The Madelian

"The Madelian," Florante Soma 180 NCE

***The Madelian*** is a two-part poetic epic detailing the adult life of a Madelian king written by the Elvish author Roman. It is one of the earliest dated works ever written in Elvish, and is considered a fundamental part of the world's canon and the heritage of elves and humans.

The epic is broken into two parts: *The Turbulon*, the story of the eponymous Madelian king's enslavement and earning his freedom by fighting in the legendary Ghinec Wars; and *The Bucephalon*, the story of the king's return home to *Madelia*.

The work is often a source of reference and inspiration for many artists and leaders, with notable historical figures keeping a copy on their person or in their library. It is considered one of the Great Books and is the most widely translated text of all time, being found in every language and dialect, including dead languages.

Many epics have been written as sequels or reimaginings of *The Madelian*, but none have reached the levels of success or influence as the original written by Roman.

It is contested whether or not the poems were meant to be read aloud or even if Roman created the story fictitiously.

## Purpose

The reasons for Roman creating *The Madelian* was likely as a showcase of the many lands he and Oepitorus traveled while writing *The Histories*. It is almost certainly a work of fiction with elements of truth within it. The Four Oaths in which the second half revolves around are indeed important facets of Madelian culture. No evidence exists for Psar's existence, though this story would later form a strong foundation in Madelian culture to the point that they would name later praetorian rulers Caepsar (anglicized as Kaiser).

Though the title and subject matter would indicate this story was intended as a case study to introduce human culture to the elves, it is the opposite. *The Madelian* takes place almost exclusively in Arpasian islands and in modern-day Cisteria, indicating that this was more of a view of the lands of the elves from an outsider's perspective. It served as a sort of critique of the war-driven culture of the ancient Hellastians, who were taboo to portray as anything but glorious in that day. Psar's perspective of a human fitting in and even besting elves in war and combat was to demonstrate that war was perhaps an affair best left to men, while the elves were better suited to the arts and drama as the work itself exemplifies.

## Synopsis

### *The Turbulon*

#### Volume I

The book opens from the perspective of the Madelian king Psar chained to an oar on a Senpradic slave ship bound for an unfamiliar land, speaking to his fellow oar-mate Galan, who only refers to himself as a "Cantabrian." The first part of the *Turbulon* is Psar explaining how he became enslaved despite his status as a king.

Psar explained that he united the three kingdoms of the Orphans, the mountain range in the north, and made the land of *Madelia* one kingdom. His rule was plagued by opportunistic attacks from the south by Masagatae horseback riders that he believed to live in *Cantabria*, though they were always unsuccessful thanks to the kingdom of Madelia's formidable griffin-mounted army. Psar was a student of a dwarf named Thaddeus, who taught him strategy and the arts, and Psar spent several years planning an invasion of *Catabria* in order to expand their kingdom and end the attacks once and for all.

Psar is approached by his magus during these preparation, who has divined from their god that their nation is cursed. The magus tells Psar that their god, Bucephan, is displeased with their kingdom, as their god is one of the open sky and horses, both of which have allowed the Madelians to prosper. In their infinite pride, the Madelians have intruded upon the open sky and flown on the backs of griffins. They too have abandoned their horses, forsaking them for their greatest predator and foe, the griffin. Psar retorts that if Bucephan was angry with their kingdom, he would not have allowed them to grow so mighty, and disregards it as the ravings of a madman.

Psar lead an expedition to route the Masagatae from *Cantabria*. After securing multiple footholds in the south, on one occasion Psar allowed a Masagatae's white horse to escape capture, even though it was a massive, muscular horse that would have fed one of their griffins for a week. Psar's second-in-command, Emedictus, believed this was a sign that Psar was growing old and weak, which coincided with his own ambitions for the Madelian seat of power. Emedictus met in secret with the Masagatae warlord who agreed to stay south of the Ivies mountain chain, and in return would be handed over Psar and promised no future conquests north by the Masagatae.

