Pawns and Queens--A 15th Century Gwynedd Story--Chapter Sixteen

[Evie]

Wow! Poor Cecile! And yet....how lucky for her that Sebastian and Saoirse were RIGHT there right then and got her safely to Rhemuth! I hope Alixa and the Royal Healer can help her recover in mind and body. She's clearly been through hell. (And I hope the two sisters will have the opportunity to be happy to see one another and have each other for company and comfort once Cecile is feeling better.)

And yes, I am sure that Torval wasn't about to throw his whole life away for nothing right then and there at the Blot. I sure hope that Hakon and Remy both meet nasty ends in this story! And Ingrid, as well.

Just for once, I think I'll write a story where all the good guys die and all the bad guys win.

(Just kidding! Don't kill me!  )

[revanne]

(Just kidding! Don't kill me!  )

Well, you could just set a story any time between Camber the Heretic and The Bastard Prince. That should work.

[DerynifanK]

Wow! Poor Cecile! And yet....how lucky for her that Sebastian and Saoirse were RIGHT there right then and got her safely to Rhemuth! I hope Alixa and the Royal Healer can help her recover in mind and body. She's clearly been through hell. (And I hope the two sisters will have the opportunity to be happy to see one another and have each other for company and comfort once Cecile is feeling better.)

And yes, I am sure that Torval wasn't about to throw his whole life away for nothing right then and there at the Blot. I sure hope that Hakon and Remy both meet nasty ends in this story! And Ingrid, as well.

Just for once, I think I'll write a story where all the good guys die and all the bad guys win.

(Just kidding! Don't kill me!  )

Really bad idea!!

[DerynifanK]

It's no less horrifying reading it again which is a tribute to your powers of story-telling.

In a way I find Torval's failure to save Cécile the most shocking, given that he seemed to really care for her.

True, though to be fair, what could he really do to salvage the situation while singlehandedly fighting against several hundred Eistenmarckers? Torval is very much a "live to see another day and get my revenge when they least expect it" sort, not a "die heroically but in vain attempting to do the impossible" sort.

Keep in mind that Sebastian and Saoirse watched everything happen also, certainly not because they wanted to, but because there was no other survivable choice.

Oh indeed. And perhaps I am being too hard on Torval. It's just that we have seen another side of him, unlike Rémy who seems to be seeking to outmatch Lucifer.

And Sebastian and Saorse haven't been busy encouraging Cécile to fall in love with tham.

Remy appears to be succeeding in outmatching Lucifer himself

[Evie]

It's no less horrifying reading it again which is a tribute to your powers of story-telling.

In a way I find Torval's failure to save Cécile the most shocking, given that he seemed to really care for her.

True, though to be fair, what could he really do to salvage the situation while singlehandedly fighting against several hundred Eistenmarckers? Torval is very much a "live to see another day and get my revenge when they least expect it" sort, not a "die heroically but in vain attempting to do the impossible" sort.

Keep in mind that Sebastian and Saoirse watched everything happen also, certainly not because they wanted to, but because there was no other survivable choice.

Oh indeed. And perhaps I am being too hard on Torval. It's just that we have seen another side of him, unlike Rémy who seems to be seeking to outmatch Lucifer.

And Sebastian and Saorse haven't been busy encouraging Cécile to fall in love with tham.

Remy appears to be succeeding in outmatching Lucifer himself

Oh, he's just getting started....

[DerynifanK]

BTW, there is a spin-off story that I'll drop at some point that has a few scenes showing our young scouts Sebastian and Saoirse as much younger children, again getting in a little bit over their heads with a self-imposed "mission" they happened upon while pretending to be intelligencers. I have to admit Sebastian in particular became one of my favorite background characters pretty much from the moment he first set foot on the page. I do seem to have a weakness for those Arilans.... 

I also have developed a real fondness for Sebastian. Hope he survives this war intact.

[Shiral]

Brilliantly written and ghastly.  I had a horrible feeling that something like this was what they had in mind. 

I had a feeling that any ritual called "The Blot" (magical or not,) wasn't going to end well for poor Cecile.

[DerynifanK]

And Monday is such a looong way off.

[JudithR]

And Monday is such a looong way off.

I'm stuck in a meeting all day Monday.  Anticipation of chapter 17 to keep me going.

[DerynifanK]

I also had a feeling of foreboding as Sebastian and Saorise were spying, concerned for them. I didn't expect wholesale murder of captives but it reminded me of Wencit's murder of his prisoners. A very  black event. Nicholas definitely needs to know the kind of people he is facing.

