Arden by: dnrock(dnrock@rock.com)
84: End and Epilogue
It was about a week later, while on the King Iason, that Paul told me, except for his uncle, we were the first people he had ever encountered who did not care that he was a bastard. None in the castle will care in the slightest, since for many of them their parents were not married, I assured him. In Parga we do not use or have family names, just our given names. At times it is necessary to state who our mother or father are, avoiding confusion with other having the same name. Not a problem I have ever faced, however I know many children are now named Arden.
"I know my official fathers are now King Iason and Prince Karyakos but will Sir Kleitos be my daddy, like you are Umar's?"
I am sure of it, however should he not, we have plenty of men in the castle and on this ship, that would be delighted to be your daddy. Kleitos and I have been friends since we were small children. You will see he is the kindest, gentlest and most earnest of knights. He is keenly aware how important it is for a boy to have a daddy in his life. You should also remember that the King and Prince are more than official. They know the name and face of every ward, they know how well they perform in school or on the job, they arrange marriages and are grandfather to the children. You, like my self or any other ward, are not only free to, but expected to, seek their help and advice. Ask any of the Elite Marines, they are almost all Royal Wards. If you are to be Helladios' companion for the next two years you will see more of them and of us then you ever dreamed.
1320, month 8, day 20,
Our visit to France was as eventful as that to England. The events were much different. We had been told to disembark at the port of Rouen. The Admiral was less than pleased with this. He did not like this port being in such a narrow river so far from the open ocean. He would not take the Prince Class ships into it. Instead we moved to the Princess Elpis. He took on fresh water and food. The fleet would not stay here but sail to Cherbourg. He was more comfortable with the large, open harbor and quick access to the sea, in that place. I was not comfortable in Rouen either. The local bishop was openly inhospitable to us, he referred to Parga as a heathen land. He held the Eastern Church is rather high detest and our open defiance of the Pope in even higher.
Fortunately Phillip had told him straight out that the Pargians were his personal guests, that we should be treated as such and given all the privileges our rank and diplomatic status required. He sent several knights to welcome us and assist in our overland travel to his summer residence.
To be fair, Rouen is a most pleasant city. It is large and very prosperous. The King holds much of his court here. He spends time in Paris, but moves most of his court here, as has been the custom since the 11th century. I see a great cathedral is under construction, the old one was destroyed by fire about 35 years ago. The Chateau Bouvereuil is quite some place. It is much more elaborate than our castle but has much less utility.
Phillip was most gracious and generous to us. He is less than pleased with his bishop. "The bishops and other cannons of Rouen have a long history of being both outspoken and difficult to control." He laughed saying, "so have the nobles of Normandy. Even those of us who are relatively recent". Once behind closed doors he proved to be all that and more.
Edward and the others spent many hours in the King's gardens finding several plants new to them and many significantly different varieties of herbs. Phillip's people were most interested in what they were doing and how they were doing it. Nikias was most excited when the local gardeners and herb-ologists not only agree with his concept of a collection but straight away began building one.
For us this was a very relaxing time. We played sports and games and taught them our newly developed ones. Parga Polo quickly became very popular. We traveled to several rural areas and spent time in Paris.
Like Edward, Phillip never mentioned the difficulties between themselves. That is not to mean others were quite on the subject. Kastor had forbid any of us from making comments and all inquiries were refereed to him and our Ambassador. Phillip is not musical himself. He greatly enjoys music and the playing of the court musicians.
I find him to be a good family man. He has 4 lovely daughters. Unfortunately he his only sons died while still small children in 1317. He is 8 years older then Iason and myself, yet he is a active and youthful as we are. I find him pleasant to look at, with long slightly curled light brown hair and a roundish face with large, wide set blue eyes. His mouth appears small. I say appears, as it easily accommodates our erections. He is clean shaven most of the time. Phillip is strong and of average stature. He is well trained with a sword but is not an archer or runner.
We talked much about his attempts to reform government. I could tell from his expressions he longed for a compact place like Parga in this aspect. He has spent much time and energy to standardize weights and measures. From what he had told me, with some measure of success at least in Champagne, Burgundy and Normandy.
"I come by my determination from my father. He was the most inflexible man I have ever known. Not only was he inflexible but he was determined to strengthen the state and I think his and now my own, power. Father established our professional bureaucracy. To that end he was successful. During the turmoil of my brother's death followed by my infant nephew's, a scant year later, all functioned as normal. My brother was almost as inflexible, I think it fair to say, not half the wit of father. He left a mess that I am still trying to finish straightening.
