Chapter 35
Final Legacy
Ahma was walking through the market on a busy summer day with his new chancellor, Chief Urho of Satakunta. Onni had died from complications relating to his gout a month earlier and was succeeded by his son Turo as High Chief of Savonia. Turo wasn't of the diplomatic kind however, so he didn't get the position his father had held for a couple decades by the time of his death. Ahma and Urho were going through the various merchants for any interesting goods and also to listen to any rumors from the South that the merchants were bringing with them. And many of the news of what has happened over the winter and spring were major indeed. One of the more immediate news that could affect Finland too was how King Dietwin 'the Holy' of Bavaria has recently become the King of Italy and Burgundy. So now he was the King of Bavaria, Lotharingia, Sardinia and Corsica, Italy and Burgundy. In addition he is also the heir to the Kingdom of East Francia. "By gods, how many Kingdoms can one man have?" Ahma wondered to himself when Urho shared the news with him. In addition to this it also seems that the Southern Empire, or Eastern Rome as some apparently call it, or even the Greek Empire, has finally ended all their civil wars and driven out whatever invaders there were at the moment and it seems that they are finally getting a chance to recuperate. And speaking of Empires, it seems that King Carloman of West Francia has reunited the Empire of his ancestor, Pepin of Francia. Though many expect that this re-emergent Empire will be held in check by their southern neighbor, Baetica. It seems King Toke 'the Great' has not only conquered most of what is Hispania, but most of Maghreb and Africa. The King himself is getting old though and rumors of his ailing health reached even the North via the merchants. And unfortunately for Baetica, none of his sons are considered to be even nearly as competent as their father.
When Ahma and Urho were returning to the fort marshal Kuuti asked for a moment of Ahma's time. Apparently he had some interesting news to share.
"My King, I have heard some credible rumors about an artifact somewhere in the Kingdom. But I wish to ask your permission to take some soldiers to investigate."
"And just how credible are these rumors? Since rumors are just that, aren't they? Rumors."
"My King, I would not bring this matter to you if I hadn't already checked their credibility myself."
Ahma pondered for a moment. "Very well, you may take some soldiers with you to investigate." Ahma then took the pouch he had with him and tossed it to Kuuti, who caught it. "Take that as well. We didn't find much anything interesting in the market. Might be more useful for your search."
"Thank you for your generosity, my King." Kuuti bowed then left towards the training grounds.
After the two of them had entered the fort and were in the great hall Urho approached Ahma.
"My King, if I may ask-"
"Ask away," Ahma responded before Urho was even finished.
Urho cleared his throat. "Uhm, yes, like I was going to ask, why did you decide to support Kuuti's search? I mean, it is nothing but rumors that he is going by, regardless how credible the sources of these rumors might be."
Ahma sat on his throne and calmly answered "Because I felt like it."
"Because... you felt like it?"
"Yes. As you may know, I have accomplished a lot in my life. I even dare say that I have accomplished so much that even when all who knew me are long, long gone, I will still be remembered. But I still wish to make sure I will be remembered for all the times to come. This might be a chance in that. A final legacy, so to speak. And if the search turns out to be fruitless? Well, I guess no one will remember that part of my legacy then. And even if they do, they'll just call it the wishful thinking of an old man gone senile."
Chancellor Urho seemed to have understood what Ahma was talking about and took his leave. After that Ahma let out a weary sigh. "Though I do wonder. Why do I still try to achieve more despite all that I already have? Am I really just such a restless soul? I have already outdone my father, there is no need to leave nothing for the future generations to achieve, now is there?" he thought to himself. He had drifted into sleep maybe an hour ago on his throne when he wakes up with a startle as his sons Haapa an Urho came through the doors to the great hall. They both had come to tell their father that both of their wives had gone into labor not long ago.
First child to be born was to Haapa and Mielikki. It was a son whom they named Väinö. The labor was a lot tougher for Tuija however. It took her almost two days, as it turned out she was carrying twins. Eventually they were both born. A son, Into, and a daughter, Ilta. All three babies were in good health, and mothers too, though one much more exhausted than the other.
