Dawn of Dusk

Vistyral had decided to travel to Fulsimter with Mirtar, and her family. His father had understood and Borrial was glad to be rid of him. Vistyral had hoped that the ransom of Mirtar dowry and Borrial’s eminent betrothal to Lymar would lessen the strain between his brother and him. It was now obvious that Borrial hated him and would not accept his overtures of peace. When he next traveled to Cryarlac, he intended to gather those belongings that really mattered to him appoint Chertal, whose father is a baron in Cryarlac as his regent and get out of Karrondor while his father was still in control. If something happened to his father similar to the accident that happened to the late Krakal, Vistyral’s life would be worthless, even worse he could find himself held to blame.

He had always been allowed to see Mirtar whenever he wanted before his engagement to her. Now however, he could only see her in the presence of a chaperon. Her handmaid was serving as her chaperon and would probably continue to do so until the wedding. While the handmaid was fairly discreet and followed from a distance, it bothered Vistyral that he had to be supervised at all. Mirtar found the situation hilarious and enjoyed making sure that her escort was always in tow.

Mirtar was a delightful woman getting to know her was like peeling an onion. Every time he peeled away a layer, there were hundreds more layers beneath, each layer just as intriguing as the previous. He knew that she was intelligent and educated, but she surprised him with the knowledge she possessed. She was studying magic and seemed to be working on those spells dealing with protection of self and protection of others.

Vistyral understood why she was studying those. It seemed that she knew a new spell every day and enjoyed practicing them on Vistyral each day when they were together.

He had been spending much of his time in the presence of Montrosal and Veritak learning what he could about Artermador. They explained to him that they would supply all of the general information that he would like until the wedding. After the wedding, he would be allowed access to certain information that was not known to the world at large. Vistyral explained to them that since he had been made Duke of Cryarlac, much of the same information had been withheld from him by his father and brother as well. He assured them that he took no offense.

Yesterday they had made their way down the Krakowal River and today they would arrive in Fulsimter. He would arrive almost an hour sooner than his brother and father so he decided that he would meet with Lemmal and use the hour or so to try and prepare him to deal with Borrial. An hour wouldn’t be enough, but it was all that he would get. Once Borrial was there, he would have someone watching Vistyral’s every move.

Mirtar was studying her magic in the hold with Veritak and Montrosal and Vertimar were in their cabin. Vistyral went to the Bridge of the ship where the captain and the helmsman were busy navigating the ship.

“Permission to come aboard the bridge, Captain,” he called.

The captain looked up and for an instant appeared surprised, then pleased that Vistyral wanted to share his company. “Permission granted Duke Vistyral, please come on in.”

Unlike the ships of the northern waters, the bridge was not enclosed in glass, while it might be cooler in the warm tropical climates; it offered little protection from a raging gale or from the cold.

“Captain Bermal at your service sir. What do you think of my lady, Duke Vistyral?” the captain asked.

Vistyral had been around sea captains long enough to know that you never speak ill of his ship, besides there were lots of things about this ship that he could compliment.

“Captain I have never seen a sleeker ship in all of my days. Now my naval experience is limited to four years, but compared to the ships of Karrondor and Fulsimter, it must be twice as fast under full sail.”

“Well, they’re built for different things. Most of the ships in those two fleets are mostly trading ships with large cargo areas and enough cannons to ward off pirates or other ships who might want to make use of their cargo without paying for it.”

“And this ship?”

“This ship is a warship. The hull and the bow are narrower to cut through the water faster and to allow greater maneuverability. This ship could literally sail rings around the tubs they call ships in the north. Beg your pardon sir.”

“No offense taken captain; Cryarlac is a land-locked duchy; the only way in and out is by road or by river. Not only that what you say is true. Are all the ships in the southern continent like this?”

“No sir, most of the ships from the southern continent bear remarkable similarities to the ships from the north. I myself came up with this design during my days at the Naval Academy. I even built a miniature working model of my design and showed my teachers how much faster and safer it could be as a warship, but, they would not listen.

“It became an obsession with me. Finally one of my teachers, Captain Ontel, sat down with me and said. ‘Bermal, if you feel that this ship deserves merit, work hard, become a captain; then become the best captain. When you are the best captain in Artermador, ask to see the king and the queen, show them your model and ask them permission to build it. If they give permission for you to build it you will have your ship and you will be the captain. If your ship performs well, you will be asked to build more ships and you will become fleet captain, if your fleet becomes superior to the others then you will be made admiral. When that happens, all captains in the navy will follow your orders, and you will have control over all ships that are built in Artermador.’

