A Biography of a Human

Chapter Fifteen:

“Palace of the East"

“My most powerful and adept consort and master."

“I wish to inform you of my successful delivery of your gift of flower seeds from the imperial gardener to your fox friend in the non-wolf sector. He sends his salutations to you and your success, he says he is in complete harmony with your most genius mind and is in agreement with your advice on Spring being the perfect time for planting flowers that will bloom in the late summer, and will go ahead and will start sowing the seeds immediately."

“Your faithful compatriot, Beshir"

It was a month and a half after the riot occurred. The riot itself proved to be akin to a brief flame than a than a full-blown revolution that would overturn the Alphate. When the mass of rag-wearing humans, swinging their sticks and torches came to face with the full force of the wolven city garrison, which Gernan was at the head of along with the Chief of the Capital and Master of the City Guards who were his commanders, they all dropped their “weapons". From that moment on, the spirit of the mob was drained and left the crowd sober thoughts of their own survival rather than any futile ideals.

One of the rioters took off a white shawl from another person, attached it to his club and waved it high in the air. When this was seen by Gernan he ordered the crossbow-wolves, who were behind the line of melee troops, to stand down. My master had predicted the morale of the mob would falter at the sight of a fully-armed squadron.

The throbbing multitude realized the extent of their foolishness and thought not of Saint Reynard, the superiority of foxes, nor any promises of how humans would be better off under them; but of their lives. Mothers and Fathers thought about their children back at their claustrophobic single room apartments inside the packed insulae of the human ghetto, young men and women thought of their elders. All thought of how their helpless loved ones would survive without their meager, but essential support. It was in this mindset that the crowd began to resent their leaders for bringing them into this trap that might doom their entire families, not to mention their lives.

Gernan, seeing the mood change, took a starched parchment bullhorn from his second in command and raised it to his muzzle.

“Attention, all humans! You have been tricked by the treachery of the foxes! Cease your aggression and go back home! Go back to your families! I assure you, if you turn back you will all be spared! Just your leaders will be punished!" this further added to the declining mood and the crowd went from chanting anti-wolf slogans in unity to murmuring amongst themselves about how this was all a bad idea.

Not all of the mob was in unity with the growing defeatist stance of the majority of the rioters though. The few zealots leading the whole cause, who were now losing control of their base, flew into a panic. A few of the leaders, upon seeing the white flag rise behind them, plowed into the mob and tried to wrestle the holder of it down before the wolves saw it. Their last chance at creating the conflict they wanted was if the wolves did not see it and fired first. It was a short struggle and flag-bearer was subdued but it was for naught, as the Prime Beta's keen eyes caught it already. He had faced armies of trained Ursine warriors's clad in steel plate and wielding bloodied axes; a ragtag mass of untrained humans was nothing and could be subdued with no violence, instead using the image of sheer force itself would be the best weapon to defeat them.

The fanatic taking down one of their own was enough for them to lose the rest of what little faith the majority of the humans still had in their leaders. They turned on them, beating them and ripping their clothes while shouting in anger.

After the mob tenderized them until they were prone, they turned back and returned to their homes, leaving their former leaders in the street where a few of the wolf soldiers, ordered by Gernan, ran up to them and slung them over their shoulders to be taken to the Court of Law and Punishment, which was adjacent to the Forum the Moon.

I was greatly relieved with how everything played out. I was fearing the worst for the humans after this, with mass indiscriminate punishments for all regardless of guilt or not. Blame for the riots was laid on the foxes, especially newly transplanted foxes in the capital. Humans, in fact, where sympathized by the vast majority of wolves, but not in a good way, more like: “Those poor pitiful humans! They were taken advantaged by those nasty foxes, how did humankind ever live without us!?"

Such a mindset was in line with the popular state-sanctioned philosophy known as The Way of Hierarchy, birthed from the works of the first wolf and codified by the first Alpha Ysengrimus into a whole way of life preaching the values and superiority of wolfkind. My master was a bit more of a stoic and even-handed than that foul Titus! If he led that force against the human mob he would have killed them and then rounded up any of their friends and relatives as well! He would probably say, in that higher than thou tone of his, quoting something from the Analects of the First Wolf like, “Mankind are pups, and like pups they need to be disciplined when they overstep their boundaries," I could go on and on about how much of a conservative Titus was, but I digress now as I will have much more time to document him and his deeds much later on in this testament of mine.