Psar was captured, betrayed by Emedictus, and was enslaved by Delmedes to tend to his twenty-five horses. However, among the twenty-five horses was the one white horse he spared, who showed a liking to Psar. Though Psar escaped in the middle of the night after a year of enslavement and raced west unwittingly into *Cantabria*, and his horse was killed in the pursuit. He made it to the coast of the Ivory Sea on foot, realized his mistake and hid, He built a wooden shrine to the Masagatae god Amazo and hid inside. The Masagatae patrol including Delmades were forbidden from tearing down such a visage, and simply decided to wait him out. Psar lived off grass and seawater, which slowly drove him mad.

After a week, Psar believed he was being rescued after seeing a ship offshore and broke free of the shrine to run to the shore. However, it was actually the Senpradites, who captured him. Emedictus had also made an agreement with the Senpradites to capture this contingent of Masagatae, who were defenseless against their superior weaponry and numbers.

Most of the Masagatae were killed as they fought back, but with most of their main encampment enslaved already, it did not bother the Senpradites who took Psar and made him work their oars along with Galan.

#### Volume II

Galan explains he was from *Cantabria* and how he was the greatest warrior out of their tribe, the Cancarions, and after their defeat by the Masagatae warlord Delmedes, were forced into his service. He informs Psar Delmedes was likely still alive, as he made a deal with a witch to make himself immortal, at the cost of never being able to make peace with his enemies. Galan and Psar become companions and are brought to harbor in the Baerisian Islands, a chain of islands far to the south.

The captain of the vessel is looking to bring a live behemoth to the King of the elven kingdom Ludor, as a way to earn his favor and to marry the elven princess Linella. The crew are armed with spears and light armor and are ordered to bring a behemoth to the ship in chains by nightfall the next day, or the ship will "sail into the last light of the setting sun" without the crew, only using the wind in the sails. Psar unites the crew into finding the smallest behemoth they can find and bringing it to the captain in jest. The captain is disappointed, but must eat his words, as Senpradites are bound to honor any oath they swear by their god. They sail for Ludor and the crew looks up to Psar as their leader.

The vessel arrives in Ghine, the capital of Ludor, to gift the behemoth to the King, as well as the many slaves. However, it is discovered that the princess Linella has taken the throne since her father was killed in combat against Lannis by one of its princes, Mandoliel. Linella has only been spoken of prior to her ascension, and never had her debut to find suitors. As a result, it was previously unknown that she is in fact afflicted with dragon's blood, which has turned her heart to stone. Linella is a cruel queen and orders the captain slain for his insulting gift, and the behemoth is tied to a "carriage" made of orichalcum and whipped as if to make it drag the carriage.

The slaves are enlisted into Linella's army, and are ordered to fight on her behalf in a siege against the city of Lannis. The city is ruled by King Priam, though is most noted for his three sons: the mighty warrior Cadiel, whose mother was a giant; the handsome and cunning Phalos, son of King Priam and his wife Serithia, who was so beautiful she drowned while staring at her reflection; and the wise and blessed Mandoliel, who was conceived between King Priam and a dragon in the form of a Hellastian woman.

#### Volume III

The crew is put into the hands of the incompetent general Olendras. The elf Olendras constantly loses to battles of wits to Psar, who ends up commanding much of the small legion and rising as the champion of the legion, being the most capable fighter. Psar is verily entranced with the beauty of the eladrin, and his comrades too are fascinated with the human form.

The story dives into each of the legion's soldiers by name, and describes their deaths at the hands of the harsh Pracian environment as they march across the countryside to Lannis, in the mystical lands of Valendor. These include massive bears with the heads of owls that are as silent as the night air, and gnomes that beguile several soldiers to an untimely demise while crossing the Strait of Reeds. By the time Olendras leads his army to Lannis, only Galan and Psar are left.