“I listened to what he said and became a captain by the time I had been on the seas for five years.”

Vistyral looked shocked, and the captain smiled, “Yeah, most people look shocked. It is a long story and I won’t bore you with it today.

“Anyway, by the time I was a captain for five years, and most of my classmates were getting their first ship, I was captain of Artermadorian Queen, the flagship of the fleet. I went to the king and queen, I had made a model of the Queen and I had my model of this ship. I showed them in the moat how much better this ship would be.

“The king was no fool however, he had people making large waves, larger in scale than any we would see on the ocean, he had us demonstrate them on windy days, in total calm, and then he asked if anyone else agreed with me that my idea had merit. I told him what my instructor, Captain Ontel said, the king sent for Captain Ontel, demonstrated it for him in all conditions and asked his opinion.

“Captain Ontel looked at me, and then he looked at the boats. He cursed at me, and then said, ‘When I told you to do this, I figured it would take it so long to happen, if it ever happened, that I would be long in the grave. I didn’t expect to be standing before the king eight years later.’

Then he turned to the king and said, “Your Majesty, I believe in this man’s ship. This will not be a cargo vessel, this ship will not transport soldiers, but if you want a ship that will be able to stop an invasion or defend this country from the sea, I think this is it.”

“There was a long silence, it seemed like hours although it was probably for only a minute, the king turned, looked at the queen and then said, ‘You may build your ship Captain, if it performs as well as I expect it will, you will build many like it. It certainly would not be called a frigate like the other ships, what type of ship will you call her Captain?’

“Of course I said ‘A cruiser Your Majesty. We’ll call her a cruiser because she will cruise the waters for trouble.’

’Not bad Captain Bermal, we shall see how she does. ’The king said.

“For most of the next year I never went to sea, I spent most of my time teaching a hand-picked crew of ship builders, how my ships should be constructed. It was hard work and very exacting, but it paid off. Eleven months from the time we laid the keel she was sent out for a trial voyage.

“It was summer and there were plenty of storms to run her through, the escort ship that was supposed to keep up with us in case we capsized or broke up, was long lost within an hour, we circled back every other hour so they could kind of keep up, but they couldn’t even stay close otherwise. We ran into a hurricane on that trip that sank our escort ship but, we managed to rescue all but five of the crew.

“That ship is named Mirtar’s Fury, because when it was launched the princess was to break the bottle of wine on the ship and she couldn’t break the glass. She pounded the side of the ship until I thought she would break the lumber, it made her furious. When I saw the energy she put into trying to break the glass bottle, I knew it would be the perfect name.

“We were at war with the Verdenise at the time and we went down there to go into battle. As we arrived into Verdenise waters, we were attacked by three Verdenise Frigates. It was a sight to behold, we matched or speed to theirs at first. The Verdenise tried to engage us on one side while one of the other ships tried to ram us. As the ship that was trying to ram us approached, we dropped our sails and moved out of the way, they had no way of stopping and the other Verdenise ship couldn’t move out of the way so they collided. In the meantime, I had swung around and let a broadside loose on them, we blew off all three main masts and pierced her hull just above the water line. The third ship saw what we had done and tried to run, so, we blew her up too.

“The entire battle lasted less than twenty minutes! That was shorter than most battles when the odds are pretty much even. We had two more engagements on that patrol and we sank both ships without a casualty. The Verdenise asked for peace talks and the war was over. I think it was Mirtar’s Fury that did it. This ship is almost twice the size of the ’Fury though because of all the VIP Cabins. That did give us room to add a few more guns. This lady has three rows of cannons on each side totaling one hundred eight guns. There are three rows of sixteen on each side and six that fire out the back.”

“That is amazing, Captain Bermal, but, if the ’FURY is a cruiser then this is certainly something more, like a ship of battle it also seems you could put a few guns in the bow to shoot as you come up from behind.”

“Or battleship! Great idea Duke Vistyral, we could even have more guns if we didn’t have to leave room for all the passenger cabins especially in the bow. I’ll begin work on one as soon as we get home.”

“I have a few other ideas I would like to share with you about ships after the wedding, would it be all right if I look you up once all the formalities are done?”

“I would be most happy to talk to you Duke Vistyral. You will find me in the shipyard along with my good friend Captain Ontel. Since I am Fleet Captain now, I can build a ship as long as I get permission from the king.”

“When will you be promoted to admiral, Captain?”