But the good thing and all that really mattered was there was no massacre of innocent humans. I even heard that the Alpha's rage was soothed by Consort Jao. The news of this, when it reached the human sector, caused the humans paupers there to all of a sudden worship that haughty man who before they scorned as a pampered dress-wearing, man-slut, sellout who let a wolf insert his knife into his fresh peach.

“Jao, Jao. Look at him now.

“Rustic lakes to the silken robes

“Alpha's ploughing his hills right now!"

“Jao, Jao. Look at him now!

“Head as big as the Alpha's knot!"

“Will the whole Earth be enough for him?"

All of a sudden he was the saint of all mankind! It was downright silly!

The leaders of the riot were interrogated and were oddly quick to point to a fox in the non-wolf sector, a visiting noble fox believed to have been been from the Republic. But when they broke into his home in the capital he was long gone, the entire place cleared out aside from papers left on the floor.

The humans, for their quick confession, were spared by direct order of the Alpha and their execution was lessened to banishment.

During the search, one of the officers found parts of burnt papers in the fireplace and among the papers was a letter that was left a bit unburnt at the bottom and showed the name of the now Doge, Lazo. Which was very odd since the ashes were sifted through before.

“Oh, its just an ambitious wolf wanting to promote himself on a wave of warmongering," Gernan said when he heard of all this.

And as he predicted, a minor wolf official during the monthly court meetings with the Alpha, which were now becoming rather sporadic and more often than not canceled or postponed at the last moment by the Alpha saying he was too “overwhelmed" at the moment to attend and ordering the Prime Beta to handle what ever was going on. But this time, considering recent events, the Alpha showed.

The low-ranking wolf marched forward, leaving his place in back of the neatly filed rows of court officials and kneeled at the base of the steps leading up the throne presenting his “evidence."

“Alpha, I have here proof that this human uprising was more than just the work of poor humans and an opportunistic fox noble!" he cried out to the Alpha who gestured to an ursine attendant to fetch what the wolf was holding.

“As you can see, this is part of a letter, which an official of justice found in the fireplace of the fox noble connected to the Reynard cult, that bears the signature of the Doge of the Foxen Republic, Lazo Quintilus!"

“This is an attack on us and an act of war! So, my Alpha, please lets show those decadent foxes the punishment they deserve! If we give the order now, the Royal Cavalry can carve a path through Carpathia and be at the gates of Pesht in a fort-week!"

It was Gernan who finally spoke up to put an end to such talk, “My Alpha! I must object to this all! War with the foxes now would be sheer madness! Karelia has only be recently been made a province of the Alphate and it's still unstable and adjusting to wolf rule! Must I bring up the example of what happened during your glorious Father's rule! Alpha Lycan, who brought the felines of Anatolia into our Empire, did not wait and tried shortly afterwards to bring the Carpathian Basin into the fold! The felines of the new province of Anatolia rose up, murdered the governor and declared themselves independent! The Alphate barely managed to put down that revolt, but we gained nothing from the foxes and came dangerously close to losing the Crown Prince when you were captured by the foxes!

“My Alpha, please! Let us wait and digest what we have already eaten before we even try for seconds!" the Alpha was left a little embarrassed by his Chief Deputy's words and resented him bring up his capture in public like that and I have no doubt that the poisonous words Jao repeated like a mantra about my master echoed in his head after this.

But in the end, the Alpha ruled in favor with Prime Beta Gernan's words and put all mention of war to rest, but not before Beta Eta Rustem, who was demoted from Beta Zeta a while back and a crony of Jao, made a quip about Gernan's love of foxkind.

Being in the court tries at the nerves. Gernan must have had ones made from iron to remain calm in such situations.

As me and the rest of us at the manor, things changed rapidly. Crown Prince Ulric had to leave for his residence, the East Palace, located beside the Alpha's own city-like palace and was a scaled down version of it as well. After that, Gernan was ordered to move with parts of his household to the residence of the grand tutor of the Crown Prince, located in the East Palace and continue his tutorship of the prince.

