The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3)(108)
“I suppose it would not be proper to greet anyone in my nightclothes,” Maia said. She was aching and sore, but she felt rested and peaceful. She was afraid the tranquility was like a soap bubble and would burst in an instant, but she reveled in it nonetheless.
“Suzenne has a gown chosen for you,” Collier said. “And it meets with my approval. I will go while you change.” He started to rise from the bed, but she caught his hand and shook her head.
“No,” she said. “There is a changing screen over there, and Suzenne is here to chaperone us.” She gave him a longing look. “I cannot bear to be parted from you. Ever again.” She squeezed his arm tightly, begging him to stay with her eyes.
Perhaps they were the words he most needed to hear. He looked humbled and a bit shaken, but he did not attempt to leave. He helped her rise gingerly from the bed, and as she walked slowly over to the changing screen, Suzenne holding her arm, she saw him wander to the dressing table and take up a comb. He turned and winked at her knowingly.
Maia would have savored soaking in a tub, but there was not time for that—nor would it have been appropriate, considering the company. She asked Collier dozens of questions about what had happened to him and how he had managed to take the maston test in secret, but he would only promise to tell her all later, when they were alone in the garden.
Once Maia was dressed and Collier was busy combing the tangles out of her hair, Suzenne left to find Aldermaston Syon and his wife, Joanna. As soon as he entered, Maia painfully pulled herself to standing and went to him, hugging him hard, despite the way it made her injuries throb. She was too grateful to see him hale and uninjured after his brush with death. How horrible it would have been had she arrived too late to save him.
“Welcome home,” Richard said soothingly, patting her arm and stepping back. “You could not have arrived through the Apse Veil at a more urgent moment.”
“Indeed, a most desperate moment,” Joanna agreed. She clutched Richard’s hand as if she would never let it go. The look of relief on her face was palpable.
“Were you frightened, Richard?” she asked him, pulling away.
He frowned and shook his head. “If the Medium suffered me to die, I would have joined countless others who have lost their lives defending our beliefs. I was more concerned with how the Medium would punish the Naestors for my death. They have been humbled by what transpired this . . . day?” A smile quirked on his mouth. “I had not even considered halting the setting of the sun and reversing it, but it is mentioned . . . only once . . . in the tomes. A battle was being fought long ago, and the mastons knew they would be defeated if night fell. The Aldermaston leading the fight made the maston sign in full view of his army, and it halted the sun for three hours. That was centuries ago, and it is the only reference I am aware of to anyone invoking that power. The Medium obviously inspired you.”
“Tell her about the Dochte Mandar,” Joanna urged him.
“Let me get to the point quickly. The Naestors are convinced, utterly and completely, that the teachings of the Dochte Mandar are false. When the sun came back, many of their warriors fled in terror. The majority fell down and started worshipping me, thinking that I had done it. While the choir was still singing, they hurriedly escorted me back to the abbey as a peace offering, and that was when I learned that it was you who had summoned the Leerings. The chieftains rounded up all the Dochte Mandar and seized their kystrels, ripping the chains from those who did not cast the amulets away themselves in fear. They did not fight it. There were eight hundred and fifty to be precise. We have blacksmiths destroying them even now. The Naestors are completely submissive, Maia, and fearful of the future. They rely wholly on the Dochte Mandar to invoke their Leerings in Naess and are afraid of living in the dark and by the light of torches.”
Maia pursed her lips. “We must build an abbey in Naess for them,” she said firmly. “We will send mastons—”
Richard smiled, pleased. “I already suspected you would feel that way. And so this is what I proposed after speaking to the Privy Council as well as the other Aldermastons and leaders who have gathered here at Muirwood. They all wish to know if you approve of their plan. If the Naestors enter into a covenant agreeing that they will not attack the other kingdoms, they will be permitted to leave in peace without their weapons. We, in turn, will promise to continue trading relations with Naess and to teach them the crafts they do not know. Their people are mostly warriors, Maia. Some are fishermen and a few are farmers. They have earned their bread mostly through stealing and raiding. They need to be taught, and we have knowledge to impart to them.”
Maia liked the idea very much. “No retributions,” she said, nodding. “No punishments. But what if they refuse? And what of Corriveaux?”
Joanna looked at her intently and answered. “He and the other Dochte Mandar are under guard. Those who refuse to make the covenant will be banished from the kingdoms forever. The chieftains told us of an uninhabited island between here and Assinica where they can be exiled. The Naestors also promised to release all of their political prisoners, including Chancellor Walraven and your grandmother.”
“Thank Idumea!” Maia sighed.
Richard nodded. “Indeed. Though many of the rulers of the other kingdoms still want vengeance and retribution. The Naestors have hoarded wealth, and there was talk at first about plundering their kingdom and leaving them in poverty. But I thought you would not approve, so it was not made a condition of the Covenant of Muirwood, as we are calling it.”