"The ocean has sharks and scavengers." Kedrin spoke plainly, as if to an adult. Though he had wanted Ra-khir to temper his words around the other Renshai youths, he made no attempt to do so now with his grandson. No matter the Renshai definition, Kedrin clearly considered Saviar a man. "Not every body returned intact or at all. It would not be prudent to put a prince to pyre until his identity is certain."
Saviar seized a piece of dried fruit and put it in his mouth, chewing as he considered. Kedrin had basically said that Arturo's body might have floated ashore in pieces. The reality of that image leaped suddenly to the fore: sharp, jagged teeth ripping into the young man's flesh, streaming blood that attracted more of its ilk, tearing him to pieces. Saviar could only hope the prince was dead when he hit the water. He gave no thought to the young man's escort. The Renshai would have reveled in the battle, earned and celebrated their deaths against superior warriors or numbers. Saviar had enough experience to realize the rest of the world thought differently. Savoring the sweet aftertaste, he swallowed the fruit. "What was a young prince of Bearn doing aboard a ship facing off with pirates?"
Ra-khir smiled ever so slightly. And, though it seemed an odd reaction to their current conversation, Saviar believed he understood. His father always appreciated when Saviar thought beyond the mind-set of a Renshai.
Kedrin responded again, "Until then, the pirates had taken only merchant vessels. Seven was supposed to sit in the harbor to protect the incoming tradesmen and scare the pirates from making landfall. No one imagined a bunch of thieves would dare attack a Bearnian warship directly. Even if they did, the defenses seemed impenetrable."
Saviar knew little about pirates other than that they stole from ships. For most of his life, they had worried the coast of Bearn, though in small numbers and infrequently. They seemed more of a nuisance than a clear threat. Yet Kedrin's expression told Saviar otherwise. Once a mere annoyance, the pirates had now grown into a serious problem. There was clearly more to Bearn's calling of the Knight's captain than just a mission of comfort to a grieving king and queen.
Saviar sat back on his haunches without reaching for more food. "This is critical, isn't it?"
Ra-khir pursed his lips. "The loss of a royal always is."
Saviar dismissed his father's words with a gesture. "I mean beyond that. Who are these pirates?"
"No one knows," Kedrin admitted. "Once dismissed as a greedy band of malcontents, they now seem to have become large and organized. They're clearly testing Bearn's defenses, not just stealing treasure."
"Someone is backing them," Ra-khir agreed. "A country at least. The question is who?"
Saviar froze, not liking what he heard. Neither his father nor his grandfather became distressed easily, and he had never heard either overstate a threat.
Kedrin shrugged. "Who, indeed?"
As the knights no longer seemed to need him as part of the conversation, Saviar returned his attention to eating. He did not have enough experience or knowledge to solve such a mystery, nor even to fully and clearly understand its significance.
Ra-khir rose, brushed crumbs from his lap, and bowed to his father. "Excuse me, please, Captain."
Kedrin dipped his head and made a majestic, but offhand, looping gesture that clearly granted the request.
Saviar smiled. These were the moments he loved, watching the knights perform routine acts with grandeur that made even tiny details seem important. He watched his father disappear into the brush, surely to relieve himself, then turned his attention to his grandfather.
Captain Kedrin grinned broadly at his grandson, showing teeth as brilliant as pearls that made a strange contrast to the dull, gap-toothed mouths of most of the populace. Like all knights, he cared for his body meticulously. "I'm proud of you, Saviar. Not every young man would volunteer for a mission this difficult. It won't be easy to face a friend who just lost a beloved brother, especially trained by a culture that doesn't look upon death as tragedy."
"Death in battle," Saviar corrected. The Renshai deemed succumbing to age, accident, or disease the direst of catastrophes, for it doomed one's soul to Hel. Only brave warriors killed in glorious combat could be chosen for Valhalla. "Though, in this case, your point stands. Prince Arturo did die in battle."
"Surely." Kedrin's blue-white eyes sparkled. "My point stands."
Cued by his grandfather's look, Saviar directed his thoughts back to Kedrin's original statement. His cheeks turned warm. "And I'm not sure I deserve your respect. I do plan to console Princess Marisole, but that's not the real reason I asked to come along."
"Oh?" Though an expression of interest, the word also carried a clear note of understanding. Kedrin, Saviar suspected, had known that all along.
The flush on Saviar's cheeks grew deeper. "Well, I… was hoping I might…" He spoke slowly, weighing his grandfather's reaction. "… get a chance to do some research." As the Knight-Captain showed nothing but curiosity, Saviar continued more boldly. "In the Sage's library."
"Ah." Kedrin encouraged his grandson to continue. He seemed to have wholly forgotten his dinner. "Well, this thing you need to know must be important for you to risk facing the Sage. He guards his scrolls and books with the ferocity of a she-bear with cubs."
Saviar winced. He had heard as much, but he had never directly faced the Sage in his tower. Charged with keeping all the knowledge in the kingdom, the Sage had an army of pages granted access to every event or occurrence, no matter how embarrassing or secret. To deny them would incur the wrath of ancient law, a crime as unthinkable as slaying a messenger or a man calling parley in battle. He lived in the tower with his many chronicles, writing them into history and rewriting the oldest, crumbling pages. "Well…" Saviar kneaded a dried apple between his fingers. "I'm just wanting one piece of information. The Sage might know it without me having to touch any of his treasured papers."
Kedrin shifted, leaning toward Saviar. "What is it you want to know?"
It suddenly occurred to Saviar that he had found the perfect source for his answer, and he felt like a dullard for not considering Kedrin sooner. If anyone knew the answer, the captain of the Knights of Erythane would. "Papa said there's a man who is both Renshai and Knight, and I'm trying to find out who this remarkable fellow might be."
Kedrin sat back with a wry laugh. "Well, you needn't trouble the Sage at all. If your father told you it was a man who held this distinction, he misled you."
Startled, Saviar tried to recall Ra-khir's exact wording. When it did not come, he leaped to his father's defense. "I don't remember exactly how Papa put it." His exoneration could only go so far, however. "He may not have said 'man,' but he certainly didn't say 'woman.' I would have remembered that." Saviar turned his attention directly on his grandfather, the apple forgotten in his hand. Renshai women fought alongside their men, learning the same sword techniques from birth; but theirs was a society much misunderstood and maligned. Even the other Northern tribes would never think to send their women to war. Not that it never happened. Every civilization seemed to have a story about one woman who distinguished herself in swordsmanship, either while disguised or against the comprehension or wishes of her people.
"Oh, dear." Kedrin screwed up his features self-deprecatingly. "Now I've misled you further. As you know, the Knights of Erythane have strict codes of honor. Only males may serve the kings in this manner."
"Male, but not a man." Understanding dawned slowly. "It's Colbey, isn't it?"
Kedrin nodded with a smile.
As he contemplated his own words, Saviar's brow gradually lapsed into wrinkles. "Colbey Calistinsson? An immortal, so not a man. The ideal Renshai, certainly. But a Knight of Erythane?" Saviar shook his head in disbelief. From what he knew, Colbey had little tolerance for ganim. He found them slow and awkward, focused on the superficial and easy. "How can that be?"