Chapter 13: The Grand Duke’s Castle

Danka’s ride approached the capitol from the north, following the main road along the East Danube River. The road was thick with travelers and trading caravans. Fine farms, nice manor houses, and prosperous villages covered the landscape. The land in Danubia’s westernmost province was the best the Grand Duchy had to offer, a rich and pleasant territory compared to the nation’s outlying regions. It was wonderful to just sit as a passenger and watch all the new sites, momentarily free of any responsibilities or worries.

The traveler was truly excited, because finally her Path in Life would take her to the capitol of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia, where she would fulfill her destiny. After two days of riding in the wagon, finally, there it was, Danubikt Moskt. Long before she got to the city, she could see the Grand Duke’s castle, perched high on a hill in the distance. Over the next several hours other landmarks came into view: the steeples of several churches, the large city wall, and the high cliffs and mountains along the western shore of the wide, graceful East Danube River.

Danka had been under the impression that everyone in Danubikt Moskt lived within the city walls, but as she approached the main gate along the northern side, she realized that was not true at all. The inner city was surrounded by an outer city: businesses and residences that had been built over the last hundred years by people who did not want to live in the cramped confines of the older walled-in settlement. Along the outer edges of the suburbs there were huge piles of stones, lumber, and sand. There were several brick factories working continuously and wagon trains were hauling the bricks to strategically placed warehouses surrounding the outer city. The wagon driver explained that the Grand Duke wanted to expand the city wall and enclose the entire outer suburb, and that the stockpiling of stones and bricks was in anticipation of his ambitious project. The wagon driver let out a hiss to signal his disapproval.

“I think the Grand Duke’s wasting our effort, if you ask me. A new wall isn’t going to do us any good. All it takes is some cannon balls and the whole thing comes crashing down.”

The wagon driver let out disapproving whistle and continued:

I’ve been west of the Duchy. On the other side of those mountains. I’ve seen plenty of cities that don’t even have walls, and the ones that do have them aren’t any safer. Stone doesn’t defeat gunpowder, not for very long, at any rate.”

Danka jumped off the wagon, paid the driver some copper coins, and made her way to the northern gate. As soon as she passed through, she was not impressed with what she saw. Danubikt Moskt was definitely a disappointment. Danka had expected the houses inside the city to be even nicer than the ones outside, but that was not true at all. The inner city was crowded with aging and moldy wooden buildings, many of which were three or even four stories tall. The upper floors extended over the streets, so in most places a person could only see a thin line of sky between the rows of rooftops. The smell of all that rotting wood along the enclosed streets, combined with thousands of cooking fires and piles of garbage, was impressive.

The city did have a few nice buildings. Instead of going directly to the Temple, she decided to first see the Christian cathedral. The cathedral was bigger than any other church Danka had seen so far and its open plaza was a relief from the claustrophobic streets. Danka noted with interest that no buildings were standing next to the church. There had been wooden structures standing there just a few months before, but the Duke had decided to build a park around the cathedral and ordered surrounding buildings to be torn down. The occupants were evicted and had to resettle outside the city walls.

Danka’s objective, the Great Temple of the Ancients, was only a few blocks west from the cathedral. She decided present herself to the Clergy and talk to the Grand Prophet about entering training for the Priesthood. She figured that she would wear her collar until the got to the Temple, then take it off after leaving the street. She figured that she could hide it in her bucket. Assuming the Priests welcomed her with open arms, she’d simply dispose of the collar, maybe by tossing it into the river. If anything went wrong, or the Senior Priest told her she’d have to wait before beginning her studies, she’d have the option of leaving the Temple and putting the collar back on. She was convinced the Priests would want her as an apprentice as soon as they realized how smart and educated she was, but she did understand that it was possible her studies would not start right away and she might have to keep herself occupied for a few weeks.

