Gods and Guardians

Chapter 34: Lessons from Lord Patmus

The king of Meinz was unusually quiet this morning at breakfast. His liveliness was absent for some obvious reason. The visitors would be living tomorrow. He wanted to talk, but the thought of their imminent departure left him mute for a good part of the breakfast. They've spent the customary thirteen days already and because of respect for custom and his counterparts in Zainox and Kainon, he wouldn't ask that they tarry a day longer.

The reply to Dasirus' letter could not be given hastily. Sairus referred the deliberations first to the regional councils in the other regions of Meinz. Outcomes will be further deliberated by him and his Council of Lords. It would take at least four tenths to reach a decision. As a result, he decided to write a letter to Dasirus showing his friendly disposition towards the two kingdoms.

Sairus didn't make any reference to Dasirus' health at all. He hoped the missoline would be helpful. He knew it would.

No one on the table was sadder than Nimrod. Leaving Meinz was not the source of hurt of course. It was Gayna. Tomorrow would be the most painful moment of his life. In Meinz he found his greatest happiness. It is indeed the most blessed of all three kingdoms. Home is where the heart is.

He remembered the old mystic, Lord Patmus who died in DAH1506, last tenery. He was the Zihan in charge of the private schooling of the princes in scripture and training in the requirements of leadership.

Nimrod was 21 teneries old and it was Diyaray, the second month. Circumcision process had begun. But Nimrod wasn't due yet. Why? Dasirus earlier delayed his grooming to begin a tenery later than was normal. Nimrod did not enter grooming school at seven like other Islanders. He had to wait till he was eight. Dasirus wanted to make sure he was strong enough. Even if he didn't display his mother's health issues at that early age, the king feared it was latent. He insisted that Nimrod be kept safely till the next tenery to be sure he was ready for the rigorous life of the Islander. Nimrod was too young to protest and it mattered very little to him at the time. Growing up educated him about the implications of his delay. Age-wise, he wasn't far-gone like some pre-circumcised Islanders. But the single tenery began to matter very much. No islander wants to spend a day more in boyhood than he should.

Lord Patmus was aware of this. The old Lord brought the matter up after the study session that bright evening. They were seated across each other on a small carpet. Scrolls were open all around them and the lights from the windows were weak.

'By this time next tenery, you will be undergoing circumcision,' the old man said.

In a low, somewhat melancholic voice, Nimrod replied, 'Yes, but it would have been this tenery if my father had let me go to school at 7.'

'You are right,' agreed the old Lord. 'But your father had good reasons for that. I'm sure he did it out of love.'

'And,' Nimrod said as if glimpsing the future, 'I hope he wouldn't out of love exempt me from participation next tenery.'

Lord Patmus kept an insightful eye on him as he spoke. The old Lord knew what the problem was now. It was the excuse of love which his father used for his actions. It was no more the deed than it was the reason. He would let Nimrod pour out his heart.

'If this is what love means, why should anyone care to be loved in the first place? My father is just driving my life under this excuse. There is one thing I know for sure, Love will never seek pain and relish frustration. He might claim it is, but how can love be so burdensome?'

He saw the old mystic's posture transform into a more pensive one. 'Nimrod, my prince,' the voice was full with the somberness of experience and confidence derived from meditation, 'what do you know about love?'