King Rigenos had gathered stature, it seemed, for he wore a suit of gilded armour over which was hung a surcoat of white and red. Set into his helmet was his crown of iron and diamonds. He walked proudly to the dais and ascended it, seating himself in his throne with both arms stretched along the arms of the seat.
We raised our hands in salute:
'Hail, King Rigenos!' we roared.
And then we kneeled. I kneeled first. Behind me kneeled the little group of Marshals. Behind them were a hundred Captains, behind them were five thousand Knights, all kneeling. And surrounding us, along the walls, were the old nobles, the Ladies of the Court, men-at-arms at attention, slaves and squires, the mayors of the various quarters of the city and from the various provinces of the Two Continents.
And all watched Rigenos and his Champion, Erekose.
King Rigenos rose from his throne and took a step forward. I looked up at him and his face was grave and stern. I had never seen him look so much a king before.
Now I felt that the attention of the watchers was on myself alone. I, Erekose, Champion of Humanity, was to be their saviour. They knew it.
In my confidence and pride, I knew it, also.
King Rigenos raised his hands and spread them out and began to speak:
'Erekose the Champion, Marshals, Captains and Knights of Humanity-we go to wage war against inhuman evil. We go to fight something that is more than an enemy bent on conquest. We go to fight a menace that would destroy our entire race. We go to save our two fair continents from total annihilation. The victor will rule the entire Earth. The defeated will become dust and will be forgotten-it will be as if he had never existed.
'This expedition upon which we are about to embark will be decisive. With Erekose to lead us we shall win the port of Paphanaal and its surrounding province. But that will only be the first stage in our campaigns.'
King Rigenos paused and then spoke again into the almost absolute silence that had fallen in the Great Hall.
'More battles must follow fast upon the first so that the hated Hounds of Evil will, once and for all, be destroyed. Men and women-even children-must perish. We drove them to their holes in the Mountains of Sorrow once, but this time we must not let their race survive. Let only their memory remain for a little while-to remind us what evil is!'
Still kneeling, I raised both my hands above my head and clenched my fists.
'Erekose,' said King Rigenos. 'You who by the power of your eternal will made yourself into flesh again and came to us at this time of need, you will be the power with which we shall destroy the Eldren. You will be Humanity's scythe to sweep this way and that and cut the Eldren down as weeds. You will be Humanity's spade to dig up the roots wherever they have grown. You will be Humanity's fire to burn the waste to the finest ash. You, Erekose, will be the wind that will blow those ashes away as if they had never existed! You will destroy the Eldren!'
'I will destroy the Eldren!' I cried and my voice echoed through the Great Hall like the voice of a God. 'I will destroy the Enemies of Humanity! With the Sword Kanajana I will ride upon them with vengeance and hatred and cruelly in my heart and I will vanquish the Eldren!'
From behind me now came a mighty shout:
'WE SHALL VANQUISH THE ELDREN!'
Now the king raised his head and his eyes glittered and his mouth was hard.
'Swear it!' he said.
We were intoxicated by the atmosphere of hate and rage in the Great Hall.
'We so swear!' we roared. 'We will destroy the Eldren!'
Hatred now boiled from the king's eyes, seared in his voice:
'Go now, Paladins of Mankind. Go-destroy the Eldren offal. Clean our planet of the Eldren filth!'
As one man, we rose to our feet and yelled our battle-cries, turned in precision and marched from the Great Hall, out of the Palace of Ten Thousand Windows and into a day noisy with the swelling cheers of the people.
But as we marched, one thought preyed on my mind. Where was lolinda? Why had she not come to me? There had been so little time before the ceremony and yet I would have thought she would have sent a message at least.
Down the winding streets of Necranal we marched in glorious procession. Through die cheering day with the bright sun shining on our weapons and our armour and our flags of a thousand rich colours waving in the wind.
And I led them. I, Erekose, the Eternal, the Champion, the Vengeance Bringer-I led them. My arms were raised as if I was already celebrating my victory. Pride filled me. I knew what Glory was and I relished it. This was the way to live-as a warrior-a leader of great armies-a wielder of weapons.
On we marched, down towards the waiting ships which were ready on the river. And a song came to my lips-a song that was in an archaic version of the language I now spoke. I sang the song and it was taken up by all the warriors that marched behind me. Drums began to beat and trumpets to shout and we cried aloud for blood and death and the great, red reaping that would come to Mernadin.
That is how we marched. That is how we felt.
Do not judge me until I have told you more.
We reached the wide part of the river where the harbour was and there were the ships. There were fifty ships stretched along both quays on either side of the river. Fifty ships bearing the fifty standards of fifty proud paladins.
And these were only fifty. The fleet itself waited for us to join it at the port of Noonos. Noonos of the Jewelled Towers.
The people of Necranal lined the banks of the river. They were cheering, cheering-so that we became used to their voices as men became used to the sounds of the sea, scarcely hearing them.
I regarded the ships. Richly decorated cabins were built on the decks and the ships of the Paladins had several masts bearing furled sails of painted canvas. Already oars were being slipped through the ports and dipped into the placid river waters. Strong men, three to a sweep, sat upon the rowing benches. These men were not, as far as I could see, slaves, but free warriors.
At the head of this squadron of ships lay the king's huge battle barge-a magnificent man-o'-war. It had eighty pair of oars and eight tall masts. Its rails were painted in red, gold and black, its decks were polished crimson, its sails were yellow, dark blue and orange and its huge craved figurehead, representing a goddess holding a sword in her two outstretched hands, was predominantly scarlet and silver. Ornate and splendid, the deck cabins shone with fresh varnish which had been laid over pictures of ancient human heroes (I was among them, though die likenesses were poor…) and ancient human victories, of mythical beasts and demons and gods.
Detaching myself from the main force that had drawn itself up on the quayside, I walked to the tapestry-covered gangway and strode up it and boarded the ship. Sailors rushed forward to greet me.
One said: 'The Princess lolinda awaits you in die Grand Cabin, Excellency.'
I turned and then paused, looking at die splendid structure of the cabin, smiling slightly at the representations of myself painted upon it. Then I moved towards it and entered a comparatively low door into a room which was covered, floor, walls and ceiling, with thick tapestries in deep reds and blacks and golds. Lanterns hung in the room, and in the shadows, clad in a simple dress and a thin, dark cloak, stood my lolinda.
'I did not wish to interrupt the preparations this morning,' she said. 'My father said that they were important-that there was little time to spare. So I thought you would not want to see me…'
I smiled. 'You still do not believe what I say, do you, lolinda? You still do not trust me when I proclaim my love for you, when I tell you that I would do anything for you.' I went towards her and held her in my arms. 'I love you, lolinda. I shall always love you.'