The Temple was a massive granite structure with a marble facade that pre-dated everything else in Danubikt Moskt by more than two thousand years. It was a beautiful and solid building, designed to last forever. It was the most impressive thing Danka had ever seen. The cathedral looked like a flimsy stage prop in comparison. For a very long time the visitor stood in the Grand Plaza of the Ancients, staring at her destination with a dumb expression on her face.

Yes, this is my Path in Life, this beautiful building, this is my destiny, this is where I belong.

The traveler was so distracted that she did not notice the crowd had fallen silent and was stepping to the sides of the plaza. She heard a series of very loud whistles and then the shout:

“Doc-doc Danube!”

The crowd roared its response and snapped to attention. Realizing she was standing alone, Danka scrambled to run off the plaza and join the crowd. She would have slipped to the back to avoid drawing attention to herself, but there was no time. Everyone saluted. She barely had time to get on her knees before Royal Guards marched into view. Not knowing the capitol’s protocol, she knelt forward and placed her face to the ground. The man standing next to her kicked her ankle and angrily whispered:

“Up-right, Penitent! What do you think he is, a Priest? He’ll want to see your face!”

Trembling from the strange situation and her apparent violation of protocol, Danka reluctantly knelt upright. Everyone, including the Royal Guards, had noticed her. Being noticed before safely getting to the Temple was absolutely the last thing she wanted.

Four foot-soldiers preceded the nation’s ruler, loudly whistling to announce their presence. The Grand Duke followed, along with four Royal Guards and two of his ministers, on horseback. The entourage wore finer clothing than the populace, but the exaggerated get-ups of other European royalty at the time would not have been considered appropriate in Danubia. The only detail that really set the Duke apart from his companions was his tunic, which was embroidered with gold thread instead of blue thread.

The Royal entourage rode past the crowd, placing their fists against their chests to return the public’s salute. Then the Grand Duke noticed Danka. He rode up to her, signaling one of the guards to follow him.

“Tell the girl to stand up.”

“You heard him, Lass. Stand up so his Majesty can better see you.”

“Y, yes, Master, as you wish.”

Danka stood up, her knees badly shaking. She had no idea why the Duke had taken an interest in her. She figured that she must have committed a breach of protocol and worried she was about to be punished. The guard dismounted.

“Look at his Majesty. Lift your head. Let him have a good look at your face.”

Terrified, Danka obeyed, forcing her eyes to meet those of the nation’s ruler. Her knees were shaking so badly that she had a hard time staying on her feet.

The Grand Duke carefully looked her over, as though he was trying to make a decision. She estimated him to be about 30. It was clear that he spent much of his time exercising, because even under his clothing Danka could tell the Danubian ruler was in excellent physical shape. Apart from that, his appearance was typical of a healthy upper-class Danubian about to enter middle age. He looked intelligent and had the confident expression of a man used to getting his way in life. There also seemed to be a hint of cruelty and arrogance in his face.

The guard exchanged glances with the Duke. The ruler nodded and returned to the other horsemen. The Royal entourage continued on its way, minus one of its members. The guard took his horse by the reins and tapped Danka on the arm.

“What is your name, girl?”

Danka believed that she had to come up with a new identity. She decided to call herself “Silvitya”.

“Silvitya, Master. I’m Silvitya.”

“Follow me.”

Danka, now to be known as Silvitya, was even more terrified. She wondered if the Grand Duke somehow knew she had been a Follower of the Ancients, and if that had anything to do with her detention. Or, perhaps she had unknowingly committed some serious breech of protocol.

“Master, please, I, I don’t know what I did. Please tell me, what I did to offend the, the Grand Duke.”

“You didn’t offend the Grand Duke.”

“But, I’m not, not being arrested?”

“Arrested? No. You need to come with me, but it’s not because you’re being arrested.”

“But,”

“Listen, girl. It is not your Path in Life to ask a bunch of questions. Your Path in Life is to obey your superiors and do what you are told.”

“Yes, Master.”