All I could think of at that time was wanting to see the little wolf again.

I was very elated that I was among the select few to accompany my master into his new living location in the Eastern Palace. Pantaleon was another, of course, along with a few others of importance. It was basically a skeleton crew.

“The palace has enough servants as it is, bringing in our own will just be a waste of government money! More muzzles to fill with food from the palace kitchens and sheets to wash from the beds. No need for us to add to that!" Gernan said as we pulled into one of the small side-gates of the East Palace that lead into the walled open-aired lanes that separated the compounds of the various service buildings and warehouses of the palace complex that lay on the sides of the central axis of the place.

Looking upwards out the window of the cart in awe at the towering wall of this walled in-lane I gave a little gasp at it all. The wolven form of my master sitting in front of me gave an audible chuckle at my childish awe.

“You have seen nothing, pup! The ones in the Alpha's palace are much taller! You are just small, so they just look big! But one thing is for sure, they are much bigger than my walls back home!"

I turned back into the confines of our vehicle, nearly knocking the muzzle of Pantaleon who sat next to me.

“Oh, sorry, Panta!" he gave a low response to me that was hard to hear over Gernan's laughter at viewing our accidental comedy show. I still could not get over this place! It was like almost a city and this was like a road were were on and it had two lanes at that, so two carts like ours could travel on them without issue.

The ride was slow and easy and I caught sight of various figures walking down the road who were mulling about and doing what ever job they must have had.

As we moved down I saw there were gates that dotted the way that must have led to many places for the palace and halfway down we came to a cross-roads that opened into two new lanes, north and south and exactly like rest. It was there we turned south and moved on our way for a little bit before we arrived at a gate in the wall where we came to a stop.

“This is it!" I hear my master yell as he jumped up and left the cart, followed by the foxy Pantaleon and me shortly afterwards, almost stumbling out into the mid-morning air.

The gate doors opened up and the wolf and fox walked in as I got my bearings. Besides me, two mutt-like servants took out from the back of the cart a few large chests and began hauling them in as I looked up.

Hanging above the gates, upon its the angled eaves, was a framed placard with written wolves script.

“Illuminated Dwelling of the Lofty Head Lesson-Giver" was written on it. Such a fancy mouthful of name for a teacher's home, I thought to myself. Some of the words I had trouble even remembering since they were not often used for the things I read or wrote.

I must have been there longer than I thought as I was taken out of my trance by a gruff voice in the distance ahead of me.

“PUP! PUP! What are you waiting for!?" looking ahead, Gernan was well-within the gates and I ran in after him.

I found myself in a courtyard. In front of me was a large residence, single-storied, that was on a stone terrace foundation that also extended forward, creating a porch in the front area of the main hall and had a low set of stairs leading up to it. It was from here that Gernan was calling me from.

Framing the courtyard on the sides were smaller and simple roofed structures that went to the perimeter of the enclosing walls and were attached to the main residence hall.

Climbing up the steps and meeting up with the wolf who was waiting for me, Gernan wrapped his arm around my neck, his claws cupping my shoulder as he turned around and we both walked into the residence hall.

“So, this is our new home?" I meekly asked as we entered the large reception hall of this building. Around us, the few dog servants were opening the rear doors that exposed the small scholar's garden that hid behind the building.

“Yes, but only part time! I can move from here and back home whenever I want, but I have to come here to give the prince his lessons."

In the center of the semi-lit hall was a desk and chair on a raised dais with a bookcase lined like a screen behind it, held up on the sides by wolf figures of wisdom and diligence. The whole place was a tad dark in areas, as only the light from the few windows was giving illumination to the room, creating a surprisingly bright center area that contrasted with the eerie shadows in the deepest corners of the room.

Everything was covered in dust sheets, including the numerous small floor desks the were placed in rows forward of the central desk, some of which were now being removed by Pantaleon.

“Panta, you can ask for most of these spare desks to be taken away, we will only be having one student now," Pantaleon nodded and said he would bring it up with the staff later when he went out again to get oil for the lamps when night came.

It was afternoon while Panta was out doing that and probably pulling his fur out dealing with the palace staff, while also making sure to get the go ahead for our own supply of food from the outside as we wanted to make sure nothing happened.