Perhaps it is the difference between being first born and later born or a middle brother. Lou, Louis hated it when I called him that, he thought he was Father. He was not even close. I bridged between him and Charles, moderating their squabbles. You know him from your last visit. He is the handsome one of the family. I would like to have followed your advice and my experience by keeping him close to me and preparing him for leaderships. That is not possible as he married and now lives with his wife. He claimed the Kingship of Navarre as birthright from my late mother. Perhaps that will be good training, for none of us know what comes in the future."
We talked about many things during our stay. We found many places were the French and ourselves do things on the surface the same. Phillip was building his government service along the same general model as Parga but the philosophical foundation is not the same. It would never work as efficiently as in Parga because of the size required. It would never quite work as hoped, because he assumed all in France were in his service. In Parga the king and everyone else serve the people. That is the difference between leading, administrating and ruling. Most modern governments and the Christian Church(s) are built on the old Roman Imperial system. They both find it convent to reinforce each other. Modern Parga is built on the old Greek Demokratia system. It is a matter of power and resource delegation. In France, England and other places, the sovereign leader delegates only what he feels he must or is forced. In Parga the people delegate only what is needed. The church is also imperial, it delegates little and continues to consolidate and concentrate power with the pope or patriarch. In Parga we are loved and respected, I should add we young princes are even indulged, because we represent what the citizens would like to think they are or should be.
Phillip was polite but realistic in his agreement with this analysis. Unlike Edward he could not envision a time when that might change. Although the people of Normandy have been guaranteed certain rights and liberties by his brother in 1315 (TN: the Charte aux Normans) not unlike England. He also was more willing to admit he needed to be political in keeping his vassals under control. He realized great care was needed or he could find himself out of a job.
I learned from our spy network that one of the greatest sources of friction between the English and French, is their willingness to try and undermine English power by secretly supporting the Scots and others. This is in an attempt to cease the Barronages that the English nobles still held on the mainland.
Kastor was loth to mention this to either side as he did not wish them to know we knew what we knew. He did suggest that the French Corsairs operating from Brittany and the south needed to be more tightly controlled. Pirates or privateers when unleashed as a temporary measure have the potential of becoming both a threat to the host and impediment to peace. Phillip admitted he had some problems with controlling them but also his revenue from their activities was important. He went on to explain how they came to be stationed in St.Malo and the origin of Letters of Mark. Since this has gone on since the 1100's it was difficult for him to just stop.
Iason asked if it was the absence of such license that caused the corsairs we encountered to run off as quickly as possible. Phillip, who by this time had a complete report of this incident, just laughed. "I would like to think that is the reason. My better judgment tells me it is the fear of Prince Arden breathing fire on them and the large number of marines it has, more likely."
The situation has improved here since the years of famine and food production is returning to normal in this part of France. That does not mean everyone always has enough to eat. Having lost almost one quarter of the population there are far fewer to feed but fewer to work the land as well. I wrote about this several volumes back and we covered it completely in our joint journal on our last trip.
Phillip tells me in the more northern lands they still suffer harsh winters. In most of his lands some farm areas have been lost, the soil is gone. Here they are much less advanced from us in keeping supplies in storage for such events. They do not have the storage methods as well developed either. Animal herds and beasts of burden have not yet fully recovered. Meat and cheese are in short supply. Much wool must be imported. Fewer people means less food is required. This suggests the recovery is not a rapid as they would have us think.
While the average age of our citizens is approaching 30 years and the average of those over 20 years old is now 38 years, it is much less here and in England. The average of well off people such as the royal family or high nobles is only 29 years here. Averages are just that of course and few among us believe they are average. I know I am not.
One of his nobles told us to take great care on our journey to Cherbourg. "Much of the lawlessness that resulted from the years of famine are still with us," he said. He advised us not to go overland as we had planned but to summon our ships to Rouen.
Kastor and I debated this, looking at the different options. We took it, the reason Phillip insisted we go to Paris on river boats, must be partly this. It would not be to his advantage if we were forced to fight bandits, being his guests. It is not that our Elite Marines are spoiling for a fight, they do feel bandits would not present them any real difficulties. Iason and Poly were disappointed they wanted to see the country side. I sometimes think my beloved is just a little too cavalier.
