“I will do what you ask of me,” he said. “But hear me well, cleric. You and Lucius are both right. There are no citizens here to protect you, and only the victors write history—including yours. Should any harm befall me from these secret spells, I hereby grant Lucius and Persephone the right to avenge me in any way they see fit, including the total elimination of the Pon Q’tar. Do we understand each other?”
Gracchus fell to his knees and kissed the back of Vespasian’s hand.
“Agreed, my liege,” he answered. “You will soon command wonders of the craft that the rest of us can only dream of. To begin, you must order a full-scale retreat of our forces from the riverside village that they continue to sack.”
Vespasian gave Gracchus a suspicious look. “Why?” he demanded.
Gracchus came to his feet. “Because they are no longer needed,” he answered with a smile.
Vespasian turned toward Lucius. “Make it so,” he ordered.
“But my liege!” Lucius protested. “We have lost many legionnaires in this latest struggle! Only now are we starting to gain control of the city! The gold mines lie just beyond! If we abandon our fight, what message does that send to our troops?”
“It sends the message that their emperor is still in command of these forces!” Vespasian shouted back. “I’m not asking for your permission, Lucius! Besides, I should think that you would be eager to put the cleric’s words to the test! Should I be harmed, you and Persephone can take your revenge in any way that you like!”
“Even if we order a retreat by azure portals, it will take at least three hours,” Lucius countered.
“Then I suggest that you start now,” Vespasian answered.
Clearly upset, Lucius would nonetheless do as his emperor ordered. Gathering up his helmet, he strode angrily from the tent and into the night. At once he could be heard barking out orders that the other tribunes would find nearly impossible to believe. Pouring two cups of wine, Persephone gave one to Vespasian, and the three Rustannican rulers listened as Lucius’ voice faded into the night.
As they waited, Gracchus further detailed Vespasian’s many new gifts and how to use them. As the cleric talked on, Vespasian and Persephone could scarcely believe their ears.
FOUR HOURS LATER, VESPASIAN, GRACCHUS, PERSEPHONE, and Lucius stood atop the long, sloping hill that lay just north of the partly destroyed Shashidan city. The remaining Pon Q’tar members and Julia Idaeus were also in attendance. Only moments ago Vespasian had received word that by his orders, his forces had abandoned the struggle. At Gracchus’ suggestion, those same legionnaires now surrounded the three rulers by the hundreds of thousands, waiting to see what would happen. Let them witness your reasons for their unexpected retreat, Gracchus had suggested to the emperor. Not only will it justify your decision, but it will assert your ultimate mastery of the craft for all time.
A great and terrible thing was about to occur, the stunned legionnaires had heard. The coming wonder would mean a quick victory here, allowing them to finally push forth toward the Shashidan gold mines. The rumor went on that the emperor himself was about to single-handedly finish destroying this enemy city. Eager to see what might happen, the legionnaires stood in strict ranks as they waited for their beloved emperor to act.
The night was clear and calm as the many thousands waited atop the hill. Magenta light beaming down from the three red moons provided more than enough illumination for everyone to see the suffering of the beleaguered city nestled in the valley below. Dawn would break in less than two hours, and a soft breeze caressed the waiting Rustannicans. The grass was shiny with dew and the hillside was peaceful, its tranquillity in stark contrast to the desperate scene at the bottom of the valley.
The Shashidan city was called Kagoya. Parts of it were still ablaze, but there were fewer such areas than earlier. With the retreat of Vespasian’s legions, the Shashidan civilians and the katsugai mosota who had been rushed from Ryoto to help defend Kagoya had worked tirelessly to quell the flames and to tend the wounded. Even so, the city remained engulfed in an insane uproar.
Katsugai and civilians rushed about, trying to quell the flames and bring order to the chaos. Dead bodies and body parts from both sides of the conflict lay everywhere, the blood from their gaping wounds running red in the streets. Children cried, buildings still caved in here and there, and many wounded souls wandered the city aimlessly.
