CHAPTER TWELVE
The years passed after the fateful executions in Pomperaque.
The years also passed for Boyce and Lloyd, studying the ancient ways in the Alugean library.
Since Besten was close by, Lloyd had at intervals gone there to see his family and obtain some news of events in the city of Pomperaque.
The first years were depressing for the young Boyce, trying to grow up without his real father and terribly missing the kindness, and love, from his beautiful mother, and at times, turning frustrated in not having others of his age to play with, and little girls to pretend being in love with.
Then it happened, that after several years of stay at Alugean, Boyce grew to manhood, possessing a quick mind and agile body, trained to full perfection by the guidance of his mentor and friend, Lloyd Bartlett.
When Boyce was nearing his eighteenth year and he knew his studies of the past, as-well-as
remembering his promise to Brook, and his manly body could hold up against the sharpest blows delivered by Lloyd, Lloyd took him to his father in Besten to meet his father and mother, Harvard and Rae Bartlett.
Harvard was pleased, beyond words, to meet Brook Scullion-Blue's only son and he treated him in the manner much befitting a King.
Several months after their acquaintance, Boyce trusted Harvard enough to tell him that the ArchBishop was really his uncle; Brook's brother. This news, however, didn't disturb Harvard Bartlett because he divulged to Boyce, his own knowledge about his own ancestral relationship to the ArchBishop and indeed to Boyce himself.
"We are much like cousins far removed, yet not removed so far as to keep me content." Harvard told Boyce. "I am the fifth generation descendant of Daphne Jones, daughter of Richalé, son of Hosea Jones. I am from a line of the male twin. Your family of Carter, is on the other hand, from the line of the daughter twin, Dioneza. We are related, so as to say, in common knowledge and theory about our ancestral line." Harvard took a large rolled piece of animal skin and spread it out before Boyce to let him see a genealogy of their common family roots.
"I see the broken line of my father. He is not a true Blue descendant." said Boyce but not without pride.
"Yes, we know that he was a foundling and we also know who his real parents are." Harvard told Boyce.
Boyce was amazed and he smiled, eagerly waiting to hear more.
"My son conveyed to me a story told to him about your father, and in fact it was told to him by your father. He said, that your father was found by a stream swaddled and left in a skull of a lion."
"Yes, that is so, my Lord Bartlett!" Boyce fervently confirmed.
"From the line of Wind Jones, daughter of Richalé, son of Hosea Jones; we have her forth generation great grandson, Guiness with his wife Joanna, pursued by Elkinii plains slave-traders. Having given birth to a son, they continued to run through the Virgin Mountains trying to escape the slaver. Knowing that they would be caught, they wrapped the child in the sackcloth of Joanna's apron and hid him by a river in a lion's skull, where Smith soon found it while his own wife was in heavy labour baring a child. Beside their own son Manguino, the adopted Brook (giving him such a name as he was found), was raised by them as their own." Harvard finished the account, according to his knowledge of it and eyed Boyce for a moment, admiring how the young man was absorbing everything that was being said to him.
"Is that why my father was not evil?" asked Boyce.
"Many of us believe so." confirmed Harvard then continued. "The evil seed befell your uncle, the ArchBishop Manguino through his grandfather Father's incest with Lucaea. As you had studied alone in Alugean so did Carter study, and then he left the great library to learn from the world. He reached the land of BanGor, to the east, that was and in ruled by a cult of high-priestesses that are directly descended from Anna, the first wife of Hosea Jones (yet not from Hosea's own loins). Carter had fallen into relations with the great granddaughter of Anna and their product was Smith, your father's father. Anna's evil seed was passed through Smith to Manguino. As Anna and Hosea's first son Cano turned evil, into being the Canon Di'Vaticanus, so did Manguino become the ArchBishop!"
The fascinating story made Boyce wonder if the old times with Hosea Jones were any different than the times now, since he knew more about the Twentieth Century history than he knew about his own. But now from what Harvard had told him, he better knew who he was and declared that he was ready to prepare for his return to Pomperaque.
Within the next several years, from 3055 C.E. to the end of 3058 C.E., the entire northern continent joined under an idea of unity and love. Under the leadership and guidance of Harvard Bartlett, Lloyd and Boyce became figure-heads of the community. They increased the prosperity in the land two-fold over a period of three short years and they built up a fighting army as powerful as any that had ever fought on the earth.
Soon, the northern nations and dominions were uniting into one power that came to be called the Northern United Alignment. It was a union of free states consisting of Besten, Virune, Krolalin and several smaller city states (Netheda, Ohigh and Elkinii), and from these united areas came an army of one million strong, on land, one hundred thousand strong, on sea and seven thousand strong, in the air. Each of the major united nations controlled their own special force of power. Virune, under the leadership of Empal, trained and took command of the air using the giant eagles that they had learned to domesticate. Krolalin trained their land army to use whatever weapons were available to their utmost potential, as well as developing a land cavalry that was twenty thousand strong. And there was Besten, a sea-faring people who adapted easily to naval warfare with a force numbering one hundred thousand men.
Bestenese scientists were let into Alugean to search the library contents for plans on which to build weapons, like those used by the ArchBishop's monastic guards. With much difficulty and lack of proper equipment and resources, the developments were made but they never seemed to progress very quickly.
For the generals and leaders, suits of rubber, leather and gold plating served as armour protection against electrophoric and laser shock. Although not superior in strength to hold up against constant jolting, they at least served the person to live while in their retreat, if hit.
Monastic spy activity in the north warned the ArchBishop Manguino that an army was being formed that could potentially be used gainst him. It was an accurate speculation seeing that the spies didn't really know what was being planned or even who was doing the planning.
On the first word of such a mounting of forces and arms, Manguino demanded that an army be compiled for him and every eligible male from fifteen to fifty was ordered into training, for war, while the women between twenty and thirty were formed into separate fighting forces. Even the ladies from the Prominants took over working then men's jobs, since they were the only ones to be permitted to stay at home.
After two years of nothing happening in the manner of war, threats or anything else of great aggressive significance, those of the Prominent class were allowed back to their social life-styles while the rest were coerced into staying in the forces.
Those Prominants who were sympathetic to Manguino's rule, for whatever self-centred reason, stayed on as his generals. They were even so powerful as to order all those at Halls, to do their bidding; all those at Halls except for Manguino.
With the final preparations taking place with the Northern United Alignment, ambassadors were sent to the hostile states and lands between Besten and Phoride, and there asked them to follow them to freely pass through without harassment or troubles.
Agreements were signed with all these states including the ones that were thought to be the most difficult; Palatka, Sedar, Nolunge and Flinnd.
The time was at hand when the two men would leave on their long journey back to Pomperaque. Although the signed agreement of passage was to make the route shorter for the two men, the distance was still great and would require many days of travel.