and not attend the banquet.

From that moment forward, Kieren was the primary celebrity of interest within the kingdom and the focal point of most of the attention. Everyone desired to be apprised about the most up to date information concerning where he was and what he was doing at any particular time. His subjects were keenly interested in what he was currently working on or involved in, no matter how trivial it might seem. In Kieren's assessment, it was one of the most unfavorable aspects of being a popular monarch, in that his privacy was constantly being invaded.

Kieren and Jana were married several years later, after a rather lengthy and involved courtship. They would have done this sooner, but instead they chose to take their time and not rush into tying the knot. In the process, they got to enjoy a fairly romantic series of rendezvous and got to know each other much better with every day they were together. This all began with Jana becoming a frequent visitor to Leander so she could spend time with Kieren.

Before Jana began making these frequent excursions to the castle, she first had to prepare herself to deal with the horrible memories she still harbored about her previous life, when she and her parents were servants at Treblanc. Over time, she was able to resolve these issues to the point where she felt confident she could handle the mental pressures. Gradually, she adapted to being surrounded by the stone walls that invoked those horrible memories and reminded her of her traumatic past.

Being in the castle with Kieren and having his support allowed her to slowly acclimate to the surroundings and allowed her to adjust at her own pace. Eventually, she was able to shove aside whatever bad memories that still remained about having lived in a stone fortress, which gave her a chance to be alone with Kieren. Each of her visits slowly increased in both frequency and the length of time she was willing to remain there, until she no longer had any qualms about being in the castle.

At various times during these visits, the couple was able to find numerous opportunities when they could enjoy a very long and romantic moonlit walk along the castle’s battlements. The pair also enjoyed many rides on horseback or in one of the many splendid carriages as they went on excursions throughout the vast countryside. Jana was also at Kieren’s side for all of the formal events held in his honor while she was at the castle, but they also shared many enjoyable private dinners together too, prior to becoming husband and wife.

Before they were wed, Jana never traveled to Leander alone. Instead, she would accompany Kieren’s parents whenever they went to see their son, but they didn’t make this trip as frequently as she would have liked. Therefore, she had to find other ways to get to and from the castle as well. Jana proved to be very resourceful and enticed others to escort her at various times, which allowed her to see Kieren on a more frequent basis.

Whenever King Dylan was planning on going to the capital on official business, Jana would often persuade him to let her ride along. When that didn't happen as often as she wished, Jana would seek other options. Whenever Beraut was in Wildoness on business or just there to unwind, she would wheedle out of him whether he was going to Leander next. If he was, she would frequently finagle him into taking her with him. Each of these individuals was usually happy to let her tag along, unless they were in a hurry or didn't feel Kieren would have any extra time to spend with her. Overall, both of these wise leaders understood the budding relationship that was gradually developing between Kieren and Jana and didn't wish to do anything to discourage it.

These trips were made even easier due to the fact that Kieren had asked King Dylan if he would permit him to house one of his royal carriages, a coachman, a footman and a team of royal horses within Wildoness. Even though these items were solely for the purpose of such visits, King Dylan eagerly agreed to go along with his request. The king arranged for the animals to be kept in his own stables, while the carriage and accoutrements were kept in an adjoining and very secure structure. King Dylan also arranged for suitable housing for both the coachman and footman while they were staying there as well. This meant those wishing to travel in the carriage had only to notify one of those two to arrange for it to be made ready for their use. Since it was now so easy to get back and forth, many more trips between Aurelia and Leander were made than might have otherwise occurred.

When she finally reached the point where the castle no longer evoked dark memories and Kieren felt she was finally ready, he got down on one knee and proposed to her. A year after he popped the question and after some very intense and elaborate planning sessions for the event, Kieren and Jana were married in a very beautiful and highly stylized wedding ceremony. This event was also held at the same cathedral where Kieren had been formally invested with his crown, and to say it was a major Tarolian social event would have been an enormous understatement.

Over the years that followed, the couple gave birth to three children. Their first child was a son, whom they named Romaric, in honor of his uncle and godsire. Kieren was initially torn between which of his friends he would name his firstborn in honor of, but he gave the nod to Romaric after considering how much the elf had endured on their mission. Kieren then took an appropriate amount of time to explain his decision to Garreth, so his other friend would understand and not feel slighted. To his complete surprise, Garreth was fine with what Kieren proposed. Just to be certain, Kieren waited a while first, to give Garreth a chance to think it over and possibly change his mind, before he finally announced his choice to everyone else.

