Chapter 5
Memory of the Father
Near the Border of Gladius and Titan
"It is difficult for a man to grow up not knowing his father. The father is the example, the model you pattern yourself after. There may be those who act in the father's stead, but if you know better, it is not the same. My uncle was a good man and raised me as well as he could, but I could not help feeling discontented and unfulfilled. I always longed to know my father. I spent my youth chasing my father's shadow. You could say that I am still chasing that shadow, so I have great sympathy for the fatherless sons of the world."
-Excerpt from the assorted writings of Mark the Guardian
To the common peasant, it did not much matter who reigned. Their lives were governed more by the caprice of the elements than whoever sat on a distant throne. A good king rarely made their lot much better and a bad king would not make it much worse. That was why there was never any great uprising against Randwulf, nor did the people flock to his banner to defend him.
If Randwulf could be called a bad king, and the abuses of the Gladian Guard alone would be more than enough to justify the charge, it could not be said that everything he did was bad. One of the few points in his favor was his work to shore up the defenses of the marchlands. The original five garrison posts defending the kingdom were increased to nine during the years of the usurper's reign. These four new castles were placed at the four corners of the kingdom. The ones to the west were the most helpful, guarding the comparatively narrow routes circumventing the Crescent Mountains. Of course, Randwulf himself did not go around the mountains but rather over and through them when he invaded Gladius, but few conventional armies would resort to such a tactic. Most conventional armies were not comprised of former mountain bandits either.
The castle to the southwest was originally dubbed Wolf-feeder, a byname for the Marauders, but when Edward took the throne, he renamed it Castle Edmond after his grandfather. This was somewhat controversial as the notorious Bloody Edmond had something of a checkered reputation to say the least. Even the normally aloof and detached Catherine expressed some annoyance at Edward's choice, as her great-aunt was Edmond's queen and many believed she was killed at the King's behest. Certainly the late Queen's brother Lord Casimir believed this and his attempt to avenge his sister ultimately cost him his life and nearly started a war between Gladius and Byrn.
In part because of his research and in part because of his personal connection to the story, Mark found himself brooding on the history of the castle's namesake the entire time their company was there. It may have proved fortuitous that he was in a backward-looking humor when they set out the next morning.
A few hours into the march, Gillius came running up alongside him.
"My lord, I've come to report," he said.
"Proceed," Mark replied.
"As you know, my lord, we... the Rowanites still patrol the mountains."
It was sad that Gillius he felt the need to correct himself. He may not have succeeded in becoming a hunter-scout, but he was still a son of Rowan. Of course, the word of an outsider like Mark would not carry much weight in this matter.
He simply let it pass and said, "Yes, I know. Even after the kingdom fell to Randwulf, your people held to the pact they made with the Mountain King. I know I have been comforted knowing there has been a watchful eye on the wild lands to our west."
"Yes, well, our scouts met with the mountain scouts and it would seem that bandits are coming out in force. The garrisons in the Cygnus Province have mutinied. A lot of them have taken up banditry. There hasn't been much traffic along the south road and the bandits are one of the main reasons for it."
"Are the scouts tracking any of these bandits?"
"They aren't following them that closely, but they know where several of the hideouts are."
In his younger years, Mark probably would have thought that the bandit menace needed to be dealt with right away, but he had to consider his mission and the lives in his care. No doubt it would become another stone in the load of guilt he bore on his shoulders, but he could not act out of personal motivations.
"We don't have the time or the manpower to spend on bandits," he said. "If they try to cross into our borders, it will be the task of the King's men to put them down."
"Yes, my lord," Gillius replied.
Gillius continued to keep pace with Mark's horse, prompting Mark to ask him, "Is there something else, Gillius?"
"Do you have a moment, my lord?"
"We're some three days from the abbey where we will be stopping next. I would say I have quite a few moments."
"I, I don't want to impose, my lord. Iā"
"Gillius," Mark said firmly, "what is it?"
This had the desired effect of getting Gillius to come out and say what he wanted.
"Lord Mark, tell me about my father."
Apparently it was the custom among the Rowanites to conceal a child's parentage until the child was deemed able, provided the parents were also counted among the able. However, in her own clumsy way, Jill had something of a soft spot for Gillius. She defied custom and tradition to personally train him in a bid to get him a second chance at being recognized as able, but while he grew into a robust youth with strength and stamina to spare, he simply did not have the talent for the arts the Rowanites prized. Did he blame his father's blood for not being counted among the ranks of able Rowanites?