Earlier this night the dwindling Shashidans had watched as hundreds more Rustannican azure portals suddenly formed. Surely this will mean the end, they thought. But rather than see more enemy troops pour forth from the spinning vortices, the katsugai commanders couldn’t believe their good luck as legionnaires by the thousands abandoned the fight to enter the portals and be gone. Hours later, not one living enemy soldier could be found in the city. We are saved, everyone thought. We will live on to fight another day. And so, although their desperate struggles to quell the fires and to save the wounded continued, at least they now sensed a modicum of hope.
The fools, Vespasian thought as he sat atop one of his white stallions and he looked down on the scene. Little can they comprehend the forces that I am about to unleash.
Gracchus’ instructions to Vespasian regarding his new gifts and the various powers that they would unleash had been awesome in their mazelike complexities, stunning Vespasian and Persephone nearly into speechlessness. The cleric went on to say that because of the supremely gifted nature of Vespasian’s blood, the emperor would be able to call them forth with relative ease. The difficult part, Gracchus had warned, would be to control their ferocity once they had been unleashed.
Through his amazing revelations, Gracchus had at least partly redeemed himself in his emperor’s eyes. Even so, before using his new gifts, Vespasian had insisted that Julia Idaeus perform an auspicium to foretell whether his imminent use of the craft would bring good results or bad. As Julia expected, Gracchus embraced the idea warmly. Vespasian nodded to Julia, telling her to begin.
As the Femiculi walked toward her white birds, she again suffered the bizarre combination of emotions that always roiled up inside her whenever she was forced to participate in this sham of the craft. So as to protect her identity, she must conduct the ritual flawlessly, all the while appearing to believe in its power to help guide the empire. Yet she couldn’t help but worry for Shashida, the land in which she now stood and truly revered. It was not unusual for the Femiculi to perform auspiciums on the battlefield—she had done so many times. But this one would surely be even more awful in its portent, for like the Pon Q’tar members, she too had finally been informed of Vespasian’s special gifts. The mere thought of being a part of any ritual that might grant good tidings to such a terrible scheme brought fear and disgust to her heart.
She knew full well that the Chikara Inkai would want her to perform her part of the auspicium normally. They would forbid her to try to affect Gracchus’ tampering with the birds’ direction of flight, should Gracchus do so to ensure the favorable outcome that the lead cleric needed. Such interference would surely tell Gracchus that someone was plotting against him, perhaps causing his sharp brown eyes to turn toward her. Above all else, her secret identity as a League of Whispers member and her august position of Priory Femiculi must be preserved.
Even so, she felt that her refusal to expose Gracchus for the charlatan that he was somehow made her a traitor to Shashida. Knowing that she must do nothing to prevent Gracchus from subverting the ritual, she prepared to perform the auspicium.
The ten white sacred birds sat tethered to a golden rail. After coming to stand before the cooing birds, Julia pointed a finger in their direction. At once the tethers binding the birds’ feet to the rail vanished. This time, rather than wing their way home to the Rotunda after their direction of flight had been made clear, the birds would obediently return to the golden rail. Just as she had done many times before, Julia bowed her head.
“O sacred flame of the Vagaries, grant us the wisdom to perform this auspic
ium and to be guided by its decree,” she recited. “Allow your divine magic to drive the sacred birds skyward and show your humble craft servants which path is best. In our emperor’s name we ask for your guidance. In your name we offer our thanks and our continued servitude.”
With that, Julia raised her arms higher. Amid a quick flurry of white wings, the birds took to the sky.
As always, for several tense moments the birds circled overhead, giving no inkling as to their decree. Then they gathered to fly due north for a short distance before returning to their perch. As the birds landed one by one, from behind the protection of her veil Julia desperately blinked back her tears.
Northward, she thought, her heart breaking. The auspiciums are good and Vespasian will surely act. With Gracchus in attendance, was there ever any doubt?
Julia looked over to see that the lead cleric and the other Pon Q’tar members were beaming with delight. She couldn’t know whether Gracchus had secretly altered the birds’ direction of flight, nor did it matter. All that mattered now was that Vespasian would use his new powers for the first time, and the entire dynamic of the War of Attrition was about to change forever.
