A War Of Traitors( ARTK, Book 2)

Chapter 134

Seggos 11th, 3329 A.G

The light was almost blinding, even so early in the morning- but it didn't matter. He wouldn't have to deal with it for long, and nobility of any kind simply did not come to Dedor without visiting it's temple. With so few left in the world, so few places of true peace- it didn't matter whether one was religious or not. Followers of Fenthos had always contributed to the world around them, helped with healing and kept the largest library in the world. The high priest was also known to be a trustworthy man, despite being much older than he looked.

  That- and he was the only living man who knew almost everything there was to know.

  Renard shifted, pushing one of the carriage's curtains aside. The temple did appear closer, but Uwen's words made him reconsider.

  "My king-" he said. "Don't. You may have supporters here- that is true, but I promise plenty others also despise you. For now at least...."

  "Commoners don't care what games the nobility plays-"

  "They do when it kills people they love over and over and over again." He interrupted. "Forgive me. Just as..... they will forget about what has been done in time, but not if you force yourself on them too soon."

  Renard sighed. Uwen was right- but being the type of leader who was feared and hated just as much as he was loved would take some getting used to. He did not touch the curtains for the rest of that carriage ride, instead stuck with his own thoughts.

  Thoughts of her.

  It made no sense- not really. He hadn't seen her in months, had kissed his own wife just once and rarely touched her yet.....

  "Are you alright?" Uwen asked. "You look pale."

  "As do you-" Renard reached downwards, to the wine jar tucked under his seat. He took a long sip, deciding to ride with it in his lap the rest of that short ride. "I'm fine just... tired."

  The last part was true at least. He'd gotten two to five hours a night as long as he could remember.

  Uwen said nothing for a while, but when he did Renard was not forced to answer.

  "You're not fine." He shook his head. "I have...a lot of experience with that. After you're done here, why don't you-"

  The carriage came to a stop, giving Renard the opportunity to leave. Uwen was a decent friend and good soldier, but Renard wasn't in the mood for solutions.

  The temple was just as large and open as he remembered- but had even more plants in the main room than last time he'd seen it. Varieties and things he hadn't known existed, some slightly withered ones they had on the island,  three trees of Cralonese and Alenian fruits- one with a cat trying to climb it despite how small it were.

  "We're gathering them for the gardens." A voice from his right said. He looked over- and five devotees in their green silk looked right back. They were sitting in a circle- four with open books larger than most of their torso's, one peeking over another's pages. The cushions keeping them off the floor looked comfortable but old- and the three women and two men appeared truly content. Renard wondered what that was like. "Easier to study decay when it takes a while."

The one who'd spoken looked up for just a moment. Renard would be lying if he said it wasn't slightly jarring. The man's face was covered in burn scars, almost perfectly in half.

Renard did not stare.

"I assume you are here to see the high priest?" He asked. Renard nodded. "Very well- I could use a small break. I will find him."

"Don't take too long, Ferrant-" One of those on the floor said and grabbed his arm as he stood.

  "I won't." He insisted, squeezing her arm back. "Just a few moments- then right back to the reading."

  This was not the place for him.

*EXTEND IN EDITING*
  Still, Ferrant did as he said and was quick about it- looking first in the high priest's private room in the library, where he ended up being.
*EXTEND IN EDITING*

   He walked with him to Renard, supporting him when the steps grew difficult again.

  "I am sorry for the wait." He said. "I was with another devotee. What.... has brought you here?"

  Renard noticed the way he breathed- but said nothing. It wasn't his place. The high priest Raaf moved away from Ferrant- deciding to walk alone as he and Renard went to a smaller room off the main one.

  Like some others of the temple, books filled every free space.

  "Well?" Raaf said, his voice as calm as ever. When Renard was silent for a moment too long, he kept talking. "The last time you were here, it was because your wife had questions of her giants. Of course then- she only had three, but surely you seek answers of your own?"

  Renard gulped, sitting as the high priest did. The bench felt far more uncomfortable than the devotee's cushions had looked, but he wouldn't complain.

  "When you and Nara were alone....what exactly did you tell her?" Renard rubbed his chin, curious. "I remember her coming down with that book, mumbling something and going straight to where the giants were kept in the old temple's ruins- but we never talked about......."

Raaf smiled. He would not forget the prophecy until he took his last breath, as it'd been drilled into his head over and over again from the moment he first arrived at the temple. Epo yfale teeie avuzeeieo ofo brib foan Eez meeo cuvn Eez majan hafa ean aoodeoq.

  "What was said in that conversation is a private matter." He continued. "One you will not be able to piece together from any of our God's devotees. I am a.... keeper of information, but some things aren't ment to be known. Some prophecies... endanger those they speak of."

  "What does that mean?"  Renard frowned. "Is Nara-"

Raaf placed a hand on the king's shoulder. "It simply means it isn't mine to tell. I can see in your eyes that you have a certain love for....Nara Ashhand. If she trusts you half as much as you love her, she will tell you eventually."

  "I don't l-"

  "I may be old, King Ashhand-" Raaf laughed. "But I am not blind or stupid."