The weapon maker said, “The knife is undoubtedly from the house of Helium, made by the house weapon makers and reserved for the royal family and the generals of the Warlord’s private navies. No blade like this was ever held by any person of lesser rank. I should not be touching it now.”
He handed it back to me reverently and said, “It has been a great honor. It will be my pleasure to serve you in any way that I can.”
I took the knife and nodding to the councilman returned it to my belt.
He sighed heavily and said, “Yes, fine. Surprise after surprise and no time for explanations. Let us continue. Normally you would appear before the council prior to bonding to settle this, but in these cases, we may settle it after the fact. Tell us what you ask for the bride price.”
I looked to Aeyli and she said, “He wants to know how much money they need to give you in exchange for you taking me off their hands.”
Tronuck said, “Well, I wouldn’t put it quite that way, but yes, it is customary for us to set a price that we agree to so that you may start life with a mate. What do you ask? But, please be reasonable, we are a small village after all.”
I thought about how I would answer and finally said, “Councilman, I have a very different proposal, but I hope that this will be a more pleasant surprise. As my price, I ask that you will allow me to buy your village a well or a new school or some improvement as you all see fit. May I approach?”
He nodded in confusion and I took a medium sized gold coin knelt on one knee and held it out to him. “I can offer this for her. If you require more, say the word.”
He took the coin from my hand and I backed down the steps to stand beside Aeyli again.
The man showed the coin to the council and the rest of the room gasped.
The woman, Dorel, jumped in and said, “Mark, your gift is very generous and we receive it as a sign of your love for my granddaughter. People, this man is no fool. He is a great warrior, has some connection to the great houses, and has a great love for our shrine maiden. We will not ask questions we don’t need answers to. But, a bride price is required of us. Let me propose this. As the bride price from our village, we give you the house of the shrine maidens for a starting residence. Senior councilman, ask him if he will accept that.”
The man said, “Um, yes, we will offer the house of the shrine maidens. We will find a new place for the others. Do you accept our offer?”
I said, “I do,” and I said nothing else about ‘the others’ that he mentioned.
The man said, “Good. And your gift to the village is very generous and very much appreciated. We will put it to very good use and you will see the fruit of it. As far as your choice of my granddaughter as a mate though, I think that you will have to turn her over your knee and spank her often before she becomes respectful. Not that we would treat a grown woman that way, and I didn’t treat her that way as a child, but you will have your hands full if I know her at all.”
I frowned and said, “Councilman, may I speak?”
He nodded.
I said, “Aeyli-ah-Mark, come before me.”
Aeyli turned and stood in front of me and I motioned with my eyes and she smiled and knelt at my feet and looked up into my eyes.
I said to her, “All know that a woman would never remove her belt in the presence of any man but her mate.”
Aeyli said, “That is true my prince. It would be an unthinkable shame.”
I said, “Aeyli, my princess, if I asked you now, where you sit, to remove your belt, what would you do?”
She answered, “I would unbuckle it and lay it at your feet.”
I said, “But why? It’s a shame to that in the presence of other men.”
She looked at me and smiled and said, “Of course, an unthinkable shame. But I see no other men but my prince here. If you ask me to do it, it will be no shame for me because you are the only man in the room.”
The councilwoman said, “She means no insult to anyone so be silent. Her eyes behold her beloved. You see the wisdom here? Mark doesn’t question you when you say your foolishness like I would. You have said what you will and he has said what he will. Wars should be settled this way.”
I raised Aeyli to her feet and she stood beside me.
A voice from behind me yelled out, “Let them prove it!”
Chapter 17
A Challenge in the Council Hall
I spun toward the voice and said, “Who asks for proof? Stand and let me see you!”
A man hesitated and then stood up and looked a bit shaken to have been found out, but tried to put on a good face.
I said, “Sir, it is my intention to be friends with every man and woman in Tranna. So, I will plan that you and I become close friends. Tell me your name.”
He faltered but said, “I am Narhu.”
I said, “Narhu, I am Mark. We will be friends. Narhu, it’s no shame for her if my mate does what I ask, even the thing that I suggested. But, if I, as her mate let my princess take off her belt, it would be a great shame for me. What kind of a man would allow such a thing? She says that she sees no other man in the room, but I see nothing but brave and honorable men. I see no woman but my mate. But strong men, I see a hundred or so at least. So friend Narhu, I know that you called out in jest, knowing that such a thing is laughable. But if I’m wrong, and you wish to test me to see if I am a coward unworthy of your village, step down here and I will let you test me. If that’s what you want, come down here my new friend. We will wrestle. I won’t kill you, since you are my first friend in the village of Tranna. If that’s not what you want, enjoy your seat and we will greet one another after the meeting as friends.”
Narhu sat down and the crowd actually applauded and those nearby clapped him on the back at his decision to make peace with me.
I turned back to face the council.
The woman said, “Aeyli, your prince is a wise man, tell us another wise thing that you learned from him. The story that you told me.”
Aeyli said, “When he killed the ape, he explained to me that it was the ape’s choice to die, not his choice to kill it. He would not have killed the ape, except that the thing insisted. It could have turned and gone in peace, but it chose instead to threaten the one he loved and therefore it had chosen to die. If a man forces his own death it is not the fault of the one forced to help him with his decision. You may let all men live; unless they ask you to help them end their lives by choice. I had thought to give my own life, to choose to die in order to save my mate when the ape attacked, and I thought that he had done the same as I watched in horror as he ran toward it. Afterward, he explained to me that the choice to die is not mine to make, because I am bound to him. In the same way, the choice to die is not his to make, because he is bound to me. We must both always choose life because we are bound to each other. But the ape had chosen to die by threatening to take us away from each other.”
The woman said, “I have heard enough, let us vote.”
The Tronuck said, “Vote on what? We don’t vote on mating.”
She said, “I call for a vote of the council. Shall the gift of Mark Jensen to the Village of Tranna be used to renovate a great hall where he will spend what time he wishes, instructing both the men and women of the village in wisdom and the use of weapons? This is my proposal and I call for a vote. First I make this argument. If we do this thing, I predict that the result will be that in one year’s time, many men will have at least three wives; that our birthrate will be twice what it is today; and that the rate of males born will be twice what it is today. What say you?”
Nine hands shot up: all of the women on the council. Before the men could react, Dorel said, “You see, the women know what this will do. Trust us, you will be happy at home with this decision.”