Someone Else's Kingdom, BOOK II - Scene LXXIII

"Essen can stay, ..come sit at the table."

Essen walked over to the table, but remained standing. As ever, his natural energy making him reluctant to settle. The crowd that were in the grand hall had retired for the night, and now Essen found himself in Colm's humble residence.

"Sit," repeated Colm, this time pressing the instruction. At the second request Essen pulled out a chair and sat down. At the small table, either side of him, were Colm and the King of Tunid, and across from him sat Prince Estorie.

The room in Colm's tiny house was quiet, and, as Essen poured himself water from the large jug that sat on the table, its clunk sounded louder than it would've done had he made the exact same motion sat there on his own. That, and the fact that Colm had told him to sit, only added to the sense of seriousness. The King of Tunid couldn't help but notice the awkward punctuation of the clunk - its woody echo, and the slight galonk of the water as Essen placed the jug back in the centre, pulling the silent focus of the room. The peaceful bell having broken the still, the king took it as a cue to speak.

"You know about the outer lands, I take it," he asked, a demure tone in his voice.

Colm and Essen both nodded in confirmation.

"How many more people know?"

"Many," stated Colm, "We don't keep secrets here."

The King of Tunid looked despondent at this reply. He already understood full well that many on the island would've known, but the cavalier lack of discretion for such an astounding truth deepened his sense of the problem. Colm noted the disappointment, but felt little sympathy, though as he watched the disappointment echo in Estorie's face, it pulled him closer to it.

"You must have noted the weather?" came the next question from from the Tunidan monarch.

The sentence puzzled Essen, though Colm had anticipated it somewhat.

"The strangeness of it," pressed the king once again.

"You're going to need to explain it to us," nudged Colm, hoping the King of Tunid would spell it out more plainly. Growing a little impatient with the leading questions.

The king leaned into the table. "We can't leave," he said coldly, in an almost whisper. He then tried to elucidate. "If we go beyond the desert edge - to the unspoilt, outer lands - we get pushed back, destroyed ..by the gods. By forces of nature."

Both Colm and Essen sat rooted with looks of disbelief. Prince Estorie looked at them, trying in his expression to give credence to his father's words.

"If people leave, it will lead to destruction - devastation."

"Surely nonsense," replied Colm.

"It's true," pleaded the king, "There are reasons for our secrecy - we aren't just fiends. We don't enjoy keeping the world in this state of darkness, but the world depends upon us doing it. It's a duty, not a luxury. That's why I'm begging you to share this responsibility. Now it's fallen to you by fortune."

"Explain it to me," inquired Colm, with unwilling curiosity, "These gods, have you seen them with your own eyes?"

"No, I haven't seen them. I don't suspect anyone has ever seen them. We just see the effects."

"So, you've just seen weather? ..the same weather we all see."

"Not just weather - storms, floods, tempests, quakes, fire. We have traditions and histories going back millennia. Whenever man leaves, and the circle is broken, we get destruction. Pure carnage and devastation. Total and utter destruction. Wiped back to zero. I was always sceptical too. To me they were also just myths and stories, but now we clearly see that dark storms are coming."

"It's just weather," reiterated Colm, bluntly.

"But surely it can't be a coincidence that we have these strange storms and tempests now, as the world tears itself apart ..and as men sail beyond waters known?"

"There's always war. When has there not been war? And you yourself sail beyond waters known."

Essen nodded in agreement. The dull reason of Colm cutting through more than the scary tales the King of Tunid was offering. Even Prince Estorie felt the mild tug of the logic as he watched his father argue the case.

"The water clock drips," stated the King of Tunid, finding a poetic calm, "We're a petal in a bowl slowly sinking."

"So," questioned Colm, his curiosity ticking upwards, "You've spent your entire life guarding these secrets, managing the world, enforcing this rule, but it's only now that you believe with your own eyes the necessity?"

"Yes."

There was then a short hesitation. This time Prince Estorie grabbed the large jug of water and filled his cup, though now the clunk on the table went largely unnoticed amidst the conversation.

"You're asking me why I did it?" followed on the king, disheartened to feel his intentions so questioned. "Why I kept the world in darkness, though I didn't believe the need? Firstly, it was my duty. Furthermore, even though I had my doubts, who was I to go against all my forebears to risk the entire world. Plus, as well, I'll freely say that there was a desire to protect the unspoilt world from Man's carnage. That at least gave some sense of purpose."

"Who are you to decide where other men can sail?" piqued Essen.

"That's a fair question ..but again, it isn't me. My motives were mainly to placate my own feelings. Ultimately, it's the gods who will decide. Clearly it's they that want Man to stay his place. My one regret now is that I didn't take things more seriously."

"You say the gods deny men passage, yet they didn't stop Essen, and his men. And again, they haven't stopped you from occupying your hidden island on the outside."

"I don't know the mind of the gods," lamented the king, almost thinking to himself as he answered. "There seems to be a certain sense to it though. A sense we can't fully work out. The number of people that leave. The intentions of those people that are leaving. Somehow it all gets aggregated. Somehow they just know. They know what's in the hearts of men."

Though fascinated, as Colm followed the rationale he increasingly came to the belief that the Tunidan king was simply trying to dupe him. The entire Tunidan Empire had been built on lies, he thought - it had always been lies, so why wouldn't they be lying now. Yet, as he made this judgement he kept it to himself, and refrained from being overtly hostile as the discussion dwindled towards its close.

"We'll think about what you've told us," he replied, with kindness. He then ruffled the hair of Prince Estorie - a gentle display of affection, underlining the lack of personal animosity. The King of Tunid was then shown to his small, but homely quarters for the night. It was far from a kingly abode, and it stood small in comparison to the splendid rooms of his Woodville palace, but it was warm, and a reef of peace; where sleep could be had before oncoming battles. Be they with gods or men.