The couple’s second child was also a son and he was named Garreth, after his uncle and godsire. The third child was a girl, whom they named Juna. Kieren insisted on making this slight change to her mother’s name, as his way of honoring his wife and the mother of his children. It was similar to the way his name had been chosen for him after he was born, since he had been named in honor of his father, Kier.

The rebirth of the royal line was off to a great start and Kieren had tremendous support from all segments of the diverse population during his reign. In fact, he quickly became a very popular monarch and his subjects were impressed that he made an effort to personally visit each of the communities within the kingdom. When he did this, he didn't just meet with the local officials, but he also got out and mingled with the commoners as well, which up until this time was basically unheard of. This not only endeared him to them even more, but it also helped to ensure they would go along with his other decisions.

Kieren's subjects also loved many of the new innovations he had initiated. These changes seemed to gain him the immediate trust and support of all the various factions within the realm. It also helped him to establish Tarolia as a very strong and unified kingdom.

Even the northern city-states were willing to relinquish some of their stubborn isolationist practices, since they now felt the new king looked at their communities as vital partners in forming this strong national alliance. Since each segment of the kingdom had a voice in nearly all of the major decisions that were being made, each of the various races and communities seemed to be willing to pull together to do what it was felt would be best for the entire kingdom. This was another of Kieren’s innovative suggestions and one that was immediately popular with the vast majority of his subjects.

One of the changes Kieren wanted to make, however, at first came under a great deal of intense scrutiny and encountered substantial resistance from all segments of the population. Seeing he considered this particular measure to be extremely vital in order to ensure the unity of Tarolia and for establishing its prominence among the other nations, Kieren did everything he could to make certain it happened. To accomplish this goal, Kieren was forced to mount a huge campaign to change public opinion and he fought very hard to make it a reality.

In order to achieve this, Kieren had to first overcome the lingering mistrust that most segments of the population had against the two groups that had been previously aligned with the Dark Lord. Eventually, Kieren utilized a huge indoctrination campaign to convince the rest of the kingdom that those two factions had suffered just as greatly under Madumda’s rule, even though they appeared to be serving him. It took a great deal of time, effort and statesmanship for the young king to accomplish this, but ultimately Kieren was able to convince his subjects that those races, for the most part, had merely been reacting out of fear and self-preservation while following the Dark Lord.

Kieren first had to convince the rest of the kingdom that it was the gnome and Merropites’ leaders that had committed their races and aligned them with Madumda. It was obvious that those in charge had hoped to gain riches and power by joining up with Madumda, but it hadn’t worked out quite the way any of them had expected. Although many of the leaders involved had either been killed or died of other causes, the surviving leaders of those races had been dealt with most severely by their own people. They had either been cast into the worst dungeons or executed for their indiscretions, but they HAD answered for their crimes. Now that this issue had been taken care of, the specific roadblock holding things up seemed to disappear.

After word had spread to the various other communities within Tarolia about how those traitors had paid a severe price for throwing in with Madumda, even the most staunch resistance began to wane. The various segments that had at first been so opposed to the idea of repatriation were ultimately forced to agree that the rest of the citizens in those communities had little choice but to go along with the decision their leaders had made. If they hadn't, everyone was well aware of how the Dark Lord would have dealt with them. The choice of doing what they were ordered and following their leaders' wishes were merely acts of self preservation.

Since the rest of the nation now accepted this proposition, the general population began to forgive the commoners of those other races. Now that the majority of the Tarolians had set aside their lingering suspicions about these particular groups, they also began to relent and agreed to welcome the gnomes and Merropites back into the fold as valued members of the kingdom. This was a major concession, but it wasn’t only those who fought in defense of Tarolia that had to be convinced this was a good idea.

Some of the gnomes and Merropites were also leery of the idea of reunification, since they felt they would be treated harshly and unfairly by the rest of the kingdom. Over time even that opinion began to fade, especially after some of their warriors began to tell others in their communities the stories about how the allied soldiers had gone out of their way to treat their injuries once the battle had ended. These stories helped to soften their countrymen’s views as well. The general consensus was that if their enemies had the decency and compassion to treat their wounded soldiers, even after the Dark Lord had ordered his own warriors to be left to die, then they felt there might be some hope they could find common ground to support this venture as well.

