Chapter 128 The Night of Rituals
Puerto Blanco.
Nestor noticed that something was different about the castle as soon as they landed. He saw that there were fewer bonfires illuminating the white stone walls. The faces of those present reflected sadness as they provided assistance.
Nestor: Was ist passiert?
The master of the nest: Die Herzogin.
The Pegasus was attended to while the rider was provided with a pony to travel to the castle. He arrived in front of Weisse Halle and found a group of knights, nobles, and priests. While he was dismounting, an old knight approached him with a serious expression.
Knight: I am in charge of the castle until the duke returns. I can take any messages for the Duchess.
Nestor handed over the bag: I am sorry, my Lord.
Knight: Will you be seeing our duke soon?
The rider: It is possible, yes.
Knight: Please attend the funeral as a witness to tell the duke how his mother returned to the sea.
Nestor: Of course. It will be my honored duty to give him the news.
The man followed the knight to a line near the great gate of the castle. Between this line and another on the opposite side, a procession of three priestesses passed. One was old, representing the large moon, the grandmother. Another was young, representing the small moon, the daughter. And the priestess in the middle, nearly thirty years old, represented the sun, the life-giving mother.
Behind them, twelve sturdy men carried a small boat decorated with flowers and covered with a black but transparent cloth. Beneath it lay the small body of Duchess Lieselota. She was surrounded by dry firewood and tinder. The people followed the procession at a slow pace towards the beach of pebbles and white sand.
The men waded into the sea to push the funeral boat toward the receding tide. Once the boat was afloat, it moved slowly with the current. The people watched as the boat drifted further and further away.
A man dressed in a black cloak with depictions of the sun and the moons embroidered in gold thread on each sleeve walked along the beach carrying a bow with an arrow covered in a black substance. The young priestess took a torch from a man and waited for the archer to be ready. She lit the arrow, and the archer fired with great precision. The arrow struck the ship, igniting the fabric and wood coated with flammable liquid.
While the ship and the duchess burned, the people quietly sang a song of sadness and hope for the future. Nestor thought of his wife and daughter, who were in the castle with the enemy, and wondered if they were still alive.
The fortress of Arkady the Bear
Tatiana stood beside her uncle near the entrance of the large tent that stood in the center. Snow was falling softly as dusk settled. The imposing man had his hands on her shoulders and was looking into her eyes.
Arkady: I think it is a mistake, but you have my permission to perform the rite. You are a warrior who defeated a War Prince. The chiefs are obligated to listen to you.
The warrior: Thank you, Uncle, you are of my own blood and the person I aspire to be.
They entered the tent and looked at the chiefs of each tribe that was nearby. A large bonfire illuminated the men and warmed the tent. She walked to a spot near the center. She raised a spear to show it to them.
The woman spoke loudly and with great confidence: I am Tatiana the Puma. Daughter of Chief Rostislav, niece of the most powerful chief in the north. I killed my first man at fifteen. I have fought against warriors from the north, knights from the south, and against a puma that left its mark on me.
She showed her right leg and the scar from a deep bite wound. Many men made the sound of a puma to show their admiration for her bravery and strength.
Tatiana: In the south, my husband is fighting against the royal army that killed children and destroyed tribes like cowards. This is a queen who does not want to kill our tribes. She desires peace. She has a heart I can serve. If we do not help her, the cowards will return to divide and kill us.
Fewer men made that sound, but there were still many. She grabbed a torch and lit it. The warrior drew a circle on the ground around her feet. She thrust the spear into the earth and covered it with whale oil using a piece of leather.
Tatiana: I claim the rite of War Prince. Join me in a war for the queen against the cowardly knights. If this spear ceases to burn and a thousand warriors do not follow me, I will abandon the north as an enemy and never return.
She knelt and removed her vest and shirt. She used the claw of a puma to draw a line from her right nipple to her left hip and the same on the other side, forming an X of blood on her body. The woman drew her sword and her axe and crossed them on the ground in front of her.
Captain Carlos stood up and walked over. He knelt and crossed his two swords.
Carlos: I am not a chief of the north, but I have seventy-two men who can fight.
A chief joined them near the spear: My tribe was almost wiped out by these snakes. I have forty warriors.
Two other chiefs promised thirty and twenty warriors for similar reasons.
A woman walked to the area and sat down with a crossbow: I am not the leader of a tribe. But I know there are a hundred women who will follow you.
For a few minutes, no one else stood up. The flames on the spear were smaller, and the men looked at each other with questioning glances. Tatiana looked at a large shadow that appeared in the firelight. She looked up at her uncle.
Her uncle: I am Arkady the Bear. I have seven hundred warriors, including myself. I will follow the Puma.
War Prince Tatiana had sixteen hundred warriors under her command when the ritual was completed.