Stone King - Chapter Nine - A Son of the Stone

"Kivi?  Why does that stone glow like that golem stone when we first found you?"  Kivi lowered his eyes.

"Because I can make golems."  Banus stood back from his adopted son.

"So all those years ago, that was your golem?"  Kivi shrugged.

"I don't know.  I was two years old at the time.  All I remember from that time are men in grey robes, carrying sticks, and falling stone."  Mena now felt justified in how she treated him, and pounced like he was a toy to play with.

"You nearly killed us!"  Then Mena frowned slightly.  "Wait, did you say grey robes?  Father?"  Banus nodded.

"That damned guild!  They paid us heavily for that glowing stone.  Now I know why.  It was their golem, but that doesn't explain how you can make one, Kivi."  Hella swallowed hard.

"It does, Banus.  So help me, it does."  She closed her eyes.  "That first night we had little Kivi, he laid in my arms and slept.  He even crawled up under my shirt and.....well, babies do that, don't they?"  Banus chuckled softly.  It was a thing a mother wouldn't think twice about.  Kivi was her son after all.

"Well, I dreamed wondrous, and terrible dreams that night.  Stone cities filled with wonders that I had never seen before!"  Her voice filled with emotion, and awe.  Their attention was now solely on Hella, and for the moment, Mena's anger was held in check.

"Stone battlements, castles that had towers so tall, they appeared to be in the clouds themselves!  Stone and brick walkways, planters that held fruit baring trees, and stone fountains with the clearest water I've ever seen flowed out of it!  Stone houses with two floors and two wings lined every street!  Markets with every sort of good food to eat, and people of all the Elukka tribes walked its streets!"  Then she shivered.  "Stone golems were at all the walls, and gates, but....they didn't attack anyone.  It felt safe."  Then she closed her eyes.  "That was all I saw that night.  I've never had that dream since."

"I do not remember that place, mother, but if you had a dream so vivid, someone wanted you to see it.  What I see now is this hill, our homes, and what we can do to protect them."  Kivi lifted his eyes, and Mena saw a coldness, and a strength that made her shiver.  This was not the boy she remembered.

"So, walls and gates.  What else?"  Mena cleared her throat.

"That river is swift, so they can't cross it on foot, or on horse, right?"  Jaana thought for a moment.

"True.  So that is a border that won't really need defense.  They can shoot, but it will tie up their forces in a place that will limit their abilities."

"There is a foot bridge that was built many years ago, and its in good shape still, so we'll need a gate there, with archer towers.  They would waste valuable resources trying to take that bridge, or get through the gate."  Kivi pursed his lips, and sat back onto the stone.  He sighed, and it almost sounded like a happy one, as he felt its chill go through him.

"That leaves the southern part of the hill, which will be a hard battle for them, or up around to the rear.  On the mountain behind us."  Kivi lifted his head.

"If they are foolish enough to take forces up that mountain, they'll have fewer left to attack us with.  The Wolfkin are fierce fighters, and become like shadows in their lands."  Banus thought for a moment.

"Maybe we are overthinking it.  This king is foolish, and thinks we are easy targets.  He'll try either a trick, like the oil in the forest, or sheer numbers.  A cavalry charge right up the hill to crush all defenders in one shot!  Its either that, or flank us by coming at our side from the forest to our west."  Mena growled.

"Spike walls!"  Kivi sat up.

"What?"  She rolled her eyes.

"Spike walls.  Long sharpened stakes that go out on an angle, held up by a rail to keep it at the height where it would hit the horses in the chest.  If you put two levels, one just a foot shorter, when the infantry go in to try and take them down, there is another spear at their height.  I saw them on the battle lines of the south king when we were in the forest that time.  It was before we moved out.  Didn't anyone else see them?"  Banus shrugged.

"I wasn't paying attention to their defenses."  Hella smiled.

"So these spike walls, can we make them here?"

"I don't see why not."  Mena said in a low voice.  "It was just rope holding them together."  Kivi looked at his sister.