The three regroup with other legions and Olendras is chastised for his careless leadership, and is demoted and the three are absorbed into a legion under the fair general Tamara. She notes Psar's combat and leadership skills as he helps to prevent a midnight attack by meeting the enemy by a river, as well as slaying Mandoliel. Tamara promises to free Psar if they are victorious in besieging Lannis. However, Psar refuses to fight any longer unless Galan too is freed.

Galan is distraught and wants to help Psar regain his freedom lest he never return to his home in *Madelia*. Galan engages in multiple battles until he is struck by Phalos's javelin and killed. Enraged, Psar agrees to fight and rides a horse bareback (uncommon for the elves, who rode chariots) in battle. Even as the legion falls around him, their names recorded by Roman, Psar rampaged across the battlefield and fought Cadiel, believing he was Phalos. Psar and Cadiel duel until Psar disarms Cadiel and cuts off the massive warrior's head. He is captured by the true Phalos and his detachment and thrown into their dungeon.

#### Volume IV

Psar, recognized as the champion of the Ludorian army, is given the opportunity to secure his freedom by serving Lannis in defending against Ludor by Phalos. However, Psar will not forgive Lannis for slaying Galan, instead challenging Phalos to single combat, lest he deny him. Phalos agrees, though that night Psar is kept awake by blowing horns and is not fed a good meal for over a day.

Psar befriends the woman in the cell across from him, an elven woman named Galiwain, who reveals she is the daughter of Linella. She was meant to be wed to Mandoliel, but was imprisoned as a conspirator after Ludor and Lannis came to blows.

Phalos drags out Psar in front of the grand gates of Lannis and has him first challenge three creatures for the three sigils of the houses defeated by Ludor since the new queen ascended. Phalos swears to fight Psar if he can defeat him in front of the Ludorian army.

The first is for the kingdom of Ponlodor, the heraldry being an iron bull, and the bull is released to fight Psar. The bull's breath can turn a man to stone and its horns are sharper than any blade, and Psar is given only javelins to throw. Psar realized the javelins could not pierce the bull's iron skin. Instead, Psar uses a javelin to launch over the bull as it charges and it runs into the grand gate of Lannis, getting its horns stuck. The bull begins to tear down the gate, and must be slain before it can remove it from its hinges. Psar is declared victorious.

The second is for the kingdom of Derendor, the heraldry being a falcon. A roc from Kastrel is brought before Psar, and he is only given a small dagger to fight the beast. Though the beast is large, it is chained so it cannot fly. Psar uses the dagger to break the chains of the roc so it can fly, and it is killed by Lannis defenders before it can get inside the city. Psar is victorious once again.

The final is for the kingdom of Farndor, its heraldry being a lady in white satin. The woman is brought forth, and is revealed to be Galiwain. Psar is given no weapons, and is ordered to kill her by Phalos for his freedom. Psar knows her death would cause the Ludorian army to turn on him and seek his head, and he could not kill a woman. Instead, Psar lifts her hand and tears at her gown, stating that he spoke with her the night before, and she is indeed pregnant with the child of Mandoliel, pointing to her stomach, which is bloated from malnourishment. He states he could not kill her, as she will unite the two kingdoms as its true queen.

Enraged by this obvious deceit, Phalos steps forth and disembowels her, revealing no child growing within her as she expires. This enrages the Ludorian army, who begin to fight at the gates of Lannis until they are repelled, with many soldiers on both sides dying. Tamara rides forth and demands peace, asking that the final battle against Phalos and Psar take place on equal ground. Phalos relents and the fight takes place the next day. For the second night in a row, Psar is kept awake and is not fed in hopes that he would fail the next day in his battle. However, a Lannis soldier named Umanel brings Psar a turkey leg, a leaf of a banana tree, a bucket of rainwater, and some tea to help keep him awake and well fed in the fight the next day. Umanel and Psar speak with one another, and Umanel explains that no matter the man, every man fated to die deserves one last meal.