Half a year later when winter had already set in, Ahma receives grave news from his chancellor, Chief Urho.
"My King, are you here!?"
"For gods' sake Urho, no need to shout, I am here. What do you wa-" Ahma stopped mid sentence when he saw the horror in his chancellors face.
"My goodness, what is wrong for you to be so distraught?"
"Your spymaster, Suoma, she... She's... She is dead. Killed by some thugs who left her in the streets."
"WHAT!?"
"She had said she had some leads to a plot just a couple days ago but now she's..."
"Dead. Just like that." Ahma slumped in his chair. "For goodness sake, what did she get herself into?"
Ahma shook his head. He then looked back up to his chancellor. "Bring me my son Haapa. I wish to speak to him, privately."
"As you say My King." Urho looked a little puzzled as to why the King would want to speak to one of his sons now of all times but he did as he was told and soon brought Haapa with him to Ahma's study.
"Thank you Urho. Now, leave us."
"As you say" he nodded and left.
"So what do you want father? Urho said you wanted him to bring me here."
"Did the chancellor tell you what he had told me before I told him to go get you?"
Haapa looked a little nervous. "Yes, he said that Suoma was dead. But how does this have anything to do with me?"
"Because you, my son, shall take her place as my spymaster. As the Kings hand in the shadows."
"What? Me?"
"Yes, you. You know that your mother worked that position until her death, and I know she taught you many of the secrets of the trade. As far as I know, you're the most capable to act the role right now. And your first order of business is to find out who did this to Suoma."
"Excuse me father, but may I say that, according to Urho, Suoma was just killed in cold blood by some thugs and left lying dead on some street. And now you want me to go find out who did that and risk the same fate?!"
"Calm down, Haapa. You clearly know the risks your mother and Suoma took with the job, but remember, you are the son of the King!" Ahma stood up from his chair, still imposing despite his age. "You know as well as anyone that if anyone dares to lay their hands on you, my wrath awaits them."
Haapa let out a weary sigh and accepted the position offered, though still somewhat reluctantly. After Haapa left, Susi soon came to meet his father to inform that his wife, Vezhav, is pregnant again.
The summer of that year, their daughter Auni was born.
The following winter Ahma was returning home from the wedding of his daughter, Tuuli, and his new son-in-law, Chief Seppo of Viena. Or, High Chief Seppo of Karelia as he is now known, as per the agreement they had made. But once he gets back inside his fort, he notices that something is wrong. It was quieter, and emptier than usual. Ahma decides to go to his study, and as he enters he notices that Hintsa is waiting for him there, in silence.
"My good steward, what is going on here? I didn't see or hear anyone on my way here from the hall. Has something happened?"
Hintsa cleared his throat and spoke up, but felt like there was still something stuck in there, making speaking difficult.
"My King, something tragic has indeed occurred. You see.." He tried to clear his throat again.
"This is peculiar" Ahma thought. "Hintsa doesn't usually have trouble speaking. The only times that come to mind are when he told me about the death of my son Toivo or that of Tai-" Ahma's thoughts cut off when the realization hit.
"Who is it Hintsa!?" he demanded.
Hintsa was startled by Ahma's sudden outburst, but collected himself quick enough to answer. "It's your son, Haapa. He had told me that he had found leads as to the plotters that killed Suoma while you were away, but we found him dead last night. Stabbed at a local tavern. Apparently no one saw a thing, but his wife Mielikki has started an investigation of her own, despite the Tietäjä's objections to it, seeing as how she is pregnant."
Ahma collapsed onto his chair. Another spymaster, dead? This time his son! He had promised Haapa he would be safe, that no one would dare put their hands on him. But now he was dead. Ahma asked Hintsa to leave the room and let him be. He would need to think. And grieve.
Ahma had been spending the spring trying to find suitable husbands to his many granddaughters. To secure potential alliances and goodwill from his neighbors, but to also distract himself. Mielikki had proven to be quite the adept investigator, seeing as how she has uncovered some leads regarding Haapa's murder. She has become sort of an unofficial successor to Haapa's spymaster position. Ahma did try to officially offer it to her but she said she would only do it until she found her husband's killer. Ahma left it at that. She was definitely skilled in all this cloak and dagger stuff, but he could see she was too kind to be a master in it.
