Chapter 7 Measure of a Man
Royal chambers.
King Aloisio, son of King Reynaldo the Conqueror, was unconscious from excess of wine, ale and exhaustion from sex. He took no notice when the two young women woke up and dressed quickly and left silently. The two women walked down the wide hallway on the second floor of the great tower. They passed young pages stationed near each entrance hall leading to the various noble apartments. A nobleman or a castle servant could find a page quickly if they needed something. Most of the pages were twelve or thirteen years old. They came from important but ordinary families. Many looked at the ground as the girls passed by, but the new ones watched them with smiles and sexual thoughts they did not understand. The experienced pages had seen young women like that many times. The sad looks and tears of the new ones whose innocence had been stolen by the king. These women, like hundreds of others, came from poor families and were selected for their beauty and sexual attributes that pleased the king or another nobleman. They had experienced the attention of the king on numerous occasions and kept their emotions to themselves. The women finally reached the farthest room on this floor from the royal chambers. A fifteen-year-old page saw them and turned to knock on the door of the High Priest of the Pegasi.
A voice inside the bedroom: Please come in.
The page opened the heavy door for them and, out of respect, did not look at their faces. He was used to these visits at various times of the morning. Today there had already seventeen from women who had been selected by a nobleman the night before. He knew there would be more.
High Priest Danilo of Colinas Gemelas was forty years old. He was a short and thin and had a very attractive face. He was lord over the Pegasi, their riders and the priests of the Pegasi Cult.
Danilo: Good morning. I have the remedies ready for you.
A girl: MLord, I do not need the pregnancy remedy, but I do need something for pain.
The priest looked at her. She was young.
Danilo thought: Goddess, help her.
The other girl: Thank you, Lord High Priest.
Danilo: Of course. Do not eat for an hour, remember?
He stood and searched through some small bottles and wooden boxes on one of many shelves. He selected a few items.
He mixed two liquids in a small cup and offered it to the first woman. Then, he poured a fine powder into a very small bottle, closed it with a cork, and placed it in front of her.
Danilo: If there is blood, apply this powder to the area to heal it. A little bit inside is necessary, understand?
The young woman drank the clear liquid and nodded.
The other: Thank you sir, you are always kind to us.
They quickly left to begin their daily tasks. They cleaned or ran errands for the nobles until another man decided to use their bodies for his pleasure. The silver coins they earn provided food and security for their families. Few of these girls had explained to their parents the details of the honor of serving in the castle.
Training grounds of the Royal Unicorns.
Banner Knight Rodrigo of Colina Alba was mounted on his War Unicorn called Cobalt Storm. Beside his Unicorn was a larger one with a horn that was broken at the end. Azure Death was the Unicorn of kings. His first rider was King Gutierre until his death. His son, Reynaldo the Conqueror, had ridden him in the wars against the northern savages and the kingdom of Puerto Blanco. King Aloisio had never ridden this Unicorn. Having served a brave and powerful man, the steed had immediately rejected the paragon of cowardice. Azure Death had no saddle or rider, but the other Unicorns still recognized him as their leader. The knights wore leather practice armor covered by a bright blue tabard with silver embroidery showing a crossed spear and great sword. The mounts were draped in similar armor and a darker blue comparison trimmed in silver.
Rodrigo in a booming voice: Knights! In six days, the nobles of every house in the realm will be present for a demonstration of our power and precision. For them, it will be a fun celebration. But for us warriors, it is a chance to show them why they should be loyal to our king. Remind them of the sound of thundering hooves, the force of our spears, and the bones that break under our charge.
Three hundred voices shouted: For the kingdom, for the God of the Greenwood!
The Unicorns stood in three lines of one hundred each, facing their commander. They stared at him until he raised his spear in the air. They immediately turned left to form three rows, one hundred Unicorns wide and three deep. They covered the distance of five hundred human steps in about ten seconds. There were a thousand wooden statues with shields representing enemy soldiers. They stood in two rows, five hundred men wide and two deep. A common formation for men-at-arms. The Unicorns in front turned diagonally to the right at the last second. Those in the middle turned diagonally to the left. Those in the back charged straight forward. Some passed within less than the width of a hand between them. The three hundred knights hurled their spears with great force at the statues, almost all of which pierced their chests. The steeds stopped and turned in a distance only twice their length. One hundred and fifty Unicorns charged to the right, and the rest to the left. The statues, without spears on their chests, were pierced by the horns as the enormous animals passed. The riders drew their swords and brandished them with both hands against the heads of the soldiers who were still unharmed. When each statue received a serious wound, the Unicorns returned to their original positions. The riders saluted their commander with their swords raised in front of their faces, and the Unicorns stamped their left hooves on the ground in unison.
Rodrigo looked at the statues and thought: Probably more than four hundred dead. Hundreds were permanently wounded. In a real battle, two hundred or more would have fled when the center was destroyed.
Rodrigo angrily: I counted to forty-two in my head! Unacceptable! On Unification Day, if I count more than forty, I will cut off all your balls and feed them to Azure Death!
Fifty servants began to repair the statues and return the spears to the knights. The commander intended to practice this maneuver three more times today and four times each day before the demonstration in six days.