At least we are not seeing so many desperate and starving people, as we did on our last visit. Then we had any number of volunteers wishing to accompany us; this time only a few. One of those few is a bright lad of 16. He has made friends with Odo. Like Agapios he has bright red hair and his beard, when it arrives, will also be red. He does not have as many freckles but when embarrassed he turns redder than I do. I rather like him. He is not shy but very polite and considerate of others. I have the feeling that quality is used by others, not for his advantage either. He does not have a regular duty here except to fill in for the sick or assist when extra hands are needed. Charles is his name and he told me his father was one of the King's guardians and he was the 5th son with few prospects. Phillip's steward had assigned several young men to us as servants. He was the only one to complain that we did not give him enough to do. The complaint was less that, than a request for more. Odo quickly took him to his side to learn the local Normandy language, with is mix of tongues including French. I suspect he had other desires as well but never said. Ikaros is still instant that we all take as much responsibility for ourselves as is reasonably possible. Living as close as we do, with so many, one needs look after his personal things and his person, as well a lend help with the common living space.
I asked Kastor how this should be handled. He thought he should ask the King to release Charles to our service only after he obtained his father's permission. Damao will speak to the man as one King's guard to another. Kastor started to reach into his purse. Damao stopped him, "if my son feels Charles should become part of our family it is I who should offer something of value for his service." Damao patted his sward.
It did take that to get the lad's services. His father approached Phillip and got his agreement. Apparently the king did not even know his name or any of his qualities. I do not know them either, except he wanted more to do, nor did Damao. If Odo recommended him, that was enough for us.
This puzzles me. I can not imagine Father or Uncle not knowing everyone who works in the castle. It is a very large number. They make a point of knowing everyone in their direct employment. They know, not just their names, but what they do. It is not below them to praise good work and encourage better efforts, if that is needed. They realize that things happen because people make it so. Things are built or clean, because someone did that work. Even when I win a race I must acknowledge the coaches, other runners, those who prepared the track. None of us truly act alone.
When we arrived on the King Iason, Agapios immediately took Charles to himself. Another red haired boy! Charles told us many in Normandy have red or reddish hair, as do many in England. In Parga it is anything but common. Charles had never been more than a few leagues from Rouen. Everything from our language, food and dress were new to him. Paul was much the same. He had never been away from his home until he accompanied us to Stonehedge. His leg was now healed and Agapios had been teaching him about sailing. Paul and Charles quickly became friends.
1320, 9th month, 30th day.
We arrived home three days past. I have been just to busy to even think about writing in this journal. I am sure it will be another week or more before I will find any time to myself.
All was well when we returned. I know we were missed, Zoe and Aisopos seemed not to want me out of their sight. Euthalia was most glad to see me. I will be sure to keep her bed filled for some weeks yet. Hy was beside himself. He seemed to have missed me more than anyone.
We were met at the quay by a huge gathering of citizens and palace residents. We walked to the castle. I was overwhelmed by the fragrances that wafted across my path. Suddenly I was transported back in time. It was like being 12 again and marching between the plaza and the castle. I knew that smells or fragrances often are the impetus of the strong memories.
As I expected, Paul was immediately accepted by Kleitos. Between Helladios, Kleitos and Miltiades he will be more than well cared for. We have assigned Charles to Lyuben and Panther. I know these new boys were overwhelmed by our reception. I doubt either ever experienced such a crowd of well-wishers before. I don't think they ever dreamed a prince, their Prince is as loved as we are by the people. One of the most prominent was Grandmother Daphne, she was also most thrilled, we princes all lined up to kiss her as we passed. Helo introduced Paul to her as his companion. She welcomed him to Parga by kissing his cheek.
The funniest thing happened as we walked toward the plaza. The little girl Pyrros and I pulled from the earthquake rubble came running after us, calling Prince Pyrros, Prince Arden. Pyrros picked her up and we both gave her a kiss.
Then she saw the two sets of twins. "Are they princes too?"
Yes we told her would you like to meet our brothers? She nodded so we went to them. This is prince Kastor, I said. He kissed her and she smiled and giggled. Then she saw Polydeukus.
"Are you Prince Kastor too?"
"No, I am Prince Polydeukus his twin brother."
"No, you must be trying to fool me."
Kastor turned around and put his face next to Poly.
"See, little one we are twins, I am Kastor,"
"I am Polydeukus."
She still looked confused, Poly gave her a kiss and Pyrros put her down. Then she saw Joulous and Justus. They played the game too.
Volos and Damao were not to let this pass without some fun at Pyrros' expense.
"Since when have you been elevated to the station of Prince." the demanded to know. This was all being played out before a large audience. "Who made you a Prince?"
That girl did on the day of the earthquake, I said.
Iason chimed in at that point. "The title prince is about as common as Captain of the Royal Guard but much simpler to acquire." He got that line from reading my journal. "All you need do is to have rescued a five year old from an earth quake damaged home or have the right parents."
That received a good laugh from everyone who was close enough to hear it.
Paul asked me if everyone in Parga was like these people. I had to admit not all, but most are. Being a Prince or one of our associates is not a difficult job in Parga, our citizens make it easy and enjoyable. It is not our people or our fathers that demand of us, we demand of ourselves.
The End.
Your author has had enough of this. I must take my leave, at least for now. I love Arden like my own son but like my flesh and blood son, when of age I need to let him go. So for now anyway, the ride is over less the Epilogue. I sincerely hope you readers have enjoyed Arden's adventures. I have had a great time in writing them. I know many pages of this story, especially in the earlier chapters, suffer from proper editing. I must apologize for that. If you liked the story and want to read more of my work, all very much shorter I might add, go to the "prolific authors" item on the nifty intro page, scroll down, and look up DnRock. I have no idea why it is different then dnrock but that is the way nifty did it. dnrock
Epilogue:
Arden and Iason lived for many years to come. They had trials and tribulations, exhalations and tributes. The people in their lives died and others came to take their places. Parga faced difficulties as did other states. Arden filled many volumes recording such.
It was on Iason's death that their sons became King. It was not long after that Nikias also scrummed to a fever, Arden then retired to his Koalhurst home. Arden lived on for a goodly number of years. His writings by this time had become almost completely philosophical in nature. He never commented on his physical health, except to say how much he missed being able to run. Arden outlived Euthalia, his guardians, most of his children and most of the other princes. The passing of each that he loved so much, took its toll on him. His spirit never diminished in the slightest, his focus shifted from political to social.
After Arden retired from government he remained surrounded by a throng of admirers, friends and family. His greatest delights were the many children and young people that seemed to gather around him at every opportunity. He tells us of his delight in telling his stories to them.
He wrote until his hand became unsteady. His great grandson Iason, Agapios' oldest boy's son, became his last scribe at age 12. Prince Helladios and his son Arden were his personal physicians and were with this younger Iason, at his side, when he failed to awaken from an afternoon nap; at the 14th hour of the seventh day, in the seventh month of 1370. It is clear from his last dictation that he never did arrive at a satisfactory understanding of human love. The only thing he knew for sure was he did and he was, both greatly so. This much he knew and this much was all the solace he needed.
Young Iason wrote a brief final entry: "... His body was transported from Koalhurst to the castle, on a cart, pulled by his beloved Argonauts and Eagles... Every league along the way was lined with mourners. They stood shoulder to shoulder from the youngest to the most elderly. They did not sing a dirge or cry out in anguish. All sang his songs of hope and renewal, telling and retelling their personal stories of how this prince had touched their lives.
His decedents are many, his family is everyone. Great Grandfather Arden's ashes are entered under the Spirit of Parga. It was at the Ganymede statue that his memory was most publicly celebrated. King Iason 9th and Prince Societies lead a procession from the Spirit to the Ganymede. We sang his songs as we went. Prince Societies lead us in singing "We Rise Again". We all knew he did not want us to morn him but to celebrate his having lived. None can look upon his statues or paintings, or sing his songs, without in some small way, doing just that. Many say my face and stature do just that.
I could not write for several days. I could not bring myself to put these closing words down. I had been his scribe for the past five years, taking that position from my aunt Euthalia. I needed to run and run I did, until exhausted and I could go no further. Then and only then, could I end Great Grandfather's written chronicle. Great Grandfather Arden, Iason 8 and the other princes of their time, set a standard that all after them must now strive to meet. For me I have need to capture his last remaining running record, that of the long distance race. This is my goal, one chosen by myself and for myself. His hope was that I should some day hold the Prince Arden Chair of Philosophy. True to himself he never once suggested that. I know this as sure as I know myself. My father tells me, "His fire burns in your heart Iason. Your spirit is his spirit." Standing before the Spirit statue I realized the truth of father's words.
Great Grand Father Arden has done for me what he did for so many. He has given me opportunity. Now it is up to me, Iason Apollo of Koalhurst, to see what I can make of it.