These reversals in previously held opinions proved to be a very vital cog in reestablishing the Kingdom of Tarolia as a regional powerhouse. Eventually, the neighboring kingdoms began to both admire and fear Tarolia, but either way they weren’t going to be taking the Tarolians lightly. This also ensured that Tarolia would play a major role in world events.

During this time, Beraut was also a frequent visitor at Leander, although he was also very busy with a number of other projects that kept him away for lengthy periods of time. The wizard had officially moved into Treblanc shortly after Kieren had been crowned and almost immediately began to focus on affairs that were near and dear to his heart. Although he had reclaimed the fortress shortly after the Dark Lord had been defeated, he now had the time and determination to reestablish it as the home for a new Council of Wizards.

Once he had taken up residence at Treblanc, Beraut not only made sure the place was cleaned up, but he also set into motion the repairs that would eventually make the fortress look as good as new again. Besides having the structure thoroughly patched and painted, he even ordered the craftsmen to check all of the furnishings within the fortress to see if they could be repaired and returned to their original state. Beraut advised the workmen that they were to fix and refurbish whatever they could, but they were also to replace any of the pieces that could not be restored to its original condition. He wanted the fortress to look as good as it had when he first came there to live.

As soon as the building and furnishings had been taken care of, the wizard then began a systematic search to discover and destroy any of the condors that still existed. First, he made an extremely thorough search of Treblanc and the various hiding places to see if he could discover any records Madumda might have kept concerning them. Eventually, the wizard discovered a document that had been written to direct others about their care, but it also specified where these freaks of nature were to be kept.

Upon discovering this information, Beraut immediately set out for that location and found a few hatchlings and some slightly more mature birds there. He eliminated those creatures without hesitation and then began scouring the areas of the kingdom that had previously been under the Dark Lord's influence to see if he could locate any remaining adult condors. After destroying the handful of mature birds that he discovered at various times, he was fairly certain the problem had been dealt with. However, Beraut would remain alert for reports of sightings, so he could deal with those situations as they arose.

Another project that he was involved with, which was very close to his heart, was that Beraut had initiated the lengthy process of recruiting those who would eventually become the newest members of the Council of Wizards. Beraut made numerous excursions throughout the kingdom, even traveling to some of the most remote locations, so he could recruit and test those who thought they might have the potential to become wizards. First, he would interview these individuals and then he would test them to see if they had any magical acumen, which included a deep desire to study and learn. It would be a long process and take a lot of hard work for these recruits to become proficient and succeed, so Beraut wanted to make certain they understood what lay ahead of them if they were chosen. He felt it was imperative that he be positive they were willing to commit to this process before he agreed to take them back to Treblanc with him to be trained.

After he had selected numerous candidates for this honor, they were all taken back to Treblanc, where they would live and study their new profession. This included multiple representatives from each of the races, as well as the various other segments of the population, so no particular group would have undue power and influence. Beraut had taken it upon himself to establish a preliminary training program for them to begin with and it was designed so the wizard could quickly weed out those who failed to meet his rigid standards. It also gave him an opportunity to single out those who demonstrated they had a particular talent for the use of magic, so they could be put on a slightly faster track to reach their intended goal. Once the candidates made it through this initial process, they were then ready to begin the formal training that was required as the next step in reviving the Council of Wizards.

During the months preceding this process, Beraut had made many trips to the Mystic Forest so he could confer with his former brothers and seek their assistance. He eagerly listened to their advice and solicited their suggestions about the training program he was establishing for the novices. Beraut wanted to tap into their expertise, since they had considerable knowledge about training others in the use of magic.

Beraut also sought their counsel as to how he could establish safeguards, which would then be put into place to prevent the possible creation of another Madumda. Beraut was eager to demonstrate to the rest of the kingdom that the Council of Wizards had learned from its past mistakes and was making certain those same errors would not be repeated. He didn't want them to have any doubts that this new council would be a good thing and a beneficial asset for the kingdom.

The Kingdom of Tarolia was now well on its way to becoming the powerful nation it had been before Madumda’s treachery first took place. The biggest concern during this rebuilding process was that a neighboring kingdom might try to take advantage of the transitional period and attempt to test the strength and resolve of the new king. However, that didn't happen and the kingdom enjoyed the peace and prosperity it had sought and desired for such a long time. Tarolia was once again moving in the right direction, with a promising young leader guiding it toward that end.

This is the end of Book 3 and the end of the Sword of Kings trilogy.