"What has your mother told you?" Mark asked.
"You know how my mother is about talking, my lord." Gillius replied.
All the words Jill used in her life would fill a rather thin tome, Mark knew. He could only imagine the vain efforts of a young Gillius to try to get her to speak anything beyond short, simple sentences that related to the task at hand. Still, Mark did not feel it was his place to intrude on family affairs.
"I don't know if I'm the right person to talk to about this," Mark said.
"He was your companion, wasn't he, my lord?" Gillius said. "Who else knew him better?"
"If anyone did know him well, I doubt many of them are still living."
"Please, my lord," Gillius said. "Anything you can tell me will do."
Mark remembered when he first returned to Gladius, how he sought anything anyone could tell him about his parents. He could see himself in Gillius and his earlier reluctance could no longer restrain him.
He began by asking Gillius, "What do you know of the Inkari Tribe?"
"Very little, my lord," Gillius replied. "Savages in the mountains. They would eat the flesh of men and loot the dead."
Mark recalled the bowels of Mount Vulcan, he and his companions bound with crude ropes and set before a bonfire while the heathen folk danced and chanted. He remembered their chieftain wearing the ancestral gear of House Aran as a trophy, and the spirit of rage that overcame him. He had to take in a slow breath to keep that anger from welling back up.
"I cannot speak to their eating the flesh of men," Mark said, "but the looting of the dead at least I can attest to."
He shook his head, as if to shake the memory from his mind.
"Your father was Inkari," Mark continued. "When he was a boy, he had to prove himself as a hunter according to the custom of the tribe. Because the man-hunter is greatly esteemed by the Inkari, your father attacked a patrol of the Gladian Guard. He was captured, but rather than kill him outright, they brought him back to Darkwall to face judgment from Randwulf himself. Randwulf saw potential in the young would-be man-hunter and had him trained to be a Marauder. Though he was cursed and reviled, called 'the Savage' and made an object of sport and contempt, he showed true ability and rose through the ranks. Eventually he was named one of the Five Generals, Marshal of the North, and commanded the Marauders' Pikeman Division.
"Though he was raised by the Marauders, there was goodness in him, and it came to the fore during Randwulf's campaign in Byrn. Randwulf had no pity on the Byrnans. Man, woman and child, all were to be put to the sword. Your father could not bear such slaughter and tried to save the innocent. His mercy was tantamount to treason in cruel Randwulf's eyes and so your father lost everything and became an outlaw, hunted, seeking death yet driven to elude it. That was when I met him.
"You father joined us to bring Randwulf and his Marauders to a reckoning. We fought alongside each other on many adventures until the day came when were were brought to the gates of Darkwall. He fought valiantly, I've been told, but was mortally wounded in battle and so he died.
"He played no small role in our victory and was not only honored by King Edward but also by his fellow tribesman who finally granted recognition to the hunter lost to them so many years ago."
"My father wanted to be a hunter too..." Gillius said, mostly to himself.
"He became something much different from anything a hunter would have become," Mark said. "He became a hero. Sometimes in life the path we seek is closed because a greater one has been prepared for us."
Gillius saw the point Mark was trying to make and said, "My lord. you know that I was deemed unable in the eyes of the Rowanites and was cast out of the Hidden Village. Even given a second chance, I failed. Squire Kiefer took me in and trained me and I've tried to be a proper warrior, but I don't know if I'm worthy..."
"Gillius, I can't tell you to ignore what the Rowanites believe, but as far as your worthiness goes, it's how you live each day."
"Thank you, my lord," Gillius said, "but the Rowanites would say you're soft, if you pardon my saying so."
Mark chuckled.
"I've been called worse, my son, and they're probably right."
Yes, the brutally practical Rowanites would not have thought twice about overlooking those bandits in the mountains so long as it did not concern them, but it was going to gnaw at Mark. Perhaps once these rebels were put down, he could arrange a expedition to subdue the bandits as well. It would be little comfort for those who would suffer in the meantime, but what more could Mark do? Would he be like Giles and defy orders for the sake of conscience? The choice was not as stark here. It could be that restoring order in Titan would be the quickest and best way to help those who were being preyed upon by the bandits. What would Giles say if he were here?