The guard led both his horse and the young woman towards a side entrance of the Temple of the Ancients.

“Go in there and tell a Priest to remove your collar. Be quick about it. If he has any questions, you can show him this pendant.”

The guard took off a large pendant that was mounted on a thick silver necklace and handed it to the terrified young woman.

“Go in there, find a Priest to remove your collar, and come back out. Very simple instructions, even for a dumb peasant girl like you. I will have your head if you do anything other than what I’ve ordered.”

“Yes, Master.”

“And take those boots off and stuff them in your bucket. If you’re wearing a collar, you have no business wearing boots.”

“Yes, Master.”

Silvitya ran into the Temple. It was just as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside, but she had no time to appreciate it. She looked around for a secluded spot where she could take off her collar without anyone seeing her. Her fingers were trembling so badly that she had trouble with the latches. Then she had to stop for a few minutes, because some worshippers in prayer robes decided to stand within sight of her. As soon as they moved, she took a deep breath and again started fiddling with the collar. Finally it came off. She took off one of her boots and pushed the collar as far down as she could. She took off the other boot, shoved both boots into her bucket, and ran out the door. As desperate as she was to run off in the opposite direction, she reluctantly returned to the Royal Guard. Trembling, she began to kneel, but cried out when he gave her a sharp kick.

“What are you doing, you idiot?”

“Please, Master, I don’t.”

“I’m a commoner! You don’t kneel to me! What are you trying to do, get me dismissed?”

“Yes, Master, I, mean no, Master, I...”

“And quit calling me ‘Master’. I’m not a Lord and I have a name, Alexandrekt Bulashckt. You will call me Protector Bulashckt.”

“Yes, Protector Bulashckt.”

The guard held tightly to his horse’s reins and ordered Silvitya to mount. Silvitya struggled to climb up, wincing as the sharp edges of the metal stirrups pressed into her unprotected feet. Everyone stared at the bizarre spectacle of a Royal guard leading a horse carrying a completely naked rider. Silvitya wanted nothing more than to hide. Instead, once again she was the center of attention.

Protector Bulashckt led his horse and his mortified passenger across the entire city. By unhappy coincidence the Temple of the Ancients was on north side of Danubikt Moskt, and the castle was on the south side. It took more than two hours traveling through crowded streets to complete the trip. The road to the castle zigzagged up a steep hill that overlooked the capitol to the east and the East Danube River to the west. As she rode above the city, Silvitya noted the tightly packed wooden rooftops separated by a labyrinth of narrow streets.

The hill was topped by a large castle that had been built in the Fifteenth Century and had changed very little over the ensuing 300 years. It had been the home of Danubia’s royalty over that entire time, first to a succession of kings, and then to a succession of dukes. The Royal Family’s lineage went back even further than the castle, with the current Grand Duke being a direct descendent of that very ancient family.

The Grand Duke was really the nation’s King, but no Danubian monarch had officially taken that title since 1531. That was the year that Danubia’s most revered leader, King Vladik the Defender, died in battle and his son-in-law took the throne. King Vladik’s heir was a very unassuming and humble man who preferred to be called a Duke instead of a King, and none of his descendants had the nerve to break that tradition.

The guard led his horse and his rider up a final curve in the road and emerged into a large garden. They passed through the greenery and arrived at the castle gate. The castle’s inside totally contrasted with its plain windowless exterior. There were large windows, whitewashed walls, and decorated doorways with Greek-style pillars. Balconies ran along the entire second and third stories, and in the center flowerbeds surrounded a large fountain. The contrast between the beauty of the castle’s interior and the rotting squalor of Danubikt Moskt shocked the naked newcomer.

Three older women in expensive-looking dresses approached and saluted Protector Bulashckt. Silvitya reluctantly dismounted. Not knowing what else to do, she got on her knees and knelt upright. This time the guard did not object. He picked up her bucket and started to lead his horse to the Royal stable outside.