01 Taxilas Children

TAXILA'S CHILDREN
They dispersed to their own quarters as Danyk climbed the outer steps to the balcony of his
room. He had no desire to see anyone or to speak to anyone, physically or mentally. Least of
all did he want trivial chatter. Almost as that thought crossed his mind, it acted like a
summoning beacon, and moments later he was joined by Krin. Danyk didn't disapprove of his
brother but the difference in their maturity made him hard to take, especially after the episode
he had just experienced.
Krin was an exuberant child, just emerging into manhood. He was also just emerging from
Danyk's private bathroom, cascading water all over the polished floor. Krin forestalled
brotherly protest at the invasion by a bombardment of chatter.
"You were up early. You woke us all, clattering off with half the household!"
Krin was inclined to exaggeration. He continued without slackening pace.
"Some woman giving you funny dreams? Take a cold bath, it's quieter for the rest of us!"
Danyk grinned despite himself.
"You're about the age when cold baths help - I had to go riding."
He felt a quick probe into his mind, he allowed his brother to see what he had experienced.
The boy had to grow up sometime and this would be one of the lessons. Krin's smile faded
and he stood motionless, staring into Danyk's eyes.
"Shaita!"
Danyk nodded.
"For once your foul language hits the mark. If I believed in the old gods, I'd say Shaita had
a hand in all of this."
Krin finished drying himself slowly.
"What are you going to do about it?"
"What can I do about it? I'm not exactly in favour with the illustrious All Wise and the
Adepts. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them weren't behind it. The High Thane and the
rest of them, including our revered father, have no idea what to do. It's like a disease. There's
something in the Lynxe psyche that reverts to this kind of behaviour under stress. On the
surface we're highly cultured and civilised, scratch the surface and you find our ancestral wild
cats!'
Krin's exuberance died away, the look into Danyk's mind showed that his brother wanted
solitude. He threw his towel over his shoulder and returned to his own quarters. Danyk
watched him go and couldn't help grinning, Krin was a conceited young bastard and found
nothing amiss in flouting his arrogant nakedness in the public corridors of his father's house.
Danyk turned to other things. Most of the time, his father was away from the sprawling
complex, sitting with and some might say, competing with, the other Thanes of the High
Council. They were at peace and had been for a thousand years but that did not prevent
political manoeuvring by some of the more ambitious of their exalted rulers. Lyot was home
for once. The High Council was in recession, governed as always, by economic necessity.
The oil crop was due to be harvested and each of the rulers reverted to being a farmer for that
important event.
He found his father in the great room that served as a study, council chamber, local court
and focal point of the whole complex. Everything of importance that had ever happened in
The Seven Lands had originated in this room throughout the multitude of generations which
had preceded Lyot. It was an impressive place but it was also oppressive, a symbol of the
future that Danyk did not like to consider. He had no idea where his ambitions lay but he was
sure that he did not want to take his father's place when the time came. He pushed the thought
aside but not before his father detected it. The old man had his back to him and he saw it
stiffen a little. Lyot said nothing and waited for his oldest son to walk round the great table to
face him.
"Greetings, father."
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