#### Volume V

Psar is dragged from Lannis to a flat plain by a lake, within sight of the river where Mandoliel was slain and the iron tower where Cadiel was slain. Phalos gives Psar a javelin and a sword, and gives himself an assortment of weapons, including a bow and arrow. The fight commences after both monologue to each other on justice, war, and honor. Psar notably places his javelin upside down in the center of their small arena, calling it "glory." Psar is struck by an arrow to his shoulder and another arrow to his leg almost immediately, but carries on and defends himself with only his sword. Phalos cuts Psar across his stomach after striking him with a hook-and-chain, disemboweling him, and brings him to his knees. However, Phalos goes to draw the sword from Psar and kill him with his own blade, which gives Psar a chance to grab his javelin from behind and stick Phalos under his gown, killing him instantly.

Psar is rescued and despite his injuries, Tamara is able to use elven remedies to heal his wounds. After a day to rest, Psar returns to where the soldiers have brought the body of Phalos. Tamara informs Psar that they have pushed Lannis back to their gates and victory appears imminent. In addition, she has reconsidered and will allow for his freedom. However, for the next few days, Psar rides his horse in front of the gates, dragging the body of Phalos and taunting King Priam to join him behind his horse.

King Priam, alone, sneaks into Psar's tent and confronts him one night. Though he is disguised, he lifts it for Psar, and begs that the body of Phalos be returned so he may bury his son. The conversation, sometimes called the Lamentation, is noted for its many oft-quoted lines, including, "these are the hands that have thus erased my legacy and slain every of my sons," and, "war must be wrought with death and grief, but we can decide whether it is so brutal," perhaps most notably, "the only glorious thing about war is that it is so terrible, lest our mortal hearts grow too fond of it." The motif of the king kissing the hands and feet of a slave is also sourced from this scene.

Moved to tears, Psar allows Phalos to be returned to Priam, and Lannis mourns for three days. Psar, a free man, begins his journey to Ghine, and eventually home to *Madelia*.

### The Bucephalon

#### Volume VI

The second half of *The Madelian* opens with Psar returning to Ghine with a sealed letter from Tamara declaring him a free man, and requesting a vessel to return him to *Madelia* after his efforts to secure Lannis. However, Linella proclaims that though he is a free man, he is too dangerous to allow release. In addition, he owes a debt after her daughter was slain because of him, and it is demanded of him to produce a sum equal to the dowry she gave to Lannis for her daughter's life. He is imprisoned in a dungeon once again.

Psar is alone in a dungeon under Ghine, and has a vivid dream. In the dream, Psar is approached by a white horse, who informs him that the kingdom of Madelia is indeed cursed, and will never be united again, and it will fall in his lifetime because of the hubris of his ancestors and himself. However, Psar's mercy of the god Bucephan's sacred white horse, as well as the wisdom and mercy he has shown while being punished by the god, have demonstrated to Bucephan that he may be worthy of undoing the curse set by his god. The horse introduces himself as Bucephalos, the pegasus, revealing two massive eagle wings tucked at its side. He is a gift for Psar, and will be the only way he can return home or he will die "a stranger in a strange land." Once Bucephalos is freed, the god will contact him again with how to undo the curse. The pegasus urges Psar to find him "deep below this deepest dungeon."

Psar, bewildered but determined, begins to act out until a guard moves him deeper into the dungeon and cuts his rations. Psar continues to do so until he is can go no further, and he is told he will never taste food again, and his only water is what collects in the puddles of his cell.

Though discouraged and starving after three weeks go by and nothing further happens, he is startled when a beast with the body of a lion and the tail of a serpent appears from depths unknown, breathing fire and killing other prisoners. Guards who respond to the attack are incinerated, and the doors shut forever, locking the lowest level to its own devices.

Psar is alone with the beast, but is so malnourished that it does not recognize him as food. He manages to use what little strength he has to open the now-eroded door and scurries down the hole from which the beast came. The hole leads to a cliffside, overseeing the Astoric Ocean. Psar is greeted by a chained and bound pegasus, and the beast follows suit to attack the pair. Psar dons a breastplate of a guard who was consumed by the beast and a javelin stuck in the wall of the cave, and mounts the pegasus. By masterfully bucking the pegasus at the right times, the beast's fire erodes the chains and allows the pegasus to break free. Psar throws the javelin at the creatures tail, pinning the snake's head to the ground, and flies away to safety.