“The time has come, my liege,” Gracchus said to Vespasian. “Unleash one of your gifts and finish off Kagoya once and for all. Then we will take the gold fields. Soon we will walk the streets of Ryoto as our own.”
“Do you have a suggestion as to which gift should be summoned?” Vespasian asked.
“I do,” Gracchus answered simply. The lead cleric turned to look down upon the stricken city. “Much of Kagoya still stands,” he said. “I suggest that the same force of nature that began its destruction be allowed to finish the task.”
Vespasian nodded. After giving Persephone a somber look, he again turned his attention toward the beleaguered city. Following Gracchus’ training, he closed his eyes and raised his arms skyward.
At once Vespasian saw the many elaborate banned forestallment calculations whirling in his mind. Their computations were elegant, all-powerful. Selecting the one he wanted, he caused the others to vanish. As the chosen spell came to life for the first time, Vespasian opened his eyes.
Soon the eager Rustannicans could not believe their eyes. The clouds in the heavens were literally obeying Vespasian’s commands and combining into a single huge veil in the sky. As the clouds coalesced, thunder arose, its rumblings terrible, nearly deafening. The rising wind began to howl, and with it came bright lightning that streaked majestically across the sky. Everyone watched in awe as the lone cloud drifted directly over Kagoya, its immense size easily reaching from one end of the city to the other. Soon the cloud slowed, the city beneath it entirely unaware that it was about to be wiped from the face of the earth.
Closing his eyes again, Vespasian summoned the second half of the needed spell. At once the massive cloud began changing from milky white to a bright, raging red. Soon the red form in the sky glowed even brighter. Heat radiated from it, the torridness rising so quickly that it could be felt even by the Rustannican multitudes lining the hill. With another great crack of lightning the raging form split apart, showering down its contents. As Julia watched them fall onto Kagoya, her heart broke in two.
Vespasian’s terrible creation was raining liquid fire.
The orange-red fire fell not as flames, but as great molten gobs, like volcanic lava loosed from the sky. It did not start at one end of Kagoya and work its way toward the other, for that might have allowed the terrified Shashidans a chance to flee. Instead, the awful stuff fell upon the city as a whole, sparing no part of it.
As the gathered Rustannicans watched, Vespasian’s awesome creation immediately ignited every remaining building and flowed down each street, engulfing everyone and everything in its path. Soon it joined forces with the fires that were already raging in the city, turning Kagoya into a gigantic torrent of flame. When the craft’s terrible work was done, the fire vanished, leaving only dense smoke and the smell of burning flesh rising into the air. Nothing moved within the dead, blackened city. It seemed to everyone on the hillside that not only had Kagoya been destroyed, its very soul had been vaporized.
His task done, Vespasian lowered his arms. So exhausted that he could barely remain atop his stallion, he closed his eyes, drew a deep breath and gripped his saddle pommel. When he finally opened his eyes, the sight before him was awesome, unexpected.
Every living soul atop the hill and for as far as he could see into the night was on his or her knees before him, head bowed. Even the Pon Q’tar had never witnessed such an amazing use of the craft and they too had taken postures of supplication before the wondrous demigod they had created.
Vespasian ordered everyone to rise. Thunderous victory cheers soon rose into the night, and the throngs of legionnaires banged their gladii against their shields in honor of the great emperor and craft wielder whom it was their privilege to serve. Victory wine flowed among the joyful troops.
Wending his way through the crowd, Benedik Pryam came to stand beside Gracchus. Looking down at the smoldering ruins of Kagoya, he smiled and handed the lead cleric a cup of wine.
“So it seems that you have finally realized your masterpiece of the craft after all,” he whispered. “I must admit that some of the more skeptical Pon Q’tar members were starting to have their doubts. It is fortunate for all of us that Vespasian’s impending terrors reached out to his mind no later than they did. Otherwise we might have begun a campaign that we couldn’t finish.”