"Mena?"

"What?"  She said, a slight huff in her voice.  He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Nice idea.  We will use their own idea against them."  She felt deflated.  He complimented her, but the warmth she always knew, his elation at her victory was absent.  This was indeed a man made of stone.





"Goodnight, mother."  He hugged Hella warmly, and turned to Banus.  "Goodnight, father.  Sleep well."  Thea took her husband's hand and found a warm smile light his eyes.  Hella watched her son, and the reflection in his eyes, and smiled at the young woman.

Both Jaana and Mena walked not far behind their guardians, soft sad looks on their faces.  Things had changed so drastically that they were not sure who this person was now.  They knew him intimately at one time, and though he was familiar, the manly qualities he now showed were completely in opposition to the boy they once knew.

"When he jumped into that river, his love for Mena died at the bottom of those falls, didn't it?"  Hella sighed sadly at her husband's words.

"A boy's love did.  I just hope its not too hard to swallow, or she'll become bitter again.  Then she'll never understand the difference between the love of a boy, and the love of a man."





Gita smiled softly, and pulled their husband deeper into their home, and down to the mattress.  Thea smiled, but sat down and out of the way.  She didn't want to interfere in this moment.  She would have her own time soon, but for now, this was her mother's night.

"Come, my Stone Man.  Your mother wants grandchildren."  He smiled a bit, and lifted her chin slightly.  His strong fingers were just as gentle as she's always known, though she's also seen the level of strength those same hands were capable of.

"I see many strong children running around our home someday soon.  I'll have to make this place much larger, with a few more rooms for them to play in."  Gita smiled, and let her eyes close.  The tears that formed in the corners were not like they used to be.  They were happy tears now.  She had a loving husband who was so strong, she didn't believe that even death could overcome him.

When she lay exhausted a few hours later, she smiled sleepily up at him.

"Don't forget Thea.  She wants babies too."  He chuckled as his mate fell asleep.

"Hear that, little one?"  Thea giggled, then blushed.

"She's right, you know."  She blushed brighter as he entwined his fingers with her own.  He stood up, and her breath caught in her throat.  His lean muscled body made her knees weak, even when he pulled her upright.

"There is a place I know, near the river, where the stones warm the water even in this late of a season."  She smiled and blushed.  "Shall we feel the warmth of the stones on our skin tonight?"

She wasn't so sure of the warmth of the stones, but he often talked about the stone like it was alive, and could do wonderful things, if you only asked them.

Less then ten minutes later, the expected chill of the water was absent as she lightly touched her toes to the water.  Kivi was already in up to his waist, his hand held out.  The steel grey color was back within his eyes, signaling a power shift of some kind, but his hands were only gentle.

"Shall we make your mother a grandchild?"  She asked, her lips showing her deep contentment at being the one he chose to share this with.

"Before we do, would it be alright if......I mean....."  Thea giggled.

"Jaana will make you a wonderful wife, Stone Man.  Just don't forget us as you draw close to your first love."  His eyes opened wide in surprise.

"If I should ever forget the two I love the most, my first wives, may I never feel the gentle warmth of the stone ever again!  I will never trade one Mirri wife for another."  Thea tilted her head slightly.  "You didn't know?"  She smiled.

"I did.  Her mane is a bit thinner then ours, so I wasn't sure if you knew.  Southerners usually miss that feature.  Enough about other women!  Is it not my time?"  She asked, with surprising steel in her voice.  He smiled, and pulled her close.

"It is indeed your time."  Those were the last words spoken between them for the rest of the night.






Mena opened her eyes the next morning, and groaned softly.  Her memories of the night before were still strong, and tormented her.  Her adopted brother was a man now, and all he had for her was an empty cold emotionless look that chilled her to the bone.

"Time to get up, Mena.  We have work to do."  Jaana said with just as much of a chill as Kivi had the night before.  She watched Jaana leave, then heard her swear out loud.