The pegasus, though identical to Bucephalos, does not speak, and that night, another dream occurs to Psar after a night's meal of fish and seaweed. Bucepahlos speaks to him in the dream, informing him that though he can only speak in his dreams and when he is nearby, but never directly. Bucephalos warns that the god Bucephan will see to it that Psar returns home, but it will take many, many years, and he will never get revenge on Emedictus, who will live a long and happy life and pass away before he returns. Psar must swear four oaths to Bucephan in the morning by the light of dawn, or *Madelia* will be forever cursed.

The four oaths are thus: first, *Madelia* may ride and master griffins, but must only allow them to consume the horses of their enemies, never those native to *Madelia*. Second, *Madelia* will lose no territory and will never lose any territory or war for their territory. However, they must never fight a war in which they are the aggressor. Third, the name of Psar, his triumphs, and his sacrifices made for *Madelia* will always be thus remembered and memorialized. However, he must sire no children. Finally, fourth, no Madelian will ever break one of these oaths, but he must repeat these oaths every morning until he once again sits upon the throne.

Though the Madelian king woke early the next morning and recited the oaths, by the time he reached the fourth and final oath, it was no longer dawn, and thus it was rendered ineffective. However, he would still recite the oaths every morning until his return. Having mercy on him, Bucephan would allow the first three to pass, but the fourth remained forever the duty of Madelians to uphold.

#### Volume VII

Psar and Bucephalos arrive at a crescent-shaped island in which they prepare to spend the night. However, during the night, Psar awakes to find Bucephalos being chained up by giants, and though he tries to resist capture, he is ultimately thrown in chains and is brought to a cave full of slaves. In the morning, it is revealed they were captured by the cyclops, who were a slave race for the Hyperboreans that now lived in many of the islands in the Arpasian Sea, east of Cisteria.

Psar is told by the other captured slaves that every night, the cyclops choose a slave each to eat, and with ten cyclops, there is little doubt that he will be eaten soon. Psar considers this, and while the cyclops are tending to their flock, formulates a plan to free himself. He spends the day sharpening a wooden dagger and conceals it in his girdle.

The Madelian king volunteers that night to be eaten, calling himself "Ewe" and saying he is as delicious as any tender lamb. This surprises the cyclops with the fact that Psar knows their language. As he is brought to one cyclops quarters, Psar explains he was once the king of Madelia, and was responsible for driving out the last of the Hyperboreans and inadvertently freeing the cyclops.

The skeptical cyclops asks for proof, to which Psar tells them that he has tamed a wild griffin. The cyclops laughs and says he has a pegasus not a griffin, but Psar's story makes him doubt this, as Psar claims that he will need to look twice, as he only has one eye and needs to look twice to see the truth. The cyclops brings Psar to where Bucephalos is kept, and Psar surprises him and stabs him in the eye with the dagger. As the cyclops recoils and screams, Psar quickly crushes the chains with the giant's heavy torch and rides Bucephalos back to the camp with the other captives.

The rest of the cyclops rush to the injured one, who begins to yell out, "Ewe stabbed me! Ewe blinded me! Ewe stole the pegasus!" which confounds his brethren, as it sounds like he is accusing them of doing so. In the confusion, Psar frees his fellow captives and instructs them to slaughter the herds of sheep, wear their wool, and when they are brought out to graze, to escape to the other side of the island. Psar then departs with Bucephalos.