“I am as delighted as you,” Gracchus answered as he continued to grin and wave theatrically at the triumphant emperor. “Although we take a major step toward ultimate victory this night, do not think for one moment that the battle is won. If the Jin’Sai has reached Shashida, our real fight may have only started. Either way, the War of Attrition is forever escalated.”
As Benedik watched the beloved emperor being joyfully pulled from his saddle and into the waiting arms of the legionnaires who so loved him, he smiled again.
“Tell me, Gracchus,” he whispered. “Now that you have created this wonder of the craft, did you leave the proper spells in place as we agreed? Can you in fact still control Vespasian? The Pon Q’tar has fears along those lines as well.”
“Of course,” Gracchus answered. “After all, when one creates such a monster as this, one must be sure that it is kept in a very strong cage.”
“And that cage remains in place?” Benedik asked.
“Yes,” Gracchus answered. “As we planned, his terrors were not in fact vanquished after the use of his first banned forestallment. Instead, they still lurk in his subconscious. But unlike before, they will no longer spring up of their own choosing. Should our creation become rebellious, I will order the terrors to revisit him. Only then will I tell him how and why.”
Turning to Benedik, Gracchus smiled.
“So you see, my friend, all is as it should be,” the lead cleric said. “Soon the Shashidan gold will be traveling home to Ellistium and we will be dining in the fabled gardens of the Kyuden Shimin.”
Smiling broadly, the two clerics linked arms and drank heartily of the rich victory wine.
CHAPTER XLIV
“JUST HOURS AGO, JULIA IDAEUS AGAIN SECRETLY COMMUNED with us,” Mashiro said sadly. “She was lucky to do so without detection, for it is a dangerous thing to accomplish while traveling with Vespasian’s armies. I’m sorry to report that her news is grave.” Before continuing, Mashiro paused and he looked down at his hands.
“Kagoya has been totally destroyed,” he announced. “It was not a large city, but it was a culturally important one. Worse, it was the last bastion between Vespasian and our gold mines. Julia watched the carnage as every Kagoyan civilian and every katsugai mosota posted to its defense was killed. Vespasian used one of his banned gifts to rain liquid fire down onto the city. After more than one hundred and fifty centuries, the Rustannicans have finally violated the Borderlands Treaty. What we have long feared has come to pass, and this war’s dead
ly ferocity has been forever heightened.”
Tristan looked at Mashiro as the Chikara Inkai elder sadly wiped away tears. Although he and his fellow pilgrims were new to Shashida, they felt the pain as sharply as if a Eutracian city had been destroyed. For several long moments the Inkai meeting chamber went silent.
It was the morning of the Eutracians’ second full day in Shashida. Tristan, Wigg, Jessamay, and Tyranny had been asked to participate in a hastily called meeting of the Chikara Inkai. Tristan had dined with them the previous night, giving them a chance to brief him. All the Eutracians, the Black Ships, and the Minions of Day and Night had arrived safely, Wigg had said. As Tristan might have guessed, the Minion warriors elected to live aboard the ships rather than take up residence in the elegant Kyuden Shimin, or “People’s Palace.” Everyone else had been housed in the palace’s visitors’ wing.
Mashiro had ordered that cradles be quickly built to hold the vessels. They were much like those that the Minions had constructed in Eutracia, Wigg said, but they also showed the stylistic elegance that was common to Shashida. The great ships and their cradles were stationed on the manicured inner grounds of the Kyuden Shimin.
Tristan had retired early last night and he awoke refreshed. After bathing, he walked to his wardrobe. Hoshi had seen to it that his Eutracian vest, breeches, and knee boots had been cleaned and returned. Tristan had never seen his Eutracian clothes so well laundered, and he was sorely tempted to wear them. The breeches were spotless, and the leather vest and boots had been cleaned and shined to a high gloss.
He finally selected a dark blue Shashidan robe. He took up a pair of sandals and socks from the dozens that sat side by side on the spotless wardrobe floor. He then strapped his dreggan and throwing knives into place behind his right shoulder.
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