Two decades after first being brought to the royal court, Pan’s romance with King Seronisis has not cooled. Pan, approaching his fortieth year, casts his mind back to his childhood spent on the family farm, working in the fields all day, and to the few hours a week he had to himself whereby he would disappear into the Great Forest to wander and daydream. The king has been doing some reflecting, too. He has become increasingly aware that, with the passage of time, he is one day soon going to be too old to manage the affairs of the kingdom and all the associated pressure and stresses. More importantly, he has realized he would like to spend more time with Pan. To that end, he plans an extravagant holiday for them, but before they can depart, he needs to find a successor. Since the king has no children of his own, there are only two other candidates -- Athor and Nenim, the king’s cousins from across the sea. Both brothers are handsome and physically fit. Athor is outgoing and obviously keen to obtain the post of monarch. Nenim is more reserved, hard to read, and seemingly not quite as enthusiastic as his brother. King Seronisis devises a series of tasks he asks the brothers to complete so he can assess their ability to take the throne. He watches each carefully to see how well they perform the tasks. He listens to what they have to say, examining their words carefully. Every minute the brothers are at the royal palace, they are being assessed. But when one brother oversteps the mark, it is the king himself who is tested. One foolish act has the power to destroy all that Pan and King Seronisis have built over the years. With this final tale, anything could happen.

The King's Successor

“This is to be a fair fight,” the king explained. “I want to see your skill with the sword, not how quickly you can fell your opponent.” The king stepped back beneath one of the broad arches surrounding the courtyard and raised his hand. “Ready?”


Each of the four men gave a discreet nod, none of them taking their eyes off their opponent, and the king dropped his hand. “Commence!”


Pan stood next to King Seronisis and watched as Athor began swinging like a madman at his opponent. He also noted how Nenim was taking a different approach, defending himself rather than attacking. Both men fought well. Pan couldn’t help noticing, as well, the way the men’s muscles bulged and flexed as they fought and the power in their sword strokes. Fortunately, it appeared the men were evenly paired, although Athor, due to his aggressiveness, had already sustained a deep slash to his upper arm.


Chapter 6