Chapter 1699: Reorganizing the March (Part Two)
The entire hall went still as Ashlynn confronted Baron Valeri Leufroy, but when they learned that Baroness Betrys had hoped to approach Lady Ashlynn for healing, the Great Hall’s silence took on a reverent and anticipatory quality.
Last night, Lady Ashlynn had rejected the title of Saintess from High Priest Aubin, saying she intended to rule as the marchioness. The act left many people wondering whether she had powers of her own, or if she’d been propped up by High Inquisitor Ignatious or some other force.
Most believed that Lady Ashlynn was responsible for her own miracles, but all those who had begun to doubt leaned forward now, wondering if they were about to see another miracle, one performed when the mysterious High Inquisitor wasn’t even present.
"You will come to learn, Lady Betrys," Ashlynn said with a kind and gentle smile. "That there are people in our realm who stand above even men like Lord Liam. People like Sir Ollie and Master Isabell, who have powers of their own to help the people of our realm."
"Last night, you all saw Sir Ollie charging into harm’s way to rescue people from the horror of the Lothian Throne," Ashlynn said, gesturing to the Cypress Knight with one hand before gesturing to Isabell with the other. "What you may not have known is that the reason so many of you were never touched by the throne’s wickedness is because Master Isabell sheltered everyone close to her from its reach," she explained.
"The order of the march is changing, Lady Betrys," Ashlynn said, returning her attention to the woman who had been one of the throne’s victims last night. "Among these special individuals is my lady-in-waiting, Heila, whose skill at healing is comparable to my own. Soon, I’ll ask for her aid in restoring as much as we can to those who were harmed by the throne."
"Does that put your heart at ease, Lady Betrys?" Ashlynn asked, offering a reassuring smile to the older woman who trembled like a leaf in the wind as she listened to Ashlynn’s promise.
"It, it does, your Worship," Betrys said as she slipped from her chair to kneel in reverence. "Whatever treasures you or Lady Heila require as payment for your miracle I..."
"What I require is that you help me work toward peace in these lands," Ashlynn said, reminding everyone of the first of two things she said that she wanted. "Later on, we can have tea together, and we can discuss what you can do to help."
"You can choose then if the aid I ask for is something you can give," Ashlynn added. "Even if it isn’t, I will still help you recover as much as I can, because this is a ruler’s obligation to their people."
A fresh wave of whispers swept through the lords and ladies of the march at Ashlynn’s declaration that she wouldn’t demand treasures from the Leufroys in order to heal their baroness. The ’donations’ the Church required for their healing miracles were well known enough that few people would even ask for one unless the circumstances were truly dire and there was no other way to save a life.
For Lady Ashlynn to offer not only herself, but her lady-in-waiting as well was a kind of generosity the march had never experienced from those with the power to rescue a person from the jaws of death itself.
"Thank you, your Worship," Betrys said with tears streaming down her face. "Thank you..."
"Your Grace," Tybal Aleese said slowly as his mind worked rapidly to understand the changing circumstances. "We were all witness last night to the miracle that Sir Ollie performed. And, if it’s as you said, that Master Isabell sheltered half the hall from the grasp of the throne... then we’ve borne witness to her miracles too," he said carefully.
"How... How many of these special individuals will there be in your domain, your Grace?" Tybal asked hesitantly. "And, if they stand above a count like Lord Dunn, then, what will their positions be?"
Before Ashlynn could answer the question, High Priest Aubin broke his silence at last.
"If I’ve understood the lesson Brother Ignatious gave me last night properly," Aubin said loudly enough for the entire hall to hear. "Then you should think of them in the same way you would think of the Exemplars in the Church," he said. "And last night, Her Dominion brought four of them with her so she could seize the march without the starvation, suffering and bloodshed that laying siege to Lothian City would have caused."
Tybal’s mouth closed with an audible click.
Ever since Lady Ashlynn said that they would no longer be subjects of the Kingdom of Gaal, every lord in the room had been doing some form of math. How many months would it take for the kingdom to assemble an army, how many soldiers would it take to crush a single march, and how long could they hope to resist before the Church declared them heretics and unleashed their Templars and Inquisitors?
All of these questions and countless others had poured through Tybal’s mind and the minds of nearly every other baron in the room, but suddenly, the math changed. Four Exemplars? No, five if this ’Lady Heila’ wasn’t among the four that Lady Ashlynn had brought.
"I told you all," Ashlynn said as she watched the ripple of shock move through the hall. "What I want, more than anything else, is an end to the struggles and wars. I hope that King Thibert and the Saint in the Holy City can understand this," she said as her eyes grew hard.
"If they can’t, then they’ll find that we’re prepared to protect the sovereignty of our domain," Ashlynn said firmly.
The air around her grew dense and heavy and her presence seemed to swell, filling the entire Great Hall with an aura of majesty that left everyone in the hall feeling much, much smaller. At the same time, there was a sense of safety and serenity that surrounded Ashlynn, as if she had become a vast, ancient tree capable of holding up the sky and sheltering everyone beneath her branches.
"The first thing I want for our people is peace, but if they bring war to our door, then I will bar their way," Ashlynn promised. "But this is about far more than just one small march," she added as a slow smile spread across her lips. "Already, we are joined by our friends and neighbors in the west, from Airgead Mountain to Fortress Peak; the thrones of the High Pass and Airgead Mountain have come to rest under a single rule."
"Now, the throne of the Verdant Hills joins those others as a new nation rises," Ashlynn said. "A nation birthed in the Vale of Mists..."
