Tales From Skeytan

The Secret Son

Ictance Torlynn, the Crown Prince of Idia, tugged roughly at his collar. It was too stiff, too itchy, too uncomfortable.

The white silk wasn't soft like he'd thought silk should be. It felt more like roughspun linen.

He glanced in the floor-length mirror at his attire. It was the festival of Imbolc over the next few days, and today he was to welcome an emissary from the nearby kingdom of Newistei, to discuss an alliance. He was requested- no, rather he was ordered- to wear this robe- a floor-length white silk robe embroidered with orange and red flames. Only an hour before, his attending servant, a young human man, had filled a hot bath for him, and dunked his head under the water to wash his unruly hair. Ictance didn't know until a little too late that the bathwater had been infused full of spices and oils, and he tried his hardest not to sneeze, as the aroma of cinnamon and frankincense assaulted his nose.

Ictance wasn't sure what to expect from this emissary- it was a noblewoman from the capital, Logoria- Makaela, if he remembered her name correctly. He'd heard whispers around the Royal Court that Makaela was a very beautiful young human woman- and perhaps she was beautiful, but Ictance had to remind himself that he was already committed to someone else. He felt that no matter how stunning Makaela might be, her beauty wouldn't compare to that of the Lady Oslea Eris, from an island across the sea, whom he'd been courting for a while now.

He had to admit, that even though they'd been courting for over a year, he still barely knew anything about Oslea. When he asked her about her past, she merely said she was from a group of large islands, west across the sea from Skeytan. Idia's navy and mapmakers had scoured every inch of this continent- but had never been across the sea. All Ictance knew about any life away from Skeytan- and he knew that there must be, that Skeytan couldn't be the only inhabited place in the entire world- was from what Oslea told him. She told him the islands she came from were called the Day Islands- and her home was on an island called Dusk Island. She'd told him she was a noblewoman there, but had left for the other lands across the sea- for Skeytan- when something went wrong. All she'd tell him was that there was a feud between her island and another island- the most powerful and influential island, ruled by a powerful race of maegiling that didn't exist in Skeytan- an island called Dawn Island. She'd said that her lover was killed by the royal family from Dawn Island, and she fled to Skeytan to escape any danger she might have been in.

Oslea would never tell Ictance who the lover was- not even what his name was. Ictance had never met any of these people- and probably never would- but he felt a hot anger in his core at the people who'd hurt Oslea in this way. After this year of courtship, he'd got to know her so well- so much better than he'd known anybody. She was fair, beautiful- radiant, even- and she was incredibly kind and charitable- selfless. Ictance knew- he'd already known for a while- that he was well and truly falling in love with her.

A rapping of knuckles on his bedroom door roused him from his reverie. Call him a soppy, lovesick puppy, but he knew that Oslea was the one he wanted to marry. Nobody could question that. He was thirty-two years old now, he was an adult.

"Come in." Ictance called. He'd mastered, years ago, the art of keeping his voice steady, even when his mind and heart might not be. Oslea wasn't even in Olydha at the moment. She was in Newistei, visiting some High Priestess she knew there, who'd sent for her, asking for help, from the seaside town of Varyks- where Newistei's largest port on the west coast was situated. Oslea had said she might be away as long as a year's time.

The door opened, the iron hinges creaking a little- Ictance made a mental note to get the castle carpenter to oil them later- and in stepped Aiduin Sularus, a high-ranking soldier in the Idian Royal Army, and one of Ictance's best friends. Aiduin was not human- he was a maegiling, of the Krisinan race- a race which originated from Newistei. Ictance wasn't sure how old he was- Aiduin looked the same age he was, but since he was a fairly powerful maegiling, it was quite possible that he could be a lot older. He was an expert swordsman- one of the best Ictance had ever known- and the Prince was sure that he'd be promoted again soon. If not now, then Ictance promised himself that he'd appoint Aiduin as the General of the Mages in the Idian Royal Army. Aiduin was as skilled with his maegia as he was with a sword and a bow- it was from him that Ictance had learned the art of combat.