Chapter 14
Arthur had only ever wanted to do the right thing.
First, it had been the right thing to please his father – prayer and fasting, memorising the Word, joining Ulrian as he stood before a crowded village square.
Later, Arthur would relegate himself to the wings of his father’s performance, a voiceless, nameless extra.
He’d watch the way Ulrian’s face changed as he spoke.
Immune to it, Arthur would let the timbre of his father’s voice wash over him, not truly touching him, although he gave the impression it did.
He learnt to school his expression, shape his mouth to speak the words Ulrian needed to hear, never giving voice to the ones that were growing louder the longer he kept them caged inside.
Then what was right became murky – an ocean of unfathomable depths that some days, Arthur could swim through effortlessly and others he would drown in.
Right and wrong, he came to understand, were constructs, not universal truths.
It was Jalen who taught him that. Jalen who, unbeknown to Arthur, was shaping him, preparing him to be what his mistress wanted.
But wasn’t Jalen doing what he’d believed to be right?
Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples. How could he know what was truly the right path to take?
The image of Kernou’s refugees crowding around Ordes in Port Leore refused to leave Arthur’s brain.
He’d gone to see his father and sat with him, wondering at the power this man still held over people even while he had no power over himself anymore.
Ulrian had lost his agency. Arthur should have been able to find something to celebrate in that, but he couldn’t. His father, flawed and arrogant, determined and self-righteous, was broken.
Arthur wished he knew what had happened.
He’d hoped, in one of Ulrian’s rare moments of clarity, when the fog visibly cleared from his eyes and he sat up straight, he’d speak about it.
Who was the ‘she’ he mentioned? Jenyfer thought it was Lamorna, because if Mordred was involved in whatever event caused Ulrian’s madness, it had to be her.
But Arthur couldn’t reconcile the Lamorna he knew with the Lamorna that could have done… this. He thought again of that strange vision he’d had of her in Cruithea: blonde hair unbound, her body gilded by light, a sword in her hand.
He didn’t know her at all, he realised, just as he hadn’t truly understood how much the faithful of Kernou had looked to Ulrian to guide them. He was the shepherd and now, the sheep were on their own, unprotected from predators.
It made Arthur uneasy.
His father was far from perfect, but he had, in his way, truly cared for his people – those who had fit into his worldview anyway.
When Arthur caught his father preaching, he wondered whether it was his lost flock he saw or if it was a nameless, faceless crowd.
Did Ulrian even know who his people were without him?
To Arthur, it seemed all of this had been leading to the one thing he was yet to make a clear decision on: the realms.
Ordes’ suggestion had arisen from anger, a way to get at his mother. They hadn’t known whether it was possible to shut off the realms, but Niniane’s arrival on the deck of The Excalibur, her fear disguised as fury, had told Arthur one thing.
It could be done.
He’d spent a lot of time reading the spaces between the words that people spoke, realising the words they didn’t voice were often the most important.
Out of all the Old Ones, Niniane had the most to lose.
The Green Knight – the man Arthur had seen in his dreamwalk at least – had realised their mistake all those years ago.
The earth would never be forgotten because no matter what happened on its surface, it was the earth that sustained life.
The God of the Earth knew that, therefore he would live on.
Melodias had made his position clear by forming an alliance with Mordred, and Inanna and Ereshki, the Two in One, had planned this from the beginning.
But the Goddess of Magic and her island were already fading. Closing her realm off from the world would be its end.
It needed to happen, that much Arthur was certain of. Whether magic or religion, he did not want to see people manipulated.
Where did that leave him? If he was to truly be king, he needed to be able to answer that question.
Arthur wanted a world of tolerance, acceptance and freedom – choice. That would be the basis, the building blocks for the new world. He wished they didn’t have to fight for it with blood and death.
He found Jenyfer and Ordes sitting on the quarterdeck watching the sun sink beneath the horizon. Kayrus was at the helm. The old man gave Arthur a smile as he made his way slowly up the short flight of steps, his eyes lingering for a moment on the Sword of the White Dragon at his hip.
‘I’ve made my decision,’ Arthur announced as Ordes acknowledged him with a nod. Jenyfer’s head rested on Ordes’ shoulder but shot up at Arthur’s words.