#### Volume VIII

Psar rides with Bucephalos south across the Arpasian Sea and stopping infrequently at islands to rest. At many of these islands, he meets local inhabitants and these interactions vary quite widely. Along the way he finds:

* Muzdash traders on their way to Arcadia, who bear visage to demons; they tell Psar that every person from Muzdas has the blood of Nebonyses the Great, the son of the god Moloch. The Muzdash traders give Psar a golden girdle for a few elven coins he procured while in Ghine.
* Circe, a witch that turns him into a pig while he sleeps and intends to dine upon him for dinner. Bucephalos escapes, and later while Psar is grazing, he finds Bucephalos eating wild rue. He too feasts upon the grass and becomes a man once again, and he evades becoming a feast once more.
* Short folk of mottled skin who eat fish and worship giants, two taboos in early Madelian society; Psar points out the irony in people of their height worshipping giants, and people who live on land eating things from the sea. In response, the islanders chase off Psar and Bucephalos with clubs, slings, and arrows.
* A small sandbar that is still of decent integrity when the tide is high. When Psar stays the night, he discovers a small ring by where he is resting his head. The ring causes him to turn invisible when he puts it on, and he realizes it is the ring of Gyges, a king he slew years before. He casts the ring into the sea, to not be tempted to use it.
* An island of the Lotus, where lotus flowers bloom year-round. Its inhabitants are tall, red-haired people who eat the flowers by day and vanish into thin air by night, as their dancing and merriment causes them to fade from this world into the next for a short time. Psar is starving and has no choice but to eat of the lotus flower; he leaves the island having aged many years. The natives to the island tell him of the cursed sea between the world of man and the world of elves, which is guarded by the god of the sea. This guardian, the kraken, can create whirlpools and has long, thin arms that it can use to entangle ships.
* An island in the shape of a sleeping woman, and while he sleeps there, he is plagued with dreams of an old witch named Buher telling him he and his horse are now cursed: one of them will die within three days for sleeping on the island.

Finally, in the dramatic conclusion to this volume, Psar is beside the cursed sea dividing the world of magic in the North and the world of men to the South. He occupies a small sandbar once again, and had not eaten or had a drop to drink in many days.

Still, Psar fears to fly over the sea considering it was three days since his dream and the sea is guarded by the kraken, and instead decides to wait another day. Before he sets out to evade the kraken, however, he has another thought: if his dream was actually in the morning, not at night, then it could be that it was *now* three days since his dream. So Psar decides to await an additional day. This proves to be his mistake; Bucepahlos dies of thirst, and Psar is ridden with guilt. Stranded on a sandbar, he buries the pegasus in the loose sand, and says a prayer to Bucephan asking for forgiveness for his delays.

The sandbar, however, erupts and becomes a large island; at the center of the island is a thick pine forest, which Psar uses to craft many, many ships after months of work. Psar sails into the sea, dubbing the island "Bucephalos" for his pegasus, and the sea the Bucephalan Sea.

#### Volume IX

Psar crosses the sea using his wit. He determines that the kraken would crush many of the ships he has brought with him, but could not crush them all. Indeed, as Psar crosses the Bucephalan Sea, the kraken uses its tentacles to grasp dozens upon dozens of ships, but Psar fortunately is not among them, being the last ship left afloat as he makes it back to the realm of man.

Arriving in the lands of the Masagatae in *Crotalusia*, which extends for many miles south of *Madelia*, Psar intends to carefully walk through the lands to little avail. He comes across a mighty linden-tree that speaks to him. It offers him a trade: the tree will give him infinite wisdom, if he is to reach its highest branch, it will grant him its vast knowledge.

Psar easily climbs the tree despite his age and his atrophied state. However, much to his chagrine, the tree's highest branch beckons him, only to pluck out his left eye. The tree is boisterous and claims that now with one eye, "you are now wise to my tricks!" The half-blind Psar stumbles off and is dazed for several days, making him an easy target.

He is soon captured by an Amazon, a woman of the cult to Amazo. The woman, Kelypsa, stands "a cubit taller" than Psar, and easily overtakes him and forces him to be her "bride." In his captivity, Psar learns that in fact, the people who we once thought were the Masagatae were no longer in control. They were relegated to the wilds of *Crotalusia*, surrounding the grand mountains in the center of the continent, with *Cantabria* now being a land of peace and justice under a man named Lenor. Psar considers his friend Galan, having the blood of the Masagatae but not being one himself.

