After they made their engagement official in August 1197, Pero whisked his bride-to-be off to Spain to introduce Anthea to his mother Maria Alava. They toured the haciendas and ranchos he inherited from his father.
We are now on Chapter 13, and as was established previously, Pero was the bastard son of Maria Alava and Blassilo Velez.
When Pero’s father, Blassilo, passed, Pero inherited his possessions. Pero, however, was a wayward reckless young man and didn’t want to stay pinned down, so he travelled extensively and left the managing of the estates to his father’s best friend, Zor.
With an imperial decree to administrate the keep at Capua, Pero went wholeheartedly expecting the appointment to last a few years at most. He never imagined he’d come to love Capua and its people. And he never thought he’d embrace the idea of settling down. But now he is engaged to Anthea Manikos and he’s on cloud nine. He’s thrilled with the prospect of being married and starting a family. And he’s excited to introduce his bride-to-be to his mother.
During her short stays at Cielo Diamantes, they would share the same bed and act like husband and wife. She was satisfied with that. It was enough for her, so she told herself, convinced herself.
Here we gain a little insight into Maria Alava’s mindset, as well as a peak into Pero’s parents’ relationship.
Blassilo and Maria lived separate lives.
Blassilo was a wild, untamed man who loved riding his horses and living on his ranches, fighting, brawling, drinking and whoring. He was a knight of Penafiel.
Maria was born and bred in the city of Valladolid and enjoyed the culture. She loved being close to the arts, the church, and education.
Pero was blessed to enjoy both worlds.
After he wintered in Valladolid with his mother, he’d ride back to Cielo Diamantes in Spring to spend the summer with his father.
Maria Alava accompanied Pero on these rides home.
And Maria was treated like a queen when she arrived at any of Blassilo’s holdings.
Blassilo sent all his other women away before she arrived. He had the ranches cleaned. He even bathed himself. He put on clean clothing and a civilized face, the best he could for her.
And she appreciated it.
There had been reports of bandits raiding small parties of travellers along the Duero River. It was believed these highwaymen came from the foothills, concealing themselves in the remote forests to the north.
We’ve gone back in time now to when Pero was seventeen years old and his father is still alive. Pero is riding home in a coach with his mother because it is Spring.
Blassilo sent men and the coach is well-guarded. There were no problems until they drew near to the castle at Penafiel. The castle at Penafiel is a real place :)
The carriage came to an abrupt halt, and two anxious knights swung the door open. They insisted that Maria and Pero sit further back in the coach and make room. Once they did, the soldiers shoved Blassilo’s swelling, filthy body inside. The knight was badly wounded, choking and gagging, blood all over his armor. A bolt penetrated his chest plate directly above the emblem of House Velez. The scarlet star was bleeding.
Blassilo is discovered badly injured in a ditch. The men Blassilo had with him are already dead in that ditch.
Instead of continuing on to Cielo Diamantes, they ride straight to the keep at Penafiel where Blassilo is rushed into the infirmary.
Pero was heated, confused and anxious. No one could settle him down.
And then they called for him.
Pero was taken not to the infirmary, but to the chapel where he found his father lying in a white gown, covered in white sheets, candles everywhere.
Pero couldn’t go in. His knees wobbled. He felt like a little boy again.
Zor approached Pero.
The good knight stepped up and placed an encouraging hand on Pero’s shoulder. Pero could feel the caballero’s positive energy surging into him. It was like magic.
“Bravest blood flows first,” Zor whispered.
Pero examined Zor’s aged face and bristled with respect.
“Bravest blood flows first,” was a settled statement made often by Zor in times of trouble and heartbreak, and Pero had grown accustomed to hearing it.
Pero took the statement to heart, and it later became a big part of who he was, and what he believed in.
“Bravest blood flows first” – is the ideal that the best leaders are those willing to suffer the most for their charges, not the other way around.
Pero had great respect for that mindset as well as the knights of Penafiel.
Pero found the courage to go into the chapel and sit beside his father.
Standing on the other side of the bed was a gold-plated Imperial with a long red cape. The Imperial offered Pero a long piece of paper.
“Take the write, hijo,” Blassilo said.
Pero took hold of the paper but did not try to read it. His eyes never left his father.
“These are my words,” Blassilo stated with conviction and pride. “I am sending you to the emperor.”
Pero’s eyes grew wide. “Barbarossa?”
“Emperor Barbarossa. You will leave tomorrow. You will be going to the imperial palace with Zor and a considerable donation. By my charge, the emperor will knight you and seal your identity as my namesake.” Blassilo paused and let the words soak in fully. “It seems I am dying, and I require a legitimate heir. The damnable church won’t accept a bastardo unless a king commands it. So be it, a king will command it. You will be my heir. My entire inheritance goes to you.”
Seventeen is a little late for many young men to be knighted but Pero had never served as a page/squire to anyone for any length of time because of his situation travelling back and forth between parents, so his knighting will be completed by the emperor, officially making Pero a subject of the empire.
Blassilo continued to tell Pero what happened and how he ended up in this grave condition before addressing his own ‘temerario’ or recklessness. Blassilo denounces his own lifestyle and admits that he thinks Pero is already a different sort of man than him, and a better man at that, much of it to do with his mother’s influence on his life.
“Don’t be like me, hijo. Don’t be alone.”
This is one of the chief warnings that Pero focuses on later in the tale. His father warned him not to be alone, and yet Pero will keep finding himself alone.
“”I should have been resting beneath the shade of my trees, counting the leaves. In my heart, it all withers. The trees I have planted are hewn down, wizened boughs contorting and turning white, dark leaves snapping off at the stems, missed opportunities drifting away, swirling in the breeze towards the coldness of the grave, winding upside down and tumbling, blackening the whole sky, the green earth, everything they touch. So many regrets. I have injured the love of my life but fail to grasp how deeply.”
These words never leave Pero and continue to haunt him. Blassilo regretted not settling down. Blassilo truly loved Maria but he could not anchor himself to her or a place of peace. This reckless behavior cost him dearly, and here at the end of life, he knows it. Everything he strived so long to accomplish seems to be dying with him.
“Never let your friends down. Do not turn your back on their cries for help. You must be strong for them. You must be the rock. You must be Penafiel. Everywhere you go, you must be Penafiel.”
I purposefully chose to make Pero de Alava a son of Penafiel (a real castle in Spain on the Duero River) because the word Penafiel means ‘faithful rock’ or ‘loyal stone.’
This appellation becomes as much a blessing as a curse for Pero. He feels obligated to live up to the spirit of Penafiel and his father’s deathbed consecration.
Pero must remain immovable.
Pero must remain loyal.
Pero must always do the right thing for everyone else but himself.
But he still has his father’s reckless, restless nature, and it is a struggle for him to be so selfless and stable.
“Be Penafiel, my hijo; a rock the world cannot shake from its foundation. Do not let them break you.”
No one wanted this moment to come but it came. Blassilo’s last words tailed off almost to a whisper as his eyes rolled up and away inside his head. “Aim for the heart.”
Blassilo went silent.
And that’s all I have for this posting.
We will explore chapter 14 in the next post.
Until then, stay inspired and keep reading.
Allen M Werner is the author of the epic dark fantasy tale The Crystal Crux Series.
Author Allen M Werner 
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