"Jaana?"  Mena grabbed her furs and bow, and slipped quickly out the door.  What she saw made her mouth fall open.

Further down the hill, the foundation to a wall had appeared overnight.

"There!  See him?"  Mena followed her finger, and gasped.  Her brother stopped for only a minute to wipe away the sweat from his brow, but then continued to push a large boulder over the snow.  She watched him shape it into large blocks, but she didn't know how it was possible.  His hand cut through it like it was a knife sliding through a slow roasted deer haunch.

"When did he become capable of doing that?"  She asked in awe.  Gita chuckled as she came around their home.

"Not long after we fished him out of the river, our Stone Man showed us what he could do.  He can still bleed, that much I've seen, but his battle prowess is unmatched."  She watched silently as he lifted huge stone blocks and put them into place.  The work he was capable of doing would take teams of skilled craftsmen weeks, or months to complete.

"The stone isn't breaking."  Mena said softly.

"You're right.  Hammers and chisels cut and break the stone down south."  Jaana was equally awed with the work, and the man before her.

"Kivi touches the stone, and though I can't be sure, it just does what he pictures.  Its like he asks it to do something, and the stone obeys."  Mena turned towards her with a frown, which made Kivi turn towards them.  Her darker emotions aimed at Gita drew his attention.

"You make it sound like the stone is alive."  She said flatly.

"I don't know if it is, but to my Stone Man, it might as well be alive.  He molds metal like it was clay, and shapes stone like it was turned on a potter's wheel."  She looked at them squarely.  "Who do you think built that house you currently live in?  It wasn't there a week ago."  She smiled a short smile, and started to walk away, but then turned back.

"Do any of you know how to whisper in the wind?  I haven't quite caught the knack of it yet."  Jaana nodded slowly.  "Can you whisper to him for me?  Let him know that breakfast will be ready when he finishes with that stone, and that he should come up to wash and eat."  Mena turned around and stomped off.

"How does she know so much about Kivi?  He's my brother!"  Jaana took a slow deep breath, but listened to the wind first.

"I'll be up soon.  Thanks."  Jaana stepped back and realized that Kivi had heard every word.  And she could feel the power of his gaze even from this distance.  She watched him move a stone that was far beyond any human man's strength, and felt another shift of the winds.

"You're no longer my little Stone Man, are you?"  Jaana could feel the power of the Stone Man in front of her, even if he was nearly half a mile away.  The Stone Man is much more then he used to be, and even while he excited her, he also terrified her.

All the Elukka, even the Wolf kin up north, could feel the stirrings of a familiar power that radiated from the stone.





"Do you feel it, brother?"  The Wolfkin sniffed the air and closed his eyes.

"Its strong.  Feels like....home."  The Hukka male scratched his claws up and down the bark of an old tree as he passed through the forest.  He didn't have to go deep.  It was just enough to mark his trail in case any of the Wolfkin sought him out.

"Its from the south.  The Great Stone city has laid its first foundation."  The Hukka blinked, then scowled.

"The Stone King hasn't been heard, or seen, in nearly a century, brother!  How could it be him?"  The Wolfkin smiled his wolfish grin.

"All the Elukka can feel it, brother.  Maybe you should stop inhaling that herb you like so much and take in a breath of fresh clean air, then maybe you would feel it too."  The Wolfkin growled lightly in his throat, but would not offer an open challenge.

His brother was not only too strong and fast for him to overtake, but he was right more often then not.





"He is stronger now."  Banus said softly.

"Too strong."  he turned towards her.

"What do you mean, love?"

"No matter how strong a person is, they are still just that.  A person.  I hope he remembers that, and doesn't try to hold the world on his shoulders.  Bitter bark makes the tea hard to swallow."

A simple proverb for those who've been in tough situations, and Banus knew it well.  Medicinal teas often used bitter herbs and barks to help slow blood loss, but it was hard to choke down.

That truth might be hard to swallow for a normal man, but was their son ever a man?  Banus had never seen him as a boy.  He was a son of nature.  A son of the stone.