“Either when we will need an admiral on the sea, or when I am too old to go to sea. The king has offered me the title twice already, but it would mean a desk in the shipyard and an office in the palace. I like being at sea. I enjoy watching the ships under my command, dance across the waves. I like going into battle knowing that if I make a mistake, that my life, and many of the lives of my crew may be forfeit. I enjoy knowing that my crew and the other captains under my command trust me and follow me because they believe I know what to do. Many of the captains under my command were my classmates in the academy. Besides Ontel is the admiral now.

“If we go to war again, we will need an admiral on the seas, then I will take the promotion and send all of the king’s ships into battle. At least that is what the king and I have agreed upon for now.”

“I already like you captain, you are much like me. I hope we can become friends.”

Vistyral held out his hand and the captain grasped it with his own. As they looked into each other’s eyes, a bond was forged; one that would last.

Captain Bermal spoke. “I like you too Duke Vistyral, I would very much like to be your friend. If ever I can help you, as long as it doesn’t conflict with my oath to the king, I will.”

“Thank-you Captain, if I can help you in any way, let me know.”

“Thank-you sir.”

“I am in for a big day tomorrow, Captain, if you will excuse me; I think I will go to my cabin.”

“Of course sir, Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

The princess’ room was in the rear of the ship along with the captain’s cabin, the king and queen’s cabin, and a small cabin for Veritak. Vistyral’s room was in the bow of the ship, and thereby tended to be triangular in shape. There were one or two other private rooms on the ship, but they were smaller and further down in the ship.

The door to his room was in the bottom of the triangle, his bed along the right side of the room and a small desk and chair near the door on the left side completed the accessories except for the waterglobe that gave the room light.

Waterglobes were basically a candle in a glass globe that had another larger glass globe filled with water on the outside. The waterglobe was open at the top to allow oxygen in for combustion and to allow the heat and soot to escape. The Idea was, if the waterglobe fell, the glass in the globe would break and the water surrounding the candle would douse the flame and keep a fire from starting on a wooden ship.

He sat on the cot and thought about the amazing man that he had just met. One man had practically revolutionized naval ship design and tactics. And he had done it in spite of all the “experts” who had laughed at his ideas or ignored them.

As he dozed off to sleep, he thought of the changes that had happened in his life in the last few weeks and wondered what the next few weeks had in store. He expected much of it would be good, but his brother hated him. Possibly enough to try and kill him. That alone would be enough bad to have to deal with. He suspected there would be more.

*******

Borrial sat in his cabin on the Karrondorian, his father’s royal ship. His injuries were slight to his body. His cuts from his brother’s bride to be were more of a nuisance than anything. He would do anything to see that everyone who saw him humiliated by the princess and his brother would die.

His father had suggested that Vistyral ride on the new ship from Artermador the Queen’s Way that the king, queen and princess of Artermador came on. It was a much bigger ship than he had ever seen in the north and he imagined that a winter storm would break it in half. It surely looked fragile to him. It was lucky for Vistyral that they had taken him as a guest. Most likely he would have lost his footing and fallen overboard during the night when he went for a walk on the deck. Borrial would have made sure the accident happened.

He toyed for a minute or two to cooperating with his brother and splitting the world in two. As children Vistyral had never agreed to cooperate with him when he wanted to cheat in games of play so it was unlikely that Vistyral would stand by and let him take over the world and not do anything.

If he started right away, he could be ready to start on the southern continent within eighteen months. Once he was married, he would be fourth in line for the throne of Fulsimter and as king of both Fulsimter and of Karrondor; he would create a new country called Nordlund. In the old tongue, that meant the land of the north. He was sure all of the people would rally to that name. The standard would be the wolf of Fulsimter beside the bear of Karrondor, both ready to attack.

His brother might be ready to try and stop him right away, but the king of Artermador might not. If he could gain a foothold on the southern continent before Artermador’s army and navy got involved, he should be safe.

If his plan worked out on granting independence to Cryarlac, he wouldn’t have to worry about that group of men in his army not fighting their duke. He would simply stop trading with Cryarlac, close the roads and river traffic, in the interest of national security in a time of war, and the people in Cryarlac would slowly starve until he “liberated” them from their uncaring and absent king, and make them part of Nordlund. Their loyalty assured he would have fresh troops to throw into the war effort just as everyone else’s troops will have gotten weary and disillusioned. If they could not be counted on for their loyalty, the Gnomes and Goblins would continue their assault on their country.

He hadn’t expected his brother to voice any objections to being made king. Maybe Vistyral already had plans to become King in Artermador and begin conquest of the south and once successful, to come after him in the north. But no, Vistyral was too good, too full of integrity to do that.

Vistyral would never succeed, he wasn’t ruthless enough. Well if he insisted on some trade assurances, Borrial would give them to him. He would include a war powers act to limit commerce in the event of a war. That would give him the ability to cut all supply lines, in the event of war.

A feral smile crossed his face and he looked forward to the next part of his plan for Fulsimter. Kremoral, Lamar’s next oldest brother would kill himself over his father’s grief in front of everyone.

Borrial had a maid administering kava, a depression enhancer, to him every day as a sedative. The nice thing about kava is that it looks and smells like skullmine and it sedates just like skullmine for a while then depression and anxiety follow stronger than before. This causes the person who is administering the drug, to offer it in even larger doses especially since skullmine is not addictive.

A dose large enough to induce suicide would compel the person taking it to lapse into unconsciousness before they could kill themselves unless a person had developed a tolerance to the drug. By the time he arrived, Kremoral would be tolerant enough to kill himself with everyone else watching and no one would ever suspect that he had anything to do with it. He would ask the chambermaid how much he had received and ask her to administer more as a precaution so he will be good during the funeral. As she gives him more he will distract her and add enough to make sure he gets past the point of no return.

Carmental will die at sea in an accident. It has already been arranged with a captain who wants to be an admiral, besides that captain had killed a Karrondorian sailor in Karron and Borrial had the evidence that could send the captain to the gallows.

Morientel would be killed hunting bear in the forest, only parts of him would be found. Borrial would do that one himself. After all he couldn’t get too comfortable and allow himself to grow soft making others to do all the dirty work.

Lemmal, now the king, will be stabbed by Lymeel, his counselor and youngest brother, who will then be caught and hanged as a traitor. This tragic sequence of events will all happen within a twelve month period of time, and most of the time, Borrial will be hundreds of miles away. By having Lymeel kill Lemmal last. Anyone with a suspicious mind will think Lymeel killed those brothers whose death might look questionable.

Motivation of Lymeel was easy, he wants to be king. Borrial had it all worked out, but a witness (who will actually do the deed) will see the murder and quick execution will follow. Borrial also had a forged letter from Prince Regent Maltapel of Westonisia telling Lymeel that he would support him as king if anybody tried to cause trouble after Lemmal was murdered. That was the best part of his whole plan. The outraged king and queen of the Nordlunds will take their grieving army to the south to avenge the murder of their king by a power hungry prince. Vistyral would not be able to do anything for Maltapel because the blood of the rightful king of Fulsimter would be on his hands and anyone interfering would be an accomplice and equally guilty.

That would give him his foothold on the southern continent. He was sure that his brother would eventually prove the document was forged, but in the interim, he would have his shot at getting a base of operations there.

He shivered with perverse excitement as the thought of conquest and subjugation passed through his mind. It wasn’t enough to rule, he needed to conquer to hear the weeping of women and children for their husbands and fathers. That is what he longed for, his experiences in battle in the past, had barely begun to wet his appetite for death and destruction.

He looked up from his thoughts and noticed that they were arriving in Fulsimter. The funeral would be tomorrow. Royal funerals were a real pain because all royalty in the civilized world had to attend and pay their respects. Only in times of open hostilities between countries would a leader be excused from the funeral of the leader of another country. He would be attending a lot of funerals in the near future, the one he would most want to attend, is that of his brother. At the present, he had no plans for that, but, he would begin plans for that right away. His brother was the only man alive that he knew that might have a chance of ruining his plans. He couldn’t take a chance, but his brother would soon be relocated to the southern continent. Borrial had far fewer contacts there, and he won’t be king yet. It would be much harder for Vistyral to move against him there.

The ship put into port, the Queens Way, was already unloaded, it didn’t look like it would hold much, but it was fast. From the size of it, he guessed it would only hold about one hundred soldiers. A ship that same size from Fulsimter or Karrondor would hold about two-hundred fifty.

To him it seemed like a big waste of ship. It had more guns, sure but how many cannons did it take to sink another ship. They would be fools to try and take a fort with ships. Put your men ashore and let them set siege from land and keep your ships just out of cannon range to keep other ships from re-supplying the fort from the sea. That was the correct way to attack another country.

With all those cannons, two ships would do the job of three from Karrondor, but it would take ten or more to transport sufficient troops and another five or six for supplies and equipment, instead of two or three of Karrondor’s ships. Those ships would make regular runs from the staging area to the battle with supplies, reinforcements, and equipment.

He had thought Artermador had a good navy, but if this was the way they were headed with their ships, they might be easier than first imagined. He made a note to find out how many of this new type of useless vessels, their navy had.

Protocol required that his father leave the ship first. He made his way to the gangway where his father and Thorak were waiting. After he arrived, the gangway was extended to the dock and they began disembarking.