Chapter Nineteen – The Sapphire Necklace
The Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia spent the autumn of 1754 recovering from the war. The country gave thanks to the Creator for having spared the central valley, but the province of Hórkustk Ris, which had been devastated and depopulated, would take years to recover. The Grand Duke was very active in planning the province's future, realizing that he had the opportunity to shape an entire region to fit the needs of both the Duchy and the Royal Household.
The province's lack of defenses was a problem the sovereign needed to immediately address. He would reserve territory for a replanted forest from which Royal Guards could launch raids against any future invaders. He also ordered the official abandonment of the ruined city of Hórkustk Ris. The new provincial capitol would be located further south in Iyóshnyakt-Krepóckt. The southern town had been little more than a large farming village in 1754, but over the ensuing decade it would become the most important city in the region, boasting the Royal Army's largest garrison. The Danubian Church built a new Temple based on the design of the one in Starívktaki Móskt, which signaled the Duchy's religious leaders were officially turning away from traditional Christian architecture. Old churches and cathedrals from the "Roman" era would be left in place, but any new ones would be built according to the pre-Christian design.
The Grand Duke continued ordering heavy stones and other building supplies to be brought into the area surrounding the capitol for the planned expansion of the city wall. Throughout the winter the kilns burned non-stop and massive piles of bricks and blocks kept growing. The population, which had not seen how useless the walls in Hórkustk Ris had been against the Army of the Red Moon's cannons, happily anticipated building the new defenses and living in a more secure city.
Silvítya looked over the castle wall with a spyglass that she had borrowed from Protector Buláshckt. She studied the building materials and construction stockpiles, wondering what really was happening. She remembered the words of the wagon driver on the day she entered the capitol for the first time:
"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... Stone doesn't beat gunpowder... not for very long, at any rate."
The siege of Hórkustk Ris had amply proved the wagon driver's opinion. Certainly the Grand Duke was as aware of the uselessness of city walls as anyone so, why was he still planning to build a new one around the Danubian capitol? It just didn't make any sense.
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Silvítya attended the births of several children during the weeks after she returned to her normal life in the Royal Residence, including the babies of ex-concubines. It was strange to see her former "sisters" after not having seen them for six or seven months and knowing they soon would be leaving the castle and starting new lives. It was nice to get caught up on news with her old companions and tell them what had gone on in the concubine group since they had left. The new mothers had plenty of news about happenings in the capitol, since their lives in the maternity wing were not nearly as restricted as life in the concubines' quarters.
The Grand Duke trusted Silvítya more than anyone else in the castle to oversee the successful deliveries of his offspring. He did not love his former mistresses, but was very concerned that the babies and their mothers were healthy. The women would be properly taken care of as long as their children stayed alive, but the ruler made it very clear that if anything bad ever happened to one of his children, regardless of whether or not the mother was to blame, she would be kicked out of her house, her goods would be seized, and the support she was receiving from the Royal Household would immediately stop.
The Grand Duke had fathered dozens of children over that past decade. Once a woman became his concubine, the only way she could leave the castle was to become pregnant. The Grand Duke obviously wanted as many children as he would possibly have, but why? The children were all illegitimate, so none of them could become legal heirs to the throne. Why was he spending so much time and money impregnating ordinary women and then sending them away to live out their lives scattered around the Duchy?
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After returning to the castle, Silvítya resumed her status as the Grand Duke's "favorite" concubine. She could freely move about the Royal Residence and go as far as the end of the garden. The Royal Guards would not let her go beyond the far edge of the planted area, but still, it was wonderful to spend time outside the castle and be able to look out at the capitol and surrounding areas. Even as the autumn progressed and being naked outdoors became increasingly uncomfortable, Silvítya was happy to be away from the stifling atmosphere of the castle and the continuous chatter of her companions.
Throughout the autumn, supply caravans pulled into the castle to off-load food and charcoal and ensure its inhabitants had what they needed to pass the winter comfortably. Silvítya often braved the wind to watch the supply wagons off-load, to see what was coming into the castle and hear gossip and news about the rest of the Duchy.
She was surprised when several wagons entered the castle loaded down with heavy powdery black rocks. Seeing the rocks reminded her of her days in Babáckt Yaga's settlement and filled her thoughts with regret and nostalgia. Only two years had passed since she had been a Follower, but it seemed so much longer than that: an entire lifetime.
Silvítya examined one of the rocks, picking at it with her fingernails. It was still strange to think this thing would actually catch on fire. She remembered the conversations she had with the Grand Duke over the previous winter about the various inventions of the Followers. She realized the Grand Duke had listened to her seriously and had taken an interest in cave-charcoal. She talked to a castle supply-room assistant to find out that, sure enough, the Grand Duke wanted to experiment with heating. So, along with the shipment of ordinary charcoal, he had ordered several wagonloads of the strange black rocks to be transported all the way from the northern border. A wagon master explained that it came from a cave near Sevérckt nad Gorádki and that it burned much better than wood.
"We don't know what to call it yet, but just west of the pass to Rika Chorna there's a mountain full of it. A single wagon of these rocks is like bringing in dozens of cut trees. If this works out, the Grand Duke is thinking about using barges to bring in more of these rocks next year."
"Is he going to use the rocks in the castle's fireplaces, Wagon-master?"
"I don't think so, Servant. These rocks burn too hot for ordinary fireplaces. But, from what I have been told by one of the Royal blacksmiths, His Majesty has been experimenting with special iron stoves. He sent drawings of several designs and ordered the metal-workers to create them."
Silvítya looked up to see Protector Buláshckt, studying at both her and the strange cargo. She had not seen him since he dropped her off at the castle at the end of September. She greeted him and would have left it at that, but she was curious about the stoves. She requested that he escort her to the castle's blacksmiths' shop to see the stoves for herself. It turned out the designs were identical to the stoves used in Babáckt Yaga's settlement. The foreman of the blacksmiths proudly described what his men had created over the summer:
