The Thegn, Part 1

The Thegn of Sutherge, an aging man named Jarat Wayke, sat in council with his reeves and brooded on political and military matters. A map of the Sutherge region, the Borderlands, and the nearby southern states covered the massive dark wood table.

In public, he wore the attire of his collegium and rank, the golden plate of the Order of Eldro and the helm and adornments of a Thegn, but in council among his subordinates, as he was this day, he wore the austere garb that all in the Order wore in private.

Jarat absently fingered the signet of his office that lay at hand, while his thoughts wandered.

The Order of Eldro was the oldest of the state sanctioned collegia. It predated the empire. It predated the Ascendance. According to the Order, it predated even the founding of the capitol, Welland, now the seat of Finley himself.

The Order held to some of the old ways, the customs and traditions of the people of Eldro before the Ascension, and the Order was home to more than its share of the old nobility, even a few descended from those who had opposed Him, though they did not advertise that heritage.

Jarat's family had been among the first of the old nobility to bend knee to Finley, and they had been rewarded handsomely. Jarat's grandfather and father were Thegns in the Order before him. The family had fought for Finley in every war since the founding of the empire. The very idea of the Order had become inseparable from the ways of families like the Waykes.

And Jarat was perhaps the most formidable Wayke in generations. In him was combined the vigor and passion of the grandfather with the deeply analytic nature of the father. Jarat was raised to look beyond the golden plate and helm, and the blood and cries of battle. More so even than many of the elders in his order, he was taught to study the Augurs' words. When he came of age, his father gave him over to a frontier Reeve of the old customs, where he learned about sweat, tears, devotion, and the simple goodness of the Feast among the countryfolk and peasants. When he returned to the capitol to take his training in the Citadel, the center of the Order, he quickly rose to great honor, earning a command sooner even than had his grandfather in youth.

However, Jarat rose within the Order at a time when the power of the Order was increasingly eclipsed by new collegia, especially the Curia and Sept of Finley.

Jarat frowned and set down the seal. He lowered his hands beneath the table, so that the other men would not see him apply pressure to his fingers to relieve the joints. To the astonishment of those his age and the admiration of the younger men, Jarat lifted the bars every morning on the practice field, but time was taking its toll in other ways.

Reeve Ekin, a young reeve, sensing the Thegn's displeasure, sputtered to a close, “And so, brothers, I urge you to consider support for the Augur's wishes. The south isn't going anywhere, and we will gain much honor for the Order in finishing the dwarves. The court will certainly look favorably upon us, and the Sept will bend to our wishes after we have so aided them. We should should ask the Citadel for permission to reinforce the Curia and Sept in the north. Precedence for such a request is clear, and the Citadel always listens to a veteran Thegn, especially one named Wayke.”

The reeves muttered among themselves and cast sidelong glances at the Thegn. One ernest reeve banged his glass on the table, yelling awkwardly, “Down with the dwarves!”

Jarat remained silent, and a tension filled the room.

Reeve Fall, an old ally of Jarat, rose and addressed the council:

“The Curia and Sept brought about the debacle in the north. They were shortsighted in their interpretation of His words. They recklessly threw away the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 12th armies! The Thegns of Grenesword and Slaiter were slaughtered along with all of their reeves!”

Reeve Fall looked slowly around the table at the silent reeves before continuing: “We will build the Pure Land. We will purge the land of falsehood. We know His truth. But He did not say that we will build the Pure Land tomorrow. He did not say that we will destroy the elves and dwarves tomorrow. The Curia and Sept were wrong in their interpretation.”

Many reeves stared wide-eyed at Fall. A few visibly worked to contain their mirth about the swipe at Curia and Sept. “The dwarves and elves are dying. Trapped in their caves and the deep forest, doom surely awaits them. We don't need to scurry down every hole after rats, not when the old foe in the south gathers strength.”

Fall, in his usually terse fashion, concluded swiftly, “The Citadel has directed our attention to the south, and I don't make a habit of questioning the orders of the Citadel.”

A few of the older reeves cried, “Hear! Hear!” The muttering of reeves now reached a low din, which subsided only when the Thegn stood from his chair.

He said, “Ekin, I admire a reeve who follows doctrine closely. I am a pious man, and of late too many of our brothers fail to show the proper respect to augur and pontifex. I believe that they defy the Will of Eldro. I believe that Reeve Fall is often guilty of this sin.”

Around the table, many hands suddenly gripped chairs too tightly, and a few mouths opened involuntarily. A smile was barely suppressed by Ekin. Fall sat very still.

Jarat picked up the signet and began to finger it once again.