Conflict of Interest:  Part Six
By ZuiderZee  (zuiderzee@hotmail.com)
Women in power for the wrong reasons.


Superstitions had over the course of two decades, played an ever-
decreasing role in the daily life of Crenholtz. 

Quasi-religious greetings had been superseded by a sort of civilian 
version of a salute.  Once-feared colors, shapes, numbers and dates lost 
their sting and phrases pertaining to their supposed bad luck were 
relegated to the vocabulary of the foreigner and the idiot. 

Ustreed Hormgrud never saw herself as a practicioner of mystic arts.  
Her parents had only been honoring tradition when they remembered to 
include the letter "U" in her name--always a sign of success in any 
other time.  She prided herself in not honoring the many customs of the 
peasant folk. 

On the other hand, Urlim Brehn, the Vytim, had a far different cultural 
influence and his letting go of beliefs in the supernatural was far more 
abrupt. The herzog would not stand for Vytimic beliefs under the roof of 
his castle. Oaths mentioning the old gods and their deeds were not to be 
spoken in his presence. Once outside the reach of the herzog, Brehn 
could indulge some of his pagan leanings without fear of the lessons of 
rational thinking.   There were still many mysteries in the world that 
science and politics would never cope with or explain. 

Women, for instance. 

For his lifetime, they would always be a puzzle. The more manlike they 
acted, the more trouble he had with them.  As much as he believed in 
forces beyond the norm, nature also had its say--and to roughly shunt a 
female onto a course obviously meant for a man was a definite 
perversion.  Since this was clearly a move against her nature and nature 
in general, Brehn in so small part relied upon his handful of strong 
Vytimic magic. 

Challenging. 

Ustreed mirrored the scorn of the herzog and Brehn knew without a doubt 
that any display of beliefs that were not state approved would be 
immediately reported. 

"Why don't you have a sword, Brehn?"  Ustreed asked as they duelled with 
stout oaken clubs.  "I have heard the Vytims feared iron and steel.  Not 
in any physical way--" 

Morning was gray in the moutain pasture.  Ustreed and Brehn had gone 
through their long sessions of stretching and warming up, but Ustreed's 
mind was elsewhere.  It was a strange day. 


Seeing an opening in his defenses, Ustreed changed her grip on the 
billet and thrust powerfully toward Brehn's windpipe.  The huge man 
backed and turned, smacking Ustreed on the shoulder with a hefty blow 
that made her grimace. 

"How then?"  He grunted. 

"It's an insult to the earth to dig into it for something you can't eat.  
Is that true?" 

"You shouldn't study religious beliefs...the herzog won't like it.  The 
Vytims were strong people...but primitive for too long.  Keep your guard 
up.  Continue! Keep your guard up or I'll give you a knock in the ribs 
that'll make sure you sleep sitting up!" 

"Do you believe in...you know...gods." 

"One important thing you'll learn as castellan is how not to provoke a 
conflict.  Asking about someone's beliefs is a rude imposition." 

"It is not.  Knowing someone's basic outlook on life is a vital key to 
correctly understanding intentions.  You don't like training a woman, do 
you?" 

"Let's just keep on with the match--" 

"Do you believe?"  She asked with more urgency. 

"You can trust me to do as I threatened!"  Surging forward, Brehn locked 
both hands on his billet, delivered a sharp buffet to Ustreed's chin and 
then swung with conservative strength to land a near-perfect blow in 
Ustreed's lower ribs.  She didn't roll with the strike and had the wind 
knocked out of her. 

Ustreed fell to the grass. 

"What has the herzog said time and again?  Crenish citizens are not to 
fill their heads with impractical ideas.  We are supposed to be moving 
toward the future with all speed.  Our roots to the past include 
harmful, weak ideas about man and his place in the world.  Now get up 
off the ground and continue.  I'll give you to the count of ten to get 
back up and start swinging.  I mean business.  No more jabber about 
hocus pocus--" 

With a growl of dismissal, Ustreed sat up, rubbing at the sore spot on 
her midsection where the round-ended club had hit home.  The man 
couldn't express himself. And he was supposed to be her example in many 
ways. 

"I've seen your luck charms.  I know all about your fears of certain 
things.  How can I trust you and learn from you when you're being such a 
damned hypocrite.  Hypocrites breed more hypocrites.  This is a quest 
for integrity in every sense.  Not just the body. I'm to be an important 
figure in the future.  So can you.  I want you nearby.  And there's no 
way I can stand to have a man who won't be honest!  I want to know what 
you believe, Brehn." 

"You'll only tell the herzog."  Brehn's reply came fast and with a hint 
of dread. 

"I'll give you the chance to come clean first. But you don't have to 
confess what you don't currently do wrong.  Tell me everything you 
believe about the supernatural and all the effort you're wasting in 
trying to gain my trust--Brehn...it will just make everything easier.  
We can't let anything stand in the way of my success.  Nothing." 

Ustreed took a deep breath and stood up. 

Brehn dropped his club in futility, gave her a look of defeat and 
shuffled off down the sloping pasture to be alone. 

"You know I'm right.  You don't have to hide.  I won't think any less of 
you!"  Ustreed couldn't save the situation.  "This can't be made right 
without you explaining yourself to someone.  Me or the herzog--which one 
of us will it be?  He'll find out eventually.  He has more ears than 
mine to hear for him." 

Ustreed's heart beat wildly.  It was a strange victory over the giant.  
His weakness lay in his emotions.  That made his dangerous.  Unreliable.  
She had to use her influence to get to him and straighten out the mess, 
not matter how deep and absurd his convictions might be.  But she didn't 
need to rush. 


She would give him two days. 

No more.  No less. 


End of part 6.  To be continued.