Ahma's own search for suitors hasn't been fruitless either. So far he has found husbands for three of his granddaughters. High Chief Viryas of Merya married Rauha, third daughter of Susi. High Chief Syudbya of Mezen was married to Käpy, second daughter of Susi. And Ilona, first daughter of Kettu, was married to Chief Vootele of Rovaniemi. During this time Ahma's youngest child, Hellä, came to him to tell him that she was ready to marry again after her husband's untimely death. Soon afterwards Ahma found her a fitting husband: High Chief Kichay of Mari.
The following summer saw the birth of Haapa's and Mielikki's last child. A girl, who was named Titti. But the summer wasn't just all joyous news. Hellä returned home once again after her husband's untimely death after High Chief Kichay was poisoned during a feast. Heartbroken, she vowed to never marry again.
Winter came and went, and spring saw the birth of Ahma's first great-grandchild. A girl was born to Marja and Olev, and she was named Inkeri. And early summer saw the birth of a son to Kettu and Kontäw, named Onni.
That summer Ahma also hears talks of there being a new major settlement having been founded elsewhere in Pohjanmaa. Despite the growth of the town, some prefer the quieter lifestyle and have gone and established their own little village further upstream of the nearby river. It was originally a clearing made by the loggers that the settlers decided to use to make their farms and houses. Ahma was still deep in thought about how the town has grown and changed since his younger days when marshal Kuuti came to him with a request.
"My King, may I have a moment of your time?"
"Sure, I have nothing else on my hands right now."
"Thank you. As you may remember, you had sent me on a hunt for the rumored artifact a few years back."
"Yes I do remember. I have not gone senile."
Ahma was getting excited whether Kuuti had found the artifact or not.
"Yes, right. As I was about to say, we have not yet found this artifact, but we have found many people with stories about various treasures and legends of our people. I would like to request for some of your personal scribes to accompany us in writing down these stories. It would help our search immensely if we didn't have to try to memorize every single individual story. And we would also get the details correctly. Once we spent nearly a fortnight searching in the wrong direction when one of our men remembered the story to mention sunrise instead of sundown."
Ahma laughed a bit to the last part. "You do have a point there. It would speed up your search greatly if you could get the stories in written form with all their details. Very well, you may take some of my scribes with you. I haven't had as much use for them as I once did."
With that, marshal Kuuti took his leave and headed to where the scribes were working currently.
"Besides, even if his search ends up fruitless, now there will be at least something out of it. Our old stories and legends, written down for future generations to remember," he thought as he leaned back on his chair with a content smile on his face. "My final legacy."
That winter Olev, husband of granddaughter Marja, died from a fever. And news also reached Ahma from the north in Finnmárku. His daughter, Pilvi, had died of cancer. Ahma would've wished to attend the funeral, but he wasn't feeling well himself either. At least the news that Susi and Vezhav were having another child cheered him up a bit. What cheered him even more was when he was born, Susi came to ask if it would be alright to name their newborn son Jalo. Ahma gladly let his grandson be named after his own father.
The next year passed rather uneventfully. Well, however uneventful living with three or four generations in a what is basically a wooden castle is. Ahma had become somewhat solemn lately. Being a widow and losing two of your children within a few years of each other can do that. But Ahma still tried to spend time with his family. But he wasn't nearly as good at trying to mend the relationship between Susi and Kettu as Haapa had been. He had really been a good son and brother. He had really helped to keep the family together. Well, as together as was possible. But today that was not on Ahma's mind. Not anymore at least. He had returned from the Hiisi after contemplating his situation again, to seeing his grandson Jalo take his first steps at eleven months old. That night, Ahma would go to sleep with a smile on his face. And on the following morning his son Susi would find him still laying on his bed with the same, content, smile.
King Ahma 'the Great Bear' died in his sleep on September 24th 944, aged 74.