Gernan and I were at the new place getting things all set up. I was was in the front courtyard with a broom sweeping up any of the leaves from the last fall. The place looked like it as been vacant since Canis knows when.

All of a sudden something was on my back clinging like a little monster! I was flaying all around in a started panic until I felt a long, fuzzy thing rub against my neck and a wet object pressed against my ear that was followed by an all too familiar voice.

“XAN! XAN! You're here!" he finally got off me and jumped excitedly in front of me, his tail swishing like a tree in the wind. I could only grin warmly at this show and whatever anger I had was gone like the morning fog at dawn.

“What? Did you actually think I wouldn't come!?" the wolf cub was wearing a simple, but princely, solid red robe, its neckline folded back into a small collar that framed his face, showing an under-color of bark brown which matched his boots and belt.

He looked down for a bit as his tail slowed a tad. I could clearly see there was an attempt to control his fuzz by someone, as areas of his fur looked a little wet.

“Well, Mommy said you were a human and that you might not be brought along with the Prime Beta..." I could not help showing my pleasure at seeing him open up about how he was afraid I would not come and this also answered who was the most likely one that wet down Ulric's fur.

“Oh, ho, ho! Looks like you've missed me! Not surprised, it's been, what? Two lunar months?" He nodded his head in affirmation.

“I did! I admit it! I wanted you!" he looked up at me, looking so happy to see me, those eyes just brimming with joy.

“Well, don't worry little wolf! The Alpha will have to give the order to make me have to leave you!"

“You promise?"

Later that night, after we all ate a small dinner together in the side of the residence, a meal made here with our own supplies and cooked in a small kitchen in the place. It was by no means an Alpha's feast, just a simple meal In fact most of the work was done for me to eat, as I had to eat mine cooked as everyone else was okay with raw.

The two dog servants finished first and bid that they were going to bed as Panta, master and myself were just half way done.

Soon, we were all finished with our meal and I was getting quite tired and so was everyone else. I could tell my master was about to drift off himself, his eyes being more and more covered by heavy eyelids.

Soon, we were heading off to bed. Master would sleep in the main hall while Pantaleon and I would sleep in the servant's quarters which I found out were those buildings on the sides of the courtyard.

We entered a small, cell-like room with two beds located on each side, a small table between them with a basin of water and above it, a lamp hung on the wall flickering through the bare room, illuminating the paper windows leading to the outside.

As I sat on my claimed bed, I felt so odd being not only without my master but also with Pantaleon, a fox! He sat in the bed across from me and began to partly undress, starting with the removal of his boots as the sound of his claws tapped upon the stone floor.

I got up immediately as soon as I saw this, grabbed the pair of cloth boots by their lips, rushed to the door, opened it and dropped them outside all in the matter of a flash. All the while, the middle-aged fox was in a bewildered state.

“W-what was that for!?" he said in a yappy voice that had an irritated slant to it and finishing with a fox gekker of minor aggression.

“Panta! I don't want to end up feeling like I am sleeping inside your boot!"

“Hey! What about Gernan!? You are fine with him!"

“He is not a fox! Sweaty boots by themselves I can take, but that combined with a your musk would probably kill me! Plus you have worn them all day!" Pantaleon's face gave forth a hurt grimace.

“I-I-I'm not that bad!" he uttered out in embarrassment

“If you're anything like Elyk, I would rather not risk it!" the mood changed after this was said as I heard the normally stiff lipped Panatleon burst out in laughter!

“Ah, ah ha ha, you are so right! My poor mate almost kills herself trying to get himself to groom himself better!"

“I know! And it did not help he heard that lie about how natural scent will help him get all the good vixens!" Panataleon's ears perked up in surprise.

“You did not know that? Huh, he must have only told me that!" the fox shook his head while giving his snout's chin a rub.

“Wait until Iahel gets a load of this! She will make bread out of his tail!"

“Just don't tell her I said it!"

“Deal," afterwards, we both settled into bed after the flame of the single lamp was put out. This our first night in this place.

“Goodnight, Panta..." I whispered out into the dark.

“Night, Xander..."

A few days had past and things were still being set up in the quarters for the Prince's tutor. Gernan was trying to find out where he had left off in the Prince's curriculum and was spending his days flipping through books and charts, forming the next parts of his teaching. He did this at the central desk of the hall and was now only faced with a single pupil's desk and chair.

When I looked at him like this, I couldn't help but to think that the layout of this entire learning hall was set up to make it look like a throne hall, where the teacher was the Alpha holding a court of learning.

“Argh! I am not made for this!" I heard my master growling exasperatedly. He was hunched over the desk as I creeped unbeknownst in front of him and slipping into the desk for his single pupil.

“When can I teach him battlefield tactics? At least I am more knowledgeable on that!" he seemed tired, worn out and needing of a boost to his confidence.

“I think you are the best teacher!" I cried out without warning.

“Agh!" he cried out as the book and papers he was holding were flung into the air above him, taken by complete surprised at my injection out of the blue.

“Oh, I am so sorry!" I jumped up and ran to him, getting on the floor to pick up what he had thrown in fright.

“Oh, its not you! I am just a little on edge that's all! Balancing the court and this is hard! But once things get smoothed out more, like it was before the riot, it will be better!" getting up, putting the books and paper back on the desk, I put my hand on the wolf's shoulder and felt it was hard as a rock.

“Gernan! You're all tensed up!"

“It's nothing! It's nothing!" he said, waving his paw dismissively as he started back to work, reaching for a book.

“Nuh uh! That's it for you, Prime Beta!" I said as I took away his books and papers from him.

“What are you doing!?

“Giving you a break!"

“B-but my work!?"

“It can wait! You just relax now!" the wolf collapsed, defeated.

“You're right! I need to take it easy."

“That right! Now you wait here, I am going to head to the garden to pick up some herbs to burn to relax you!"

“Herbs?"

“Yeah! My mother used to burn lavender when she would get stressed out after a row with grandpa! I bet I can find some in the gardens around here."

“Pup, were are much more sensitive to scent than you humans so-"

“I will be careful, master. I will only burn a little at a time around you! Just let me take care of you!"

“Okay! But what is this lavender?"

“Oh, I don't what you call it. But it's like a bush and has these purple flowers that grown all over it."

“Oh, blue shrub! I bet you will find it in the gardens here, I think some special variety was given to the Alpha as tribute from the Governor of Macedon a year ago."

“Great! I will go look!"

“Iskander! You don't have to do this!"

“Master, I am going to make you relax and take care of you!"

“Okay, okay! You win! But take this first, it will give you access to parts of the Palaces including the garden," I took from his paw a small, fish-shaped metal badge and left without a word as I heard my master cry out.

“DON'T LOSE IT!"

I finally reached the main garden of the East Palace. It was towards the rear of the complex and adjacent to the grouping of buildings and halls that made up the Crown Prince's living quarters. There was another garden on the other side as well but I had a good feeling about this one.

It was a long walk getting there, especially considering I was only twelve and I was making do on short legs, but I got there, passing through the occasional gate and their keepers without any issue as Gernan promised.

I didn't have much time to look around at the garden and its elegantly landscaped rocks and trees. I focused on my task finding lavender to help my master calm down.

Checking everything green and growing, I weaved through all the foliage keeping my eye open for anything that was like what I remembered of lavender. I could not remember if it was a summer blooming plant or not, either way I could still use its leaves for the same effect, I thought.

Finally, I came upon it! It was exactly how I remembered, roundish bush with bluish foliage and topped with violet flower buds! It definitely looked like it was nearing the end of its blooming season and the flowers were going to stop blooming soon in a few months.

“Great! This is it!" I thought to myself on my hands and knees, consumed with my task to get my master help. I needed dried flowers to work, so I was focused on the ground picking up the fallen petals.

“Ahhhhhh! Consort Nu! Good to see you!" my gathering was interrupted by a feminine voice and I stopped frozen.

Carefully looking up behind the bush, I saw two wolfesses sensuously dressed in long, flowing robes, sleeves and high collars in vivid colors ranging from bright to dark and ornate headbands framing their ears. These two wolves were alone, aside from a few attendees that were out of earshot.