Arthur took a deep breath, his eyes on the coastline of Teyath. This was right. This was what needed to be done.
‘We need to close off the realms.’
‘Are you sure that’s what you want to do?’ Jenyfer asked.
Arthur nodded, easing himself onto the top step.
He could sense Kayrus listening, but he didn’t care – he had nothing to hide, and he had already decided, somewhere along the way, he was not going to keep things from the people he was supposed to rule over.
‘What happened to Ordes in Port Leore made me realise something. In all this, I’ve been trying to work out what I want, what we should do, what will be best and I’ve been trying to please everyone, including myself.
There’s no way to do that though, is there?
’ he asked. ‘My father used religion to control people. But it’s more than that, because he used his power to take away their capacity to think for themselves.
Now they don’t know what to do without someone telling them.
’ He met Jenyfer’s eyes. ‘That could have been us, Jen, had we been different people – a normal village girl and a dutiful son. Our difference, the fear we lived with, is what saved us, in the end.’
Jenyfer’s lips thinned, but she nodded.
‘I’m blessed to have a life full of people who empower me. That is what I want others to feel. That is the world I want.’
‘I’m not sure how to do this,’ Ordes admitted.
‘I know it was my idea, but I don’t know if it can be done.
And the one person I could ask is likely not to tell me anything because he’s not supposed to interfere, except to offer you guidance, Arthur.
’ He glanced up at the darkening sky for a moment.
‘Maybe it will be like closing a door? Maybe the realms are like cabins, and the space between them is a passageway that you’re able to walk, Arthur. ’
‘Except, it’s not a passageway for me,’ Arthur murmured. ‘I don’t know what it is. The dreamspace? The space between the worlds?’
‘Maybe it’s different for everyone,’ Jenyfer suggested. ‘Ordes thinks of a ship, because he’s spent his life on one. It’s familiar.’ She paused, then gasped. ‘The book that Ophine left about the Otherworld said something about the space between the worlds. Wait here and I’ll—’
Ordes clicked his fingers and the book appeared in Jenyfer’s lap. He shrugged. She gave him a wry smile, muttered ‘show-off’, then began flipping through the book. When she found what she was looking for, she closed her eyes, taking a moment to steady herself.
‘“From the emptiness that preceded the creation of the world, land was given form, called into being by the Creator.”’
‘What else does it say?’ Arthur asked. He snuck a look at Ordes. The other man’s expression was thoughtful.
‘“First came the ocean” – if my father knows that, it’s no wonder he’s a self-important arse.’ Jenyfer cleared her throat. ‘“From which all life was born. Then came the earth and then magic was birthed into the world.”’
‘So the realms were created before the Old Ones. Created by another and given into their care,’ Ordes mused. ‘Which makes them… stewards. That’s significant.’
‘How so?’ Arthur asked. The Sword was humming in his mind, but he wasn’t sure if the Treasure agreed or disagreed with Ordes’ statement.
‘Because it means they don’t have ultimate control,’ Ordes concluded.
‘Which would mean we – you – can close the realms,’ Arthur said slowly.
‘Theoretically. But if I can do that, what’s to stop them from keeping the realms open? They’re more powerful than me.’
Jenyfer traced the lines of text on the page. ‘Because you were born in the space between the worlds.’ She passed the book to Ordes, who stared at it, before he swallowed audibly. When he spoke, his voice was low, barely more than a whisper.
‘“The space between the worlds contains the essence of all the realms combined. It is life, death and rebirth. It is creation and destruction. It is infinite and unending.”’ Ordes closed the book, his hands trembling on the cover. ‘Fuck me.’
Silence lingered between them. Kayrus had disappeared somewhere in the middle of the conversation. Arthur hadn’t even noticed. He wasn’t sure what to say next. Jenyfer had her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying at it.
Ordes laughed suddenly. ‘My mother gets her wish.’
‘What do you mean?’ Arthur whispered. Dread settled along his spine.
‘I’m a weapon. Just not the one she imagined I’d be,’ Ordes said. ‘If this is what you want, Arthur, then I’ll find a way to close Avalon and Lyonesse off from the rest of the world.’
‘The Otherworld?’ Arthur breathed.
‘A mirror of this one,’ Ordes said. ‘It has to stay.’