Lawrence Watt-Evans: The Sword Of Bheleu

Galt noticed Garth's presence and came over to speak.

When the debate died suddenly with Tand's concession that even such a poor vintage was worth a pennyweight of gold for every twenty skins to a starving village, Galt remarked, "We are doing well. Our gold buys here seven times what it brought in Lagur."

"Fortunate indeed, since my supply is not unlimited; Tand has just sworn away half a pound of gold on wine and spices, if I heard right."

"Yours is not the only gold in Skelleth; we'll take up a collection when time permits. And do not think Tand wastes the gold; we can send some of Saram's people to Ordunin with those wineskins and spice jars and bring you at least triple your money. You've got the trade you wanted, Garth."

Garth nodded and watched.

Half an hour later the trading was finished; the Yprian oxcarts were mostly empty, and Garth's gold was approximately halved. Skelleth's people were scattering to wherever they currently made their homes, makeshift for most, permanent for a lucky few; the food and goods purchased were being stored in one of the new houses, under the supervision of several of Saram's ministers, for later distribution, save for furs and warm clothing that had been handed out to the old, the ill-clad, and the children of the village. The Yprians themselves made camp in the market, where they could keep a good eye on their profits and their remaining goods. Garth, Tand, Galt, Saram, and Frima gathered in the King's Inn for a round of drinks to celebrate the evening's events before retiring.

There was much congratulation of Tand and his fellows, and the apprentice trader remarked in reply, "It was mostly luck; they were eager to trade. In fact their leader, Fargan, tells me he's planning a second expedition, to be made with sledges instead of wagons, now that the snows have come."

"We can use it," Saram said. "And we'll want to buy some of those sledges, or build our own, and send them up to Ordunin, Galt tells me."

"There would be a fine profit in it," Galt agreed.

"I might send a party to Ur-Dormulk as well," Saram mused.

No one answered him; they were all tired and thirsty and preferred to drink.

Garth leaned back in his chair, which creaked warningly beneath his weight, and sipped wine. He smiled to himself.

False oath or no, and whatever the state of his personal honor, there was no denying that he had done at least some good here. The gold he had brought from the temple of Aghad and the knowledge of overmen on the Yprian Coast acquired in Dыsarra had saved Skelleth from starvation. The trade he had sought was at last a reality, and Ordunin would be free of Lagur's monopoly. He was himself free of the Sword of Bheleu. His enemies were defeated, and the Baron of Skelleth dead.

Things might be better, but for the present they would do.

(There are four classes of deity in Eramman theology. Dagha is in an unnamed class by himself, above all others. The other major gods are divided into the seven Lords of Eir, or beneficent gods, and the seven Lords of Dыs, or dark gods. Finally, there are innumerable Arkhein, or minor gods, who are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but cover a broad range between. This glossary is arranged alphabetically, disregarding these distinctions and the elaborate hierarchy within each group, but each god's listing specifies in which of the categories he belongs.)

AAL: Reckoned either second or third of the Lords of Eir, Aal is the god of growth and fertility; he is worshipped widely, being the special favorite of farmers and pregnant women.

AGHAD: Fourth among the Lords of Dыs, Aghad is the god of hatred, loathing, fear, betrayal, and most other actively negative emotions. He is widely sworn by, but worshipped only by his relatively small cult.

AMERA: Goddess of the day, Amera is seventh and last among the Lords of Eir. She is worshipped widely nevertheless and revered as the mother of the sun.

ANDHUR: One of the two aspects of Andhur Regvos, sixth Lord of Dыs, Andhur is god of darkness. He is extremely unpopular.

ANDHUR REGVOS: See ANDHUR and REGVOS.

AYVI: First of the Lords of Eir, Ayvi is the god of life and conception. Since he is ruler only of the creation of life, and not its preservation or improvement, he is prayed to only by would-be parents and breeders of livestock. His name is rarely used; like his dark counterpart, The God Whose Name Is Not Spoken, he is usually referred to by description rather than by name, e.g., Life, the Life-God, the Birth-God (inaccurate but common), the First God.

BEL VALA: God of strength and preservation, Bel Vala is rated either second or third among the Lords of Eir. He is a favorite god of soldiers and warriors, and supposed to be of particular aid if prayed to in times of dire stress.

BHELEU: God of chaos and destruction, ranked second among the Lords of Dыs. Bheleu is worshipped only by a very few people since Garth's killing of his Dыsarran cultists, mostly the more deranged and violent lords and warriors.

DAGHA: In a class by himself/herself/itself, Dagha is the god of time and the creator of the Lords of Eir and Dыs. Dagha is the only deity not assigned a gender, though he is customarily referred to in the masculine form for the sake of convenience. Believed to be above all mundane concerns, Dagha is not worshipped or prayed to.

DUS, LORDS OF: The dark gods: Tema, Andhur Regvos, Sai, Aghad, P'hul, Bheleu, and The God Whose Name Is Not Spoken.

EIR, LORDS OF: The gods of light: Amera, Leuk, Gan, Pria, Bel Vala, Aal, and Ayvi.

EKNISSA: Arkhein goddess of fire, worshipped mostly by barbaric tribesmen.

ERAMMA: The Arkhein earth-mother goddess, for whom the Kingdom of Eramma was named, since the kingdom's founders intended it to take in all the world, a goal that it never came close to achieving. The worship of Eramma is considered old-fashioned, but still lingers among farming folk.

GAU: Fifth among the Lords of Eir, Gau is goddess of joy and pleasure in all its forms, including eating, sex, and strong drink, as well as the less earthly delights of humor and good company. Worshipped everywhere, in various and sundry ways.

GOD WHOSE NAME IS NOT SPOKEN, THE: This term is used to refer to the first of the Lords of Dыs, the god of death. He does have a name, known to a very few, but it is popularly believed that any person speaking the name aloud will die instantly. He is sometimes referred to simply as Death. He is not worshipped, but shunned everywhere, feared even by the caretakers of his temple in Dыsarra. Various circumlocutions are used to avoid mentioning him; he is known as the Final God, the Death-God, and other such things.

KEWERRO: A very ancient Arkhein god identified with storms and the north wind. Placatory sacrifices are common, but he has no real worshippers.

KOROS: Arkhein god of war, strife, and battle, often considered to be Bheleu's son and servant. Worshipped by the more fanatical soldiers and warriors.

LEUK: Sixth of the Lords of Eir, Leuk is the god of light, color, and insight.

MELLITH: Arkhein goddess of lightning.

MORI: Arkhein god of the sea, worshipped by sailors everywhere. The Sea of Mori is believed to be the god's particular home.

P'HUL: Third among the Lords of Dыs, P'hul is the goddess of decay, disease, and age. She is worshipped only by her small cult in Dыsarra, but is widely prayed to in hopes of warding off her touch.

PRIA: Fourth among the Lords of Eir, Pria is the goddess of love, friendship, and peace, and of beneficial emotions generally, the exact opposite and counterpart to Aghad. She is one of the most popular deities.

REGVOS: The more popular of the two aspects of Andhur Regvos, sixth Lord of Des, Regvos is the god of blindness, ignorance, stupidity, and folly.