Kelypsa wants children with Psar, but Psar's oath forbids him from becoming a father. Psar is remiss and does not know what to do, as Kelypsa will likely force him to conceive and his oath will be broken. However, while imprisoned, he learns of an enemy to the Amazons who threaten their regime: a warlord named Delmedes to the north. Psar sets aside his personal grudge and says to Kelypsa to accompany him so he may form peace with them; if so, he will give her a child. Kelypsa agrees, and they travel as emissaries to meet with Delmades. The warlord does not recognize Psar, which works in his favor. Psar in secret proposes to Delmades a plan: if he dresses as Psar and conceives with Kelypsa, not only will it make him rightful ruler of the Amazons, but it will also give him a tall son.

Delmades agrees, and impersonates Psar to lie with Kelypsa. Delmades the following day declares peace with the Amazons, for now one of them carries his son - while Kelypsa resigns to this fact and agrees to the peace. However, for his deception, Psar is to be executed. He will be dragged behind a horse with no rider, as the horse rides north through the Ivies and beyond. He will be reduced to nothing before he makes it across the mountains.

The horse is once again a white horse, and as soon as it's set free to ride north, it stops, bucks up and shoulders Psar, and then carries him north to swearing Masagatae and Amazons. Psar endures his final ride home.

#### Volume X

After many hard weeks of riding, an exhausted Psar returns to the southern Madelian kingdoms, a man unrecognizable from his once great stature. Having lost an eye from the linden-tree, gruff with age, thin from his starvation, tan from his time at the sea, and unshaven and grey, he is hardly the same Madelian who left so many years before.

Psar finds his way north into Lateria, his original kingdom, and finds the son of one of his former slaves, the swineherd Ruden. Ruden treats him hospitably and speaks favorably of Psar. After dinner, the unidentified Psar wishes to remain unidentified lest Emedictus or his descendants come for him and kill him. He tells the farm laborers a fictitious tale of himself: he was born in *Cantabria* as a slave and was sold to a wealthy merchant in Urjin, where he served as a soldier in a war. He also said he spent many years at the court of their god, before he earned his freedom and sailed home. Psar also informs them that he met Psar who is also returning to *Madelia*, but his promises are wearily discounted by the men.

Psar travels to the court of Lateria only to find that Emedictus had died some years earlier as king, and Psar's wife was wed to him for many years. However, she could not bear children, and Emedictus sired many other children who now bickered over the throne while Psar's wife retained control until the issue was resolved.

Emedictus had died mere months before Psar's arrival, and now the children has arrived at a solution for determining an heir. One of the magi had learned of a humble sheep-herder named Gord, who made a bold claim: he was taught by a fairy a magic knot that could only be solved by the wisest of all men. The knot was indeed impossible to solve by any of the magi, and so it became the test for the heirs to determine a new Madelian king. A mule was tied to a post outside the palace. Whoever could free the mule was to be heir.

Psar volunteers to solve the knot and to free the mule, to the laughter of the heirs. However, he produced his wooden dagger and simply cuts the knot, freeing the mule, and all laughter stops. There is dispute among the magi, and the heirs are outraged at having been bested by a man who is apparently a mere beggar. Psar returns to his wife and identifies himself to her. She is hesitant, but recognizes him when he recites a poem he wrote for her that he recited only once, and never wrote down:

*You are every beat of my heart*

*And every thought in my mind*

*You are the breath that I gasp for*

*When there's no air left to find*

Thereafter, he is recognized as the true king Psar, and the heirs of Emedictus cannot contest their father's treachery. Psar announces his Four Oaths to the Madelian people, and that his intent is to ensure that the kingdom is ruled for all of time by a steady hand who adheres to these virtues. *Madelia* once again has its true king and is a kingdom of peace; and Psar and his wife live together until he passes away after a long life.