“Io! Its good to see you as well!" the two female wolves faced each other, their paws folded at their waist as they both graced the other with a low curtsy that gave the impression that they were both equals in rank. It was at this moment that I realized that Nu was the name of Ulric's mother, and also Titus sister. I saw from my hiding place she had a similar color of fur as the puppy and also, most telling of all, blue eyes, which confirmed my realization.

“It's such a surprise to see you here!" the one called Io said.

“Really? Surprise!? Why would it be a surprise that I'm here, I am after all the mother of the Crown Prince and the future Alpha!" after this, Io raised her paw to her head.

“Oh, how could I forget that? Maybe it's because the position of Crown Prince is always so unstable that its easy to forget!" Io gave a polite nod before continuing on.

“I've been reading the history of Kutlar and I was thinking about how Alpha Lycan was never the Crown Prince during his father's rule and how he killed the Crown Prince in the coup against his father! But why am I saying that? You must think about this a lot yourself, dare I say it keeps you awake at night!" this conversation I was witnessing was beyond bizarre to me, it was polite, but it was full of fake niceness drenched in sarcasm. Consort Nu responded in the same fake politeness.

As I was listing to this, I caught something out of corner of my eye. One of female wolf attendants was slowly creeping into earshot of what was being said, unbeknownst to Io.

“Io, I know you must have big dream for your new born litter! But even if they do come true, you will always be second to your master, Jao! He would be Alpha Dowager while you would be mere Consort Dowager!" Consort Nu's tone for this was a dramatic change from from the previous facade of politeness and her tone was serious and forceful.

“Well...I would not bet on that if I were you. What dose that human man have over me! I am the one that gave birth to my pups, not him!" the moment this was said, the wolf that was eavesdropping on the conversation's ear's visibly perked up while her tail stood still. I swear I could see her eyes widen even from the distance I was away from her and she returned to her place after this.

The two female rulers then departed with fake pleasantries and leaving me a husk of worry. I forgot all about why I came here, stood up and left as fast as I could. The scene I just witnessed repeated in my head again and again along with outcomes of what would've happened had I not been so careful or quiet.

When I finally got back to the compound of the Prince's tutor, I burst into the hall where Gernan was still at his desk.

“Did you find it?" he asked as I looked around nervously, a little afraid.

“Iskander!" he repeated.

“U-uh, what!?" I spoke dazzed.

“Did you find it!?"

“Find what?"

“The lavender!"

“Oh! Oh! Yes! But it was not in bloom!" then I remembered the pass he gave me and to my great relief, I found it still on my person. I quickly handed it to him and as I did that, I noticed my hand was shaky as I did so.

My master notice this and inquired about me to which I replied I was simply suffering from a little heat stroke.

I don't know why, but I felt in so much danger in that situation, like I was intruding on something I should not have heard at all. But in the next few days, I quickly put it behind me and soon a new thing took over my attention: the preparation for the Crown Prince's birthday!

Summer was ending and fall was beginning along with the date of Ulric's birthday. But aside from that, things were normal and quiet.

Gernan's lessons resumed along with the little wolf's occasional inquests to help me explain what I knew of what was being taught to him. Of which, I was becoming less and less help now that he was getting into more advanced subjects.

These months went through like a breeze, but one thing stuck out in my mind, now that I look back on it, while I was in the main garden of palace relaxing.

This was another two months after my last visit to the garden and this time I was really wanting to pick up some lavender for master, but also want to see that garden too. I had already done that when I decided to sit by a tree to relax after my long walk there.

But as I sat down, I noticed that there was a hollow under my hand at the base of the leaf-bare tree. I curiosity began moving the fallen orange leaves and digging in the dirt until I found a small bottle of a dark liquid within the newly dug hole.

Popping the cork, I was overcome with the strong and sweet scent, which was incredibly familiar to me at that time but I could not place my finger on it no matter how much I thought about it.

Confused, I just figured it was some kind of gardening thing and put it back in the ground and buried it. I'd ask Harold about it the next time I was back at Gernan's manor, thinking it was perhaps some kind of a special fertilizer.

Afterwards, a feeling of dread washed over me, similar to the aftermath of my last trip here and I left.

“This garden must be haunted!" was my only conclusion in my childish head as I left for home in the late fall evening.