[Evie]

Brilliantly written and ghastly.  I had a horrible feeling that something like this was what they had in mind. 

I had a feeling that any ritual called "The Blot" (magical or not,) wasn't going to end well for poor Cecile.

The blót was a ritual sacrifice offered up to the Norse gods in order to get something back in return. In Ingrid's case, she has a special devotion to Odin, but a blót could be offered up to other Norse gods as well. Historically it always involved some form of blood sacrifice, though not necessarily human, and a case can be made that "blót" and "blood" have similar etymological roots. It was also generally practiced at the solstices and equinoxes, so assuming the war doesn't end before Midsummer, our heroes will have something to look forward to. (Not!)

And Monday is such a looong way off.

I'm stuck in a meeting all day Monday.  Anticipation of chapter 17 to keep me going.

I thought I had a spin-off story that might work for this Saturday, but while it would fit in fairly well here, unfortunately it's not a simple short story, but more of a five chapter novelette. So that's a bit much to post all in one go, plus it wouldn't all fit in a single post anyway, so I would still have to post it one piece at a time. It would also work better if posted after a different short story I have queued up, but that one would be best saved until a later chapter in this one. But you'll see both of those spin-offs eventually, if not in time to relieve the long wait this weekend.

I also had a feeling of foreboding as Sebastian and Saorise were spying, concerned for them. I didn't expect wholesale murder of captives but it reminded me of Wencit's murder of his prisoners. A very  black event. Nicholas definitely needs to know the kind of people he is facing.

Fortunately Sebastian is getting right on that, as you will see in the following chapter. As far as the wholesale murder of captives goes, Ingrid prefers to think of the blót as a proper act of devotion to Odin, and as there's a war coming up, it's not like those enemies weren't going to die sooner or later anyway, right? So they might as well do so for a worthy cause. 

At least there is a set traditional number of only 99 captives to be sacrificed. So most enemy combatants can count on being dispatched immediately and swiftly. Unless they are Deryni, at least. There might be a special fate in store for Deryni combatants....  (What, exchange noble hostages for ransom like other kingdoms do?! Surely you jest!  )

[Jerusha]

IIRC, hasn't Torval already decided that Haakon will not live very long?  And if he finds out Cecile is carrying his child.....  I will not feel sorry for Haakon's demise.

As for Remy, a bloody mess curled up in the fetal position on the floor of a dungeon cell would be fitting.  But that might be too kind...

[Evie]

IIRC, hasn't Torval already decided that Haakon will not live very long?  And if he finds out Cecile is carrying his child.....  I will not feel sorry for Haakon's demise.

As for Remy, a bloody mess curled up in the fetal position on the floor of a dungeon cell would be fitting.  But that might be too kind...

Yes, Haakon's days were already numbered as far as Torval was concerned, but after trying to kill Cécile, he might as well have just signed his own death warrant in blood.

Oh, I have very special plans for our dear Rémy....  😇

[Shiral]

I wonder if Cecile's rescue will ruin Ingrid's plan to launch some anti-Haldane attack in the future. And if Ingrid will find that out the hard way, since Cecile didn't die as was intended. After all she was quite specific about the need for a RED haired girl for the ritual, so I'm guessing Cecile's failure to die could really bollix things up from Ingrid's point of view. And who she'll be most angry with when she finds out her plan didn't work....

[Evie]

I wonder if Cecile's rescue will ruin Ingrid's plan to launch some anti-Haldane attack in the future. And if Ingrid will find that out the hard way, since Cecile didn't die as was intended. After all she was quite specific about the need for a RED haired girl for the ritual, so I'm guessing Cecile's failure to die could really bollix things up from Ingrid's point of view. And who she'll be most angry with when she finds out her plan didn't work....

Some interesting questions, and not only can Ingrid not predict the outcome of the unforeseen chain of events, there is also the possibility that she has misinterpreted at least some aspects of the prophecy entirely. After all, just because she's the one who channeled it doesn't automatically mean she understands its true meaning. Is the Bride of Fire necessarily a red-haired maiden? Maybe, maybe not, but Ingrid certainly believes that is a key element of the prophecy's fulfillment. Was the intended joining of the allies together in an unbreakable bond achieved by the consummation ritual, or was it not? (By the way, in the ritual consummation, the key element of that was meant to be the consummation itself, but Haakon put his own little spin on things which may or may not have ended up skewing the outcome of what it was intended to achieve.) You'll find out how Ingrid reacts to all of